JOHN BUTTON, P

Registered by Australia Post PRINT POST 306-181-0004-ISSN 0155-8722 Recorder Official organ of the Melbourne Branch of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History Issue No 258—June 2008 IN THIS EDITION: REVIEW: THE COALMINERS OF QLD, BY KEVIN HEALY, p. 8 VALE JOHN BUTTON, p. 1 RESEARCH NOTE: VERITY BURGMANN on FRY’S ‘THE CONDITION OF THE VALE CLYDE CAMERON, p. 2 URBAN WAGE EARNING CLASS’, p. 9 LIAM BROOKS ON THE AUSTRALIAN COMMUNISTS IN THE NOTICEBOARD, THE HUNGRY MILE AND OTHER POEMS, p. 9 EARLY COLD WAR, pp. 3–7 ELEVENTH LABOUR HISTORY NATIONAL CONFERENCE: CALL FOR PAPERS SECONDING THE TOAST TO RUTH FROW, BY VAL NOONE, pp. 7–8 (PERTH BRANCH), p. 10 VALE JOHN BUTTON opportunity. They are fierce advocates of human rights, liberty and democracy. They are not materialisc and never boring. They believe polical involvement is a duty of cizenship. And finally, their sympathies are with the underdogs of society – insncvely so. John was one of these people when I first met him fiy years ago, and remained one unl his death. In recent days, much has been said and wrien of the many parts of his life. He would be pleased because he did not want to be seen as a one‐dimensional polician, Labor senate leader and minister, and nothing else. And as tributes in recent days show, there was so much more. A substanal part of his early life, before elecon to public office in 1974, was about the internal Labor Party machinaons. That is why I am here. He asked me to tell you something of it today. To tell you of the many sides of John Buon: the Labor/industrial lawyer at Maurice Blackburn; the party acvist; the party dissident; the party reformer and the years that he spent doing this: Photograph by Susan Gordon‐Brown, 2004. 1960‐70. Copyright held by the State Library of Victoria. Victoria in the early 1960s was bad for Labor people. JOHN BUTTON – LAWYER, POLITICAL ACTIVIST, Many forget just how bad. Many others choose to forget. DISSIDENT AND MODERNISER During this period John, a young lawyer, was a key figure The following is based on notes wrien and delivered in a Labor law firm, Maurice Blackburn. He was an by Hon. John Cain for his wonderful eulogy of John advocate in this large industrial pracce, with tradional Buon. links to Labor and some unions. His commitment to Labor was strong and he saw the ALP as the polical There are people in this society who share a set of expression of those values I menoned at the outset. values, tastes and characteriscs that set them apart. This was not easy at a me following the Party Split in There are many of them here today. They are people 1955 and aer. The damage was most evident in the who love the arts, literature, the cinema, the cafe society Victorian Branch – the Party was engulfed in extremist and sport this city nurtures: Melbourne people. They out‐pourings associated with the Cold War and religious enjoy conversaon, social commentary, and the contest sectarianism. Each of the protagonists was as bad as the of ideas, and yet are good listeners. They see educaon other, and they deserved each other. The separaon of and access to it as the key to greater equality of Church and State meant nothing to them. A few le‐wing Recorder No. 258 RECORDER trade unions ran the party and members had no say: The reform of the Victorian ALP took just on 10 years. It power over the party was an end in itself. And polical was not unl 1970 that a coalion of naonal party success and serving the needs of Labor people was not figures moved effecvely to replace the people who ran relevant. Polical impotence was a badge worn proudly. the Victorian party for the previous fieen years. But the It was a shabby me in the party's history. ... reform was not without its disappointments. There was no help from the other states, except from Gough By the early 1960s a small group of members, of whom Whitlam and Kim Beazley Sr. It should be noted that John was one, resolved to combine and provide Gough's addresses to us were inspiraonal and oen organised opposion. They believed that without change fuelled our enthusiasm (although Clyde Cameron was in Victoria, Labor could not win elecons, neither State crical at the end). nor Federal. And so they determined to be acve in party branches and councils; to contest party elecons, despite John Buon took great sasfacon in many things: certain defeat; to advocate in Victoria and naonally for wring a new constuon; ensuring that no facon reform of the Victorian Branch to make it responsive to should have 50.01% and, as a winner, take all; seeing the members. The ‘Parcipants’ group was formed. constuon adopted by the membership; seeing it used as the model for other states; and seeing it contribute to John brought to that group aributes that were crical Labor’s historic victory in 1972. John Bufon, the to its ulmate success in 1970. I menon two of these. modernizer, helped to make the Party a truly naonal First, his formal educaon and role as a senior partner one from which it has benefited for the last 30 years. He with Maurice Blackburn – the Labor law firm – at a me was not an idealist seeking some earthly utopia, but a when Labor men who did not have formal educaon praccal man who understood the ALP and the polity in started to see the importance of educaon. John used which it funconed. He knew what had to be done to his educaon to do good things in his law firm. He was advance the cause of Labor people, and he set about self assured, but never cocky; always modest and doing it. understated in advice and counsel. And he gave the ‘Parcipants’ access to some unions and knowledge of VALE CLYDE CAMERON what those unions were thinking. Aer all, they did run the party then. In Kennelly dictum, they had the ‘numbers’. And John could put a case together, orally and in wrien form. Indeed, his wring was direct, analycal and humorous. As one publisher noted, he ‘wrote like an angel’ [fortunately, the genes have passed on]. We all contributed to the Labor journal, Labor Comment – but John excelled. In the mid 1960s an ally emerged ‐ Arthur Cartwright. John's oen mischievous Delphic ways meant few knew who he was. He was John's alter ego … in the 1960s Arthur Cartwright wrote for Naon Review, and with some effect. A tough, incisive cric and oen defamatory – to the faconal controllers, Arthur Cartwright was not Portrait of Clyde Cameron, Minister for Labour and in the least ‘angelic’. Bill Brown, then President with a Immigraon, speaking at the Naonal Press Club, Canberra, 28 large majority in a party where ‘numbers maered’, August 1974, NLA. unsurprisingly expressed his anger at Cartwright’s commentary. Arthur Cartwright had got under his skin. Labor Party Luminary At a conference, he told John what he would do to the 11 December 1913 to 14 March 2008 mongrel if he could find him. Brian Smiddy John’s second strength was his deep understanding of the party and its history. He had been a member before Clyde Cameron was born not long aer the birth of the the Split (he was a member of the colourful Carlton Australian Labor Party. Although he was a controversial branch). He knew how branches, councils and policy figure both in trade unions and polics, his advocacy on machinery worked. John saw how the facons were issues which were dear to his heart was immense. evolving and the way power alliances in the party played out. He knew that compliance with the wishes of the Clyde was the eldest of four sons of a woman who dominant facon meant preferment. In short, John could taught her boys that the working class deserved a beer see the deals before they were done. deal from society. He le school at fourteen and on the eve of the Great Depression followed his father into the 2 Recorder No. 258 RECORDER shearing industry and the Australian Workers’ Union. Cameron also gave his Parliamentary polical opponents Throughout the Depression he was able to gain regular many a strong tongue lashing leading to his late Liberal work. Parliamentary colleague, Jim Killen commenng ‘that the soest part of Cameron are his teeth’. In 1938 he was elected an AWU Organiser in Adelaide and in 1941 he was elected Secretary, becoming a very Following his rerement from Parliament he created a powerful figure in SA. In 1946 he was elected President new life – as author, oral historian and lecturer. He spent of the State ALP and for the next thirty years he was the many hours at the Naonal Library recording numerous number one power broker in South Australian Labor notable events. Clyde was a member and strong polics. He nurtured the young Don Dunstan into the supporter of the Society for the Study of Labour History. state seat of Norwood, who would eventually become the State’s Premier. It is worth remembering that even if a person has lile formal educaon, such an individual can make a valuable In 1949 he was elected to the Federal Parliament as the contribuon to making society a beer place to live in. member for Hindmarsh, rering in 1980. During his This person will need strong convicons and organising parliamentary career he made many notable skills.

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