Former South Australian premier John Bannon dies
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SOUTH Australia’s longest-serving Labor premier, John Bannon, has been remembered as a man of passion and vision for the state he deeply loved, but who will forever be shadowed by the State Bank catastrophe that ended his political career.
Stepson Dylan Lewis, who works at Nova, paid tribute to Mr Bannon today, calling him an “inspiring father figure”.
“My family is deeply saddened by the loss of John. My children will miss their wonderful Gaffa terribly,” Lewis wrote.
“I leant so much from him about integrity, honour, humour, modesty, wine and culture.
“He also taught me about the power of the mind, especially over the last few years when he refused to give up living despite his illness.
“I feel very blessed to have had him in my life.
“Thank you John for your wisdom and beautiful heart. I love you. I’m raising a glass of the finest scotch to you with my mum, you bloody great man.”
Mr Bannon, 72, died in hospital on Sunday after a long battle with illness, which began with a cancer diagnosis eight years ago while in training for a marathon. He was surrounded by his family.
There will be a state funeral for Mr Bannon, held on Monday at 1pm at a location to be confirmed.
Premier Jay Weatherill today read a statement on behalf of the Bannon family.
“John Charles Bannon passed away peacefully in hospital surrounded by his family,” they said.
“A marathon runner to the last, John was determined to see through a number of milestones in his final weeks including the first Australian day-night Test cricket (match) at the new Adelaide Oval and presentation to the Prime Minister as an expert on federation.
“Just two days ago, he spoke eloquently at the opening of an exhibition celebrating his late father Charles Bannon’s artistic work.
“John will be remembered for his commitment to public life in South Australia as one of the nation’s longest-serving premiers, his academic passion and excellence, contributions to the sporting and arts worlds and as a mentor to many.
“For his family, he will always be cherished as a husband, a brother, a father, a grandfather and dear friend. We will miss his wise and witty stories, songs and poetry readings at family gatherings, especially at this time of year..
“The outpouring of love and support from friends and acquaintances has been an incredible source of strength and made this difficult time easier to bear.”
Mr Weatherill said he was “deeply saddened” at the death of a “great friend and mentor”.
From the grand prix to the Multi-Function Polis and eventual State Bank financial disaster, Mr Bannon leaves a legacy punctuated by extremes. It is a record that pulses with high ambition and a failure of equal magnitude. He is, to both friends and critics, one of the most influential South Australian political figures of the post-Playford era.
Mr Bannon became Labor leader after the party’s 1979 election loss and, in a success almost unprecedented at the time, returned it to power after only one term in opposition.
From there, he sought to build on the social reforms that Labor achieved in the Don Dunstan era and renewed the party’s focus on expansion of the state economy.
While it ended in tears with the soaring public debt and collapsing confidence that flowed from the State Bank, much of his near-decade rule was spent pursuing bold ideas.
Mr Bannon’s supporters credit him with luring the grand prix and submarine construction to Adelaide, establishing the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine, launching the Adelaide Casino complex and promoting the arts and tourism sectors.
There was also the similarly bold but doomed Multi-Function Polis, a space-age design to build a city at Gillman using the Japanese finances.
University of Adelaide politics professor Clem Macintyre told The Advertiser that, regardless of other achievements, “the State Bank is the shadow that will hang over his career”.
“There is just no getting away from that,” Prof Macintyre said. “But it would be a great shame if some of his achievements were also not recognised.
“Bannon saw that SA was not able to rest on its laurels and the long-term decline of the industrial base, which Sir Thomas Playford built, was inevitable.
“He understood the state needed to diversify and be open to new ideas.”
Journalist Chris Kenny, whose book State of Denial examined the bank collapse, said Mr Bannon put the state on the national stage and was a deeply proud South Australian.
“He oversaw the boom period of the grand prix and other events which contributed to the excitement in SA,” Mr Kenny said. “It grew the State Bank and other entities which, ultimately, planted the seeds for his downfall.
“He remained, in all respects, a proud South Australian. It’s a measure of the man’s dignity and humility that he decided to stay in SA and continue to contribute to the state and take it on the chin.’’
Bannon’s premiership became increasingly tenuous when, in February 1991, he was forced to announce a $1 billion bailout of the bank. Further revelations of the scale of the disaster — and Mr Bannon’s role in it — led to his resignation in September 1992.
Labor was demolished at the ballot box the following year, losing the popular vote 61-39 and being reduced to the so-called “Kombi van Opposition” of 10 members.
And Mr Bannon became the subject of significant public scorn in following years.
One contemporary recounted that people crossed the street to avoid him, while others would aggressively confront Mr Bannon about the parlous state of the economy.
SA’s unemployment rate leapt into double digits as the State Bank fell apart, peaking at 11.8 per cent, and remained there until the middle of 1995.
During a rare interview in 2009, Mr Bannon lamented: “I just know I did the best I could as honestly and as competently as I could”.
“It wasn’t good enough and others can judge how and why that occurred,” he said.
Born in Bendigo, Victoria, Mr Bannon was educated in Adelaide.
Mr Bannon’s ongoing battle with illness did not prevent him from continuing to speak publicly in recent months. On November 3, he addressed the 30-year anniversary lunch of Adelaide’s first grand prix.
And only last Friday, he spoke passionately about his father, artist Charles Bannon, while opening a public exhibition of his work at St Peter’s Town Hall.
Yesterday, 55 prints from Charles Bannon’s Studio Collection were sold at an auction arranged by his sons, John, Greg and Andrew.
During the 1960s, he studied Arts and Law at the University of Adelaide, where he edited the newspaper On Dit and became Australian Union of Students president in 1968.
In 1977, he was elected to State Parliament in the seat of Ross Smith.
After politics, he re-emerged as an ABC director and undertook research at Flinders University. He became an Adjunct Professor at the University of Adelaide Law School and received an honorary doctorate. In 2007, he was awarded the Order of Australia.
A complex legacy
LABOR POWERBROKER:
SA’s longest-serving Labor premier (1982 to 1992) and federal president of the Labor Party (1988 to 1992).
STATE BANK DISASTER:
Best remembered for presiding over the 1991 implosion of the State Bank, which cost SA billions of dollars.
MINING:
Established the Olympic Dam uranium and copper mine and nearby town of Roxby Downs which opened in 1987-88.
MOTORSPORT:
Brought the F1 Grand Prix to Adelaide in 1985, focusing global attention on our city.
GAMBLING:
Opened the Adelaide Casino in 1985, and brought pokies to SA.
CITY THAT NEVER WAS:
Promoted plans for the Multi-Function Polis — a futuristic new city on the outskirts of Adelaide — that never eventuated.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT:
Built the O-Bahn busway to the northeastern suburbs, which opened in 1986.
LAND RIGHTS:
Handed the radiation-tainted Maralinga lands back to the traditional owners in 1984.
DEFENCE INDUSTRY:
Successfully lobbied for the submarine industry to be established in Adelaide.
AFTER POLITICS:
Moved into academia following his resignation as premier and retained a keen interest in the arts and sport.