Richard William Brian Harradine (9 January 1935 – 14 April 2014) was an Australian politician who served as an independent member of the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

, from 1975 to 2005, representing the state of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. He was the longest-serving independent federal politician in Australian history, and a Father of the Senate.

Early life

Harradine was born in Quorn,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, and moved to Tasmania in 1959.Rimon, Wendy
Brian Harradine
''The Companion to Tasmanian History'',

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

, 2006.

Political career

He was an official for the Federated Clerks' Union. He then served from 1964 to 1976 as Secretary-General of the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council and a member of the executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. In 1968, the Federal Executive of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP) refused to let Harradine take his seat on the body. He was suspected of links with the Democratic Labor Party, and had declared that "the friends of the Communists intend to try and silence me". The Executive's actions prompted ALP leader Gough Whitlam, who had supported Harradine, to resign and seek a renewed mandate from the caucus. He was re-elected by a narrow margin, 38 votes to 32, in a ballot against Jim Cairns. In 1975, the Federal Executive, by a majority of only one vote, expelled Harradine. It subsequently rejected, by the same margin, an attempt to convene a special conference to hear his appeal. The Executive's action came after the Tasmanian State Executive declined to expel him. He had been accused of involvement with the National Civic Council. He decided to contest the 1975 election as an independent for the Senate, and won comfortably. Thereafter, he remained a senator until deciding not to contest the 2004 election. His term expired on 30 June 2005.Green, Antony
Retiring MPs
''2004 Federal Election Guide'',

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

, 2004. From 1993 to 1999, Harradine and

Mal Colston Malcolm Arthur Colston (5 April 1938 – 23 August 2003) was an Australian politician who served as a Australian Senate, Senator for Queensland from 1975 to 1999. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party, Labor Party until 1996, when he res ...

were joint Fathers of the Senate. Between 1999 and 2005, Harradine held the title alone. He was a particularly important figure in the Senate between 1994 and 1999. (See

for the Senate numbers.) From December 1994 to March 1996, the make-up of the Senate meant that Harradine's vote combined with that of Labor and the Australian Democrats was just enough to pass Labor government legislation, making his support extremely valuable to either side of politics. Then, after the March 1996 election and the resignation from the Labor Party by the disgraced Colston, Harradine's and Colston's votes were sufficient to pass Coalition legislation, notably the Native Title Amendment Act 1998 (also known as the "Wik ten-point plan") and the partial privatisation of

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets related products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 stock index, and is Australia's largest telecomm ...

. Grattan, Michelle
"Harradine and the political power of one"
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', 30 June 2004. He secured $350 million in communications and environmental funding for Tasmania in return for backing the Telstra legislation. However, he refused to support the Goods and Services Tax. After 1 July 1999, the Coalition needed four extra votes to pass Senate legislation so Harradine's vote became less important. He was socially conservative, reflecting his Catholic values. He opposed abortion, embryonic stem cell research, same-sex marriage, and pornography. He secured a ministerial veto on importation of the

abortifacient An abortifacient ("that which will cause a miscarriage" from Latin: '' abortus'' "miscarriage" and '' faciens'' "making") is a substance that induces abortion. This is a nonspecific term which may refer to any number of substances or medications, ...

RU486, and a prohibition on Australian overseas aid financing family planning that included abortion advice. Elections contested

Death

He died in April 2014 at his home, in Tasmania, aged 79. He had suffered several strokes prior to his death. Prime Minister

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...

offered Harradine's family a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

, which was accepted. The funeral was held on 23 April 2014 at St Mary's Cathedral, Hobart.

Early life

Political career

Death

References

Further reading