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Sky News and Fairfax reported today that Neville Wran’s family has accepted the NSW Premier’s offer of a State Funeral – date yet to be announced.
The Publican and staff of the Pig’s Arms are saddened by the Telegraph report of the passing of one of Labor’s great leaders.
Their headline read simply “Wran Dies”.
We are equally sad to report that the graceless and insensitive editorial policy of the Telegraph – like its proprietor, is unfortunately still alive. We can but live in hope.
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 
For what it is worth I met Neville Wran twice. Once at a BBQ in his backyard (before Jill) and later here in Albury during a meeting with him and a couple of locals at what was then the Travelodge. He inspired us enough to get a decent candidate up and at the next election we won Albury for the I think the first time in history. During those years Albury did quite well in getting some things off the ground. Since then it’s been bugger all until Crean granted the money for a cancer centre and then a Headspace. Carr did eff all for the area. Rock solid blue ribbon state and fed except for 10 years way back.
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Some time ago someone here said that if you add pickles to brine the pickles become more like the brine than the the brine becomes like the pickles.
I think the same can be said for Australian politics.
A person of good character with lofty ambitions of true reform, who choses politics as the motor of their life will in time become another morally compromised, ethically questionable individual as the forces at play in the game work on that life.
Wran was a leader in the old Labor mold. Let the brown bags go where they will, just make sure the schools and hospitals, the roads and ports are well funded, and that pensioners and workers are protected from the usual rapacity of the market.
Wran came to power in a party just as corrupt and just as dysfunctional as the Liberals of the day. It was the way it had been played on both sides in NSW for decades. Wran’s great achievement was to get through what he did while at the same time getting up and maintaining a thin crust of civility and propriety over the roiling sewer of deal making and influence peddling going on out of sight. His election did not instantaneously clean up a corrupt state. It just gave that corruption a believable and appropriately reformist face.
Now don’t get me wrong; I too admired Wran and he got more done than most, but I also believe that he was no angel. The brining of NSW politics would have seen to that by the time he was Premier. We can only assume that by that time his intelligence and drive, and his very considerable political savvy, had allowed him to progress up the greasy pole with fewer slips and a better narrative than those around him.
Having Jill around also helped in a kind of post Kennedy way. Here was a good looking, intelligent man with a stunning professional wife. Who wouldn’t have voted for him when the alternative was that suet headed hydra Askin and his endless campaigns to ravish Laura Norda.
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Why would it surprise that The Daily Toilet paper would be as blunt as “Wran Dies”. He was a Premier that was to be admired who turned the state around from the Criminal organisation that was the Askin Government. He achieved much and as I found out today that he was instrumental in commencement of The University of Western Sydney. Junior graduated from there last week something that we’re immensely proud of and thankful for.
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Well done, Junior too.
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Well done Junior A. I guess the Tele could have said Wran unlives
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I am too far away from the actions of Neville Wran to believe anything other than a corrupt state is a sum of its total so I googled up wikipedia. It sounds to me believable and written with a cool head. I am interested that the rules of disclosure are attributed to Wran and that he was keen to ‘undermine the influence of organised crime particularly in casinos’, re the latter fat chance in all fairness. What can be more organised than fleecing a taxation coffer of who knows how many billions of dollars through gambling and casinos.
However, reverting to the issue of the rules of disclosure, surely worthy and reflection on the current state of play that there are rules of disclosure leading to the resignation of Baz “O’Bottle o’ Grange” O’Barrell including revealing how light on the intellects of so many of his cronies really are to proclaim what a terrible shame that is. O’Barrell was as honest as the day is long according to them. What a loose grasp of honesty. Rules of disclosure help show what there is but ultimately who’s who regards willingness to stand aside from the ways of those who are easily falsely led. Neville Wran might have been intrinsically OK if we can reflect on what laws of disclosure mean currently.
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Link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Wran
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The Grange affair has some way to go yet shoe. Good chance the current Premier won’t make the next election.
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Yes, algy, I wondered. I am truly amazed he is still there. That was disgraceful when he was asked about his connections to Di/De wositsname and he uhmmed and ahhed, looked shifty and waffled. Having seen so many news reporters bouncing interviewees I was shocked in that case he was not brought to account. The opportunity was well there. Thank you for your comment, algy. Serious times.
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There was a book published about thirty years ago called “The Prince and The Premier” written by David Hickie.
It deals with the corruption under Askin and the state of the NSW Police Force, at that time described as the best force money could buy.
I bring it up because while it remains a good quick read, the fast and dirty version of the times, it’s interesting because it implies that Wran was a Labor bagman who regularly, usually on a Friday afternoon, delivered the proverbial brown paper bag full of folding to Askin’s office.
I must get it our and read it again, if only to check the details of Wran’s involvement, a clear memory of which currently eludes me.
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I thought his bagmen were the police commissioners Norm Allan and Fred Hanson, there was also talk of a future Lord Mayor of Sydney. Then that had reminded me of the Police Commissioner who had lived up the road from us.
Our milkman had a habit of stacking Milk crates up in the streets, not just one or two but great cubes of maybe 150, then they’d disappear only for a new one to commence. They were all over the place. Anyhow one of these stacks was outside the commissioners house. He pulled him up one day and asked him to move them. The milko asked who are you to tell me what to do. He replied well I’m the Police Commissioner and I want them removed. Anyhow this bloke refused the commissioner weighed in, the milko was arrested on a string of charges and lost his run. And we didn’t have milk delivered for a period. \
Until today I always thought it was Fred Hanson but the dates don’t fit.
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I can’t see how a Labor Neville Wran could have been a bag man, let alone a bagman for Askin who was a Liberal Premier. Are you sure it wasn’t Rex Jackson (bucket Jackson)? Rex Jackson was a minister under Askin for Youth and Community services. Later on he was found guilty of corruption in selling ‘early releases’ from jail. Jackson himself then ended up in jail with the very people who he helped send to jail earlier on. Jackson , after his release from jail, was selling hamburgers form a van on top of Stanwell Park.
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Rex was a Labor man Gez. Buckets was about as sharp as a bowling ball, but fearlessly loyal to those who elected him.
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Yes Algy, you are right. Jackson was a Labor man. I don’t think that Wran as a Labor man could have possibly been a bag man for Askin who was a Liberal. Still, nothing is impossible. I also thought Wran’s star came later after Askin who died 1981.
There is an interesting article somewhere here about Abe Saffron who was on good terms with the police and the NSW liberal government at that time. Now there was a good bagman.
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I’ve looked at the book and can’t find any direct reference to corrupt behaviour by Wran so I’m probably mis-remembering, or conflating Wran with some other individual from the narrative.
Colour me embarrassed.
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There was a nice little video about Wran on the 7.30 Report tonight that clarified possibly what you recalled, Warrigal. Probably you saw it but I guess it is on iView.
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Waz, I think they tried to throw some mud but didn’t have any success
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Wran was not involved. It’s rubbish and doesn’t even make sense.
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I believe the ATO went through Askin’s financed after he died. They couldn’t find any evidence of corruption, but his assets far exceeded what he could have amassed on his income.
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Yes that’s right. They determined that he couldn’t have earned all that money from punting and other non taxable sources as his returns stated, and so they took a large slab anyway.
When his wife died her estate was worth nearly twice as much and again the ATO determined that the source of the money was taxable and so once again they took a large slice. Pity really. She seems more wronged against than wronging, and the money might be seen as recompense for having lived, faithful, to a man who was known to be a philanderer and all round bad guy. Still apparently she loved him and wouldn’t hear a word against him, even when the evidence was overwhelming.
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You could not get them any better. Look where we are now? How could a nation sink so low as Abbott for PM and Baird for a Premier.
RIP Neville.
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Typical right wing rag Gez
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