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Legislative Assembly Hansard 1983

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Legislative Assembly Hansard 1983 Queensland Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Assembly TUESDAY, 2 AUGUST 1983 Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy QUEENSLAND Parliamentary Debates [HANSARD] THIRD SESSION OF THE FORTY-THIRD PARLIAMENT Appointed to meet AT BRISBANE ON THE SECOND DAY OF AUGUST, IN THE THIRTY-SECOND YEAR OF THE REIGN OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1983 TUESDAY, 2 AUGUST 1983 OPENING OF PARLIAMENT Pursuant to the Proclamation by His Excellency the Governor, dated 30 June 1983, appointing Parliament to meet this day for the dispatch of business, the House met at 11 a.m. in the Legislative Assembly Chamber. Mr SPEAKER (Hon. S. J. MuJler, Fassifern) read prayers and took the chair. The Oerk read the Proclamation. COMMISSION TO OPEN PARLIAMENT Mr SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that I have received from His Excellerwy the Governor a Commission appointing me and Mr C. J. Miller, Chairman of Committees, or either of us. Commissioners to open this session of Parliament. I now call on the Clerk to read the Commission. The Qerk read the Commission. Mr SPEAKER, as the Senior Commissioner, said: Honourable members, we have it in command from His Excellency the Governor of Queensland to communicate to you that Parliament has been summoned to meet this day to consider legislation, the granting of Supply to Her Majesty and such other matters as may be brought before you- that the customary Speech will not be delivered at the Opening of this the Third Session of the Forty- third Parliament of Queensland and that, nevertheless, it is His Excellency's desire that you proceed forthwith to the consideration of the aforementioned business 55419—1 2 2 August 1983 Motion of Condolence DEATHS OF MR T. MOORES AND MR A. J. SMITH Motion of Condolence Hon. J. BJELKE-PETERSEN (Barambah—Premier) (11.6 a.m.), by leave, without notice: I move— "1. That this House desires to place on record its appreciation of the services rendered to this State by the late Thomas Moores, Esquire, a former member of the Parliament of Queensland and Minister of the Crown, and Alfred James Smith, Esquire, a former member of the ParUament of Queensland. 2. That Mr Speaker be requested to convey to the families of the deceased gentlemen the above resolution, together with an expression of the sympathy and sorrow of the members of the Parliament of Queensland in the loss they have sustained." I am sure that all of us were saddened by the deaths of the two former members to whom I have referred. Of course, I knew both of them very well. In the case of Tom Moores, I was associated with him for the whole period of his parliamentary service of eight years. Norm Smith had been a member of this Assembly for six years before my election in 1947. Our association as parliamentarians was to last 13 years. Tom Moores was born in Gympie. He received his early education there and then went on to the Brisbane Industrial High School. He worked in the plumbing industry in England for two years in 1935 and 1936, and later became a manual training teacher at Brisbane's West End, South Brisbane and Dutton Park Opportunity State Schools. He was the youngest trade union leader of the Plumbers Union when he was its president in the early 1930s. Mr Moores served with the Australian Military Forces in World War II, and also on the Queensland Rugby League Committee. He entered the political arena when he was elected alderman for the Brisbane City Council ward of Kurilpa in 1939. He served as an alderman until 1949, when he was elected to State Parliament as the Labor member for the electorate of Kurilpa at the by-election that was held following the death of the Labor member, Mr P. K. Copley. One of the ablest of the Labor back-benchers, Mr Moores had a rapid but brief rise to ministerial rank in 1957, following the resignation of Mr J. E. Duggan from the Transport portfolio in the Gair Ministry. He was appointed a member of the Executive Council and Minister for Transport on 7 May 1957. Following the general election held on 3 August 1957, with other members of Mr Gair's Ministry, Mr Moores resigned as a member of the Executive Coimcil and as Minister for Transport on 12 August 1957. His total period of administration was 43 days, which was the shortest on record in Queensland since the six-day Dawson Labor Ministry in 1899. The 1957 election also ended Mr Moores's career as a parliamentarian, as he was defeated for the Kurilpa seat by the Liberal candidate. On behalf of the Queensland Government and, I am sure, all honourable members of this House, I express sincere condolences to his family. Honourable members will also be saddened to hear of the recent passing of Mr Alfred James (Norm) Smith. He was born in Brisbane on 23 March 1901 and received his education at a number of Queensland schools. In due course, he obtained his ticket as an electrician and as a diesel and refrigeration mechanic. In his early working life, Norm Smith worked as an assistant tapper at the Kuridala copper smelter until it closed in 1918. He then assisted his father in carrying mail between Selwyn and Boulia, out in the Far West. He was to spend several years as an employee at the Mt Isa mines until 1934, when he took over his father's Mt Isa business, which involved running of a hotel, a theatre and an iceworks. He entered municipal politics in 1935, when he was elected as a councillor for the Cloncurry Shire. He was to serve on that council for 10 years. Motion of Condolence 2 August 1983 3 In March 1941, he was elected to State Parliament as the Labor member for the electorate of Carpentaria and he retained the seat—renamed "Burke" following a redistribution— until May 1960. Mr Smith was the founding president of the Mt Isa branch of the ALP, but supported the QLP following its establishment in 1957. Norm Smith will be remembered as a pioneer of the North West and a very capable politician. Even after he left politics, and as late as this year, he was still championing the cause of Queensland and the North West. On behalf of the Queensland Government and, I am sure, all honourable members of this House, I extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of the late Norm Smith. Hon. L. R. EDWARDS (Ipswich—Deputy Premier and Treasurer) (11.12 a.m.): I second the motion moved by the Premier and join with him in expressing sympathy to the families of the late Thomas Moores and the late Alfred James (Norm) Smith, both of whom were former Queensland parliamentarians. As the Premier said, Thomas Moores entered State Parliament in 1949, just as the Australian economy was emerging from the effects of World War II. He was a very dedicated and able member of Parliament and he gained the respect of all who knew him. I understand that the Premier is the only member of this Parliament who served with Tom Moores. As he said, Thomas Moores quickly gained recognition as one of the most able members of the Labor Party. His ability was acknowledged with his brief rise to ministerial rank in the final Gair Government, and he was interested in every subject relating to people, no matter what their political or other beliefs were. He will long be remembered for his service to this Assembly. Over the past few years I met Mr Moores a couple of times. My colleague the Minister for Transport, Mr Lane, hosted dinners celebrating the retirement of Mr Jack Neeson and Mr Goldston. Mr Moores attended those dinners. I found him to be a thorough gentleman and I enjoyed talking to him and hearing of his past experiences. He had a total commitment to Queensland and to the people of Queensland. As the Premier said, Norm Smith was another great Queenslander. He left his mark not only on this Parliament but also on his home city of Mt Isa and on the north of the State. He reached the age of 82 years and he retained a keen interest in the development of Queensland, particularly the North West. Recently I received a letter from him, in perfect handwriting, relating to some matter in which he was interested. As late as May this year his opinion was sought by the Press when the Bradfield proposal to supply water to inland Australia was being debated. Mr Smith, the only son of a Mt Isa pioneer businessman, helped his father establish the city's first hotel, its iceworks, its picture theatre and its first electricity plant. The Smiths arrived in the town, of miners' shacks and tents, in September 1923, soon after news spread that rich lead ore had been struck there. His death, therefore, severs a very tangible link with the early days of Mt Isa, a city to which he made a great personal contribution. As the Premier indicated, four years after arriving in the town and while working in the Mt Isa mines, Mr Smith was one of a team of eight who founded the local branch of the FED & FA, the second union to be formed in Mt Isa, and later he received a gold medal for his service to that union. During the bitter Labor split, he joined the Democratic Labor Party, and although he never rejoined the Australian Labor Party, such was the calibre of the man that he retained the respect of many of his former colleagues both in his home city and throughout Queensland.
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