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8 November, 1988 ASSEMBLY 2877 LEGISLATTVE ASSEMBLY Tuesday, 8 November, 1988 Mr Speaker (The Hon. Kevin Richard Rozzoli) took the chair at 2.15 p.m. Mr Speaker offered the Prayer. ASSENT TO BILLS Royal assent to the following bills reported: Constitution (Governor's Salary) Amendment Bill Fire Brigades (Amendment) Bill Industrial Arbitration (Adjustment of Awards) Amendment Bill ELECTORAL DISTRICT OF WALLSEND Death of Kenneth George Booth Mr Speaker reported the death on 1st November, 1988, of Kenneth George Booth, lately serving in the Legislative Assembly as member for Wallsend. Vacant Seat Motion by Mr Greiner agreed to: That the seat of Kenneth George Booth, member for the electoral district of Wallsend, has become, and is now, vacant by reason of the death of the said Kenneth George Booth. DEATH OF KENNETH GEORGE BOOTH, MEMBER FOR WALLSEND, A FORMER MINISTER OF THE CROWN Mr GREINER (Ku-ring-gai), Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Ethnic Affairs [2.17]: I move: (I) That this House desires to place on record its sense of the loss this State has sustained by the death of Kenneth George Booth. member for Wallsend and a former Minister of the Crown. (2) That Mr Speaker convey to Mrs Booth and family the deep sympathy of members of the Legislative Assembly in the loss sustained. (3) That, as a mark of respect, this House do now adjourn. Today we mourn the untimely death of Ken Booth, a man dedicated to serving not only his electorate of Wallsend and the region of the Hunter, but also all the people of New South Wales. Ken Booth was born into politics. In the politics of the Newcastle area, few families have served with greater distinction. His father, George Booth, represented the area for 35 years, serving as Deputy- Speaker and Chairman of Committees for many of those years. Ken joined the Labor Party in 1942, and in 1960 entered Parliament after winning the by- 2878 ASSEMBLY 8 November, 1988 election for his father's old seat. Indeed, I understand that they are the longest serving father and son combination in the history of this Parliament. In 1976, with the election of the Wran Government, Ken was appointed Minister for Sport, Recreation and Tourism, an appointment which recognized his long involvement with sport, both as a participant and an administrator. In February 1980 he was appointed Assistant Treasurer, and in October 1981 became Treasurer. In his maiden speech Ken Booth spoke of the need for an autonomous university for Newcastle, a cause on which he was well qualified to speak given his long connection with education and his involvement with the Newcastle University College, the Newcastle Technical College, and the Hunter Valley Research Foundation. I know that he was delighted by the subsequent development and success of the University of Newcastle. During Ken Booth's stewardship over the State's finances as Treasurer, significant financial reforms were introduced. Those reforms received bipartisan support and were essential in laying the groundwork for the budgetary and financial reforms introduced by this Government over the past eight months. The introduction of program budgeting, the reform of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, the establishment of the New South Wales Treasury Corporation, and the enactment of the Public Finance and Audit Act and annual reports legislation are just some of the reforms achieved under Ken Booth's stewardship. Ken Booth will be remembered by many in all walks of life, not only as a good local member, for the work he did as a Minister and as a politician, but also for his real involvement in many sporting and community organizations and his involvement in local events. I know that I speak for all members of this House when I say that Ken Booth will be remembered as a thoroughly good bloke. We knew him as a member of that elite group of old style Labor politicians whose numbers are now diminishing. His manner, demeanour, and commitment to his fellow man commanded respect from his electorate, his parliamentary colleagues on all sides, and the public servants with whom he worked. Such was his down to earth approach that he made personal contact with many members of the Treasury staff, not just his senior officers. He served his electorate, and the people of Newcastle in general, well. He was in every sense a fair man and a gentleman. On behalf of the Government, and I am sure on behalf of all honourable members, I express my heartfelt sympathy to Ken's wife Gail and to Christine, his daughter. Mr CARR (Maroubra), Leader of the Opposition [2.20]: Today we mourn the sad and untimely death of Ken Booth, former Treasurer of New South Wales, longstanding member from the Hunter region, father of the House, a colleague and a loyal, kind and trusted friend. At the time of this great loss, I extend my deepest sympathy to Gail, his daughter Christine, his sister Rona, and other members of his family and friends. And, on behalf of the Australian Labor Party, through which he tirelessly served the people of this State since he joined at the age of 17, 1 express sincere regret and extend our deepest gratitude. Ken Booth, a former teacher, brought to the Labor Party and the Parliament many strengths and qualities not least of which were his earnestness, diligence and integrity. These attributes, linked with modest character, earned him the trust and respect of his colleagues and constituents. They earned him the confidence and co-operation of the numerous sporting, business and financial communities with which he dealt-as a local member, as a Minister, and as a member of the Labor Opposition. Ken Booth served the people of 8 November, 1988 ASSEMBLY 2879 Wallsend and New South Wales with great distinction. He will be long remembered, as the Premier noted, as the instigator of the most significant reforms in the history of the State's finances. Ken Booth was born in Kurri Kurri in 1926-the son of an English migrant coalminer. He lived in and around that part of New South Wales all his life, and so came to refer to himself as 'a son of Kurri Kurri'. He joined his late father, Rowley James, Bert James, Bill Crook, George Neilly, and Stan Neilly as one of seven members of Parliament-all sons of Kum Kurri. George Booth represented Kurri Kurri for an unbroken period of 35 years, between 1925 and 1960-serving as the Deputy-Speaker and Acting-Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and as Chairman of Committees. Ken was extremely proud of his father as we recently witnessed in this Chamber when he pointed to his father's name on the wall. In 1960, Ken followed his father into the coalfields seat of Kurri Kurri, and Wallsend, which it became in 1968, serving the electorate with distinction for more than 28 years. Together, George Booth and Ken Booth served the electorate for more than 63 years-a record for the longest serving father and son combination in the New South Wales Parliament. In 1976 Ken became Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Tourism. It was a portfolio he often looked back on with fond memories. It was a portfolio he enjoyed immensely, not only because he entered the portfolio as a new Minister in a new government but also as one which drew on his enormous personal experiences, particularly in the sporting area. Ken was an all-round sportsman- indeed, a first-class sportsman. His achievements included playing first grade soccer, first grade cricket, A grade basketball as well as participating in rugby league, rugby union, tennis, hockey and swimming. In February 1980, following the retirement of another great Labor veteran and State Treasurer, Jack Renshaw, Neville Wran appointed Ken to the additional position of Assistant Treasurer where he ably backed the Premier and Treasurer in that onerous portfolio. That was his first link with Treasury, a link that was to last more than eight years. Following the 1981 general election Ken was appointed to the position of Treasurer. I doubt that anyone, including Ken himself, would have realized what a magnificent achievement and an indelible mark on history that Ken Booth made in that key portfolio. From the beginning of this appointment he applied his energies, his experience, his wisdom, his diligence and his exemplary administrative skills to the task of managing the State's finances. It was a difficult time to be Treasurer. There was the devastating drought of the 1980s, the explosion in wages, the deterioration in industrial relations, the collapse of the resources boom, and a tough line by the federal Government, even compared with later standards. in funding to the States, particularly funding for hospitals. These circumstances placed a near impossible task on the Treasurer of New South Wales, and of course all these responsibilities fell to Ken. The reforms the Premier referred to were landmark reforms. They were a rigorous commitment by the Government of the day to bringing greater efficiency, effectiveness and accountability to the Government of New South Wales. They enlisted the support of the best brains in the public service to see that the State's accounts became far more professional than the accounts of any State government had been hitherto. Another historic reform, and one from which I benefited personally, as have other members of this House. was the reforming of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, which has gone on to be without peer among comparable committees in other States. It has since been emulated by the Queensland Parliament, In 1983 Ken introduced the 186 2880 ASSEMBLY 8 November, 1988 Public Finance and Audit Act-the first major overhaul in 80 years of the former Audit Act.