Brian Manning
Brian Manning died on November 3, 2013, at the age of 81. He was a long-time member of the Communist Party of Australia and the SEARCH Foundation.[1]
Background
Brian Manning was born in south-east country Queensland and attended Brisbane State High School until the age of 17. His first job was as a junior clerk. But over the next 17 years he worked in a range of jobs until finding his niche as a wharfie. He moved to the Northern Territory in 1956.
He was proud to be made a life member of the Maritime Union of Australia, successor organisation to the Waterside Workers’ Federation that he served as secretary in Darwin with drive and militancy.
Following his retirement as a wharfie in 2002, he remained active in the union movement for the remainder of his life. He was also co-founder of the NT Trades and Labour Council and was on the Board of Inquiry that in 1984 laid out the foundations for workers’ compensation for Territorians.[2]
Employment Rights Network
Employment Rights Network was established in 2008 by SEARCH Foundation connected activists.
...so join in the Employment Rights Network.
- The campaign against WorkChoices was one of the main reasons for the defeat of the Howard Government. Yet employers and Coalition MPs are still pressing for continuing WorkChoices provisions in the negotiations for Labor’s industrial relations reforms, despite the Minister’s mandate to introduce change.
- The new Government says that it will fully implement all its election commitments. It is clear that the commitment on Rights At Work will not be delivered without a strong campaign. The employers, the media commentators, and the conservative think tanks are trying to undermine the commitments now. Labor’s weakness in the Senate will be used to justify the need for compromise. Even with full implementation of the new Government’s commitments the labour movement has plenty of work to do in coming years to fully establish our rights at work.
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Authorised by: Sally McManus (Secretary, ASU Services NSW), Julius Roe (National President AMWU), Louise Connor (Victorian Secretary MEAA), Angelo Gavrielatos (Federal President AEU), Susan Hopgood (Federal Secretary AEU), Rob Durbridge (Industrial Officer AEU), Maree O'Halloran (President NSW Teachers Fed), John Irving (General Secretary NSW Teachers Fed), Richard Shearman (Secretary NSW/ACT Independent Education Union), Dave Oliver (National Secretary AMWU), Paul Bastian (NSW Secretary AMWU), Brian Manning (retired MUA), Sonia Laverty (Sociologist), Peter Murphy (SEARCH Foundation), Adrian Shackley (solicitor), Cathy-May Gill (AMWU), Donna Sargent (AMWU), Anthony Forsyth (researcher), Fran Hayes (trainer), Scott Batchelor (AMWU), Darren Hanisch (AMWU), Noel Willis, Asian Women at Work Action Group (Sydney).[3]
SEARCH 2012 AGM
Brian Manning sent apologies to the SEARCH Foundation AGM November 24, 2012.
SEARCH Foundation, 2009
SEARCH Foundation AGM, November 28. 2009.
Apologies: Caitlin Perry, Reg Wilding, John Bourne, John Varley, Gabrielle Kavanagh, Jack Tarlington, Richard Archer, Margaret Kirkby, Cat Kutay, Brian Manning, Jack Mundey, Judy Mundey, Meredith Burgmann, Pat Toms, Claire Moore, Leonie Short, Vera Nord, Doug Eaton, Bill Fleming, Connie Healy, John Hill, Norma Nord, Leonie Ebert, Jack Humphrys, Roger Keyes, Adrian Shackley, Rose Read, Louise Connor, Sophie Connor, Hannah Roe, Grahame McCulloch, Carmel Shute, Andrew Jones, Robert Jovanovski, George Koletsis, Joe Palmada, Max Bound, Claire Girroto, Audrey McDonald and Tom McDonald put in apologies to the SEARCH Foundation AGM, November 28, 2009.
SEARCH Foundation AGM
Those submitting proxies to the SEARCH Foundation 2006 AGM included Brian Manning .
The Broad Left Conference
The Communist Party of Australia, Association for Communist Unity and others organized The Broad Left Conference, which was held 1986 28th-31st March, at the NEW SOUTH WALES INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Broadway, Sydney.
Brian Manning was among the list of sponsors.
CPA activism
Manning joined the Communist Party of Australia in 1959, which led him to take up the struggle for Aboriginal rights. He was a co-founder of the Northern Territory Aboriginal Rights Council in 1961 and played a leading role in the struggle against racism and for award wages for Aboriginal people. One of these was the struggle for award conditions for Aboriginal stock workers.
In 1965, the North Australian Workers Union (wharfies were then a section of that union), with the backing of the ACTU, applied to the Federal Arbitration Commission for full award pay and conditions for Aboriginal stock workers. The pastoralists were represented by John Kerr QC – the same Kerr who later sacked the Whitlam government.
Kerr argued that Aborigines, despite being the backbone of the industry’s workforce for generations, still needed training because “a significant proportion … is retarded by tribal and cultural reasons from appreciation in full the concept of work.”
Manning is widely recognised for his role during the Wave Hill Walk-Off. In 1966 a group of Aboriginal people led by Vincent Lingiari walked off the job at Wave Hill Station, 600 kilometres south of Darwin, in protest over wages and conditions.
This action, supported by the trade union, was central in paving the way for Aboriginal land rights. The struggle lasted for nine years until in 1975, the then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, handed over a parcel of land to the local Gurindji people.
During this struggle, Brian and his J Series Bedford Truck, which is now heritage listed, supported the striking workers camped at Wattie Creek (Daguragu) by running supplies to and from Darwin.[4]
Influence on Mayo
On November 3, 2013, Brian Manning, one of the Northern Territory’s most respected activists and trade unionists, passed away surrounded by friends and family at the age of 81.
In paying tribute to Manning, National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said that his long life as a social, political and industrial activist was punctuated by great achievements thatmanifestly changed the lives of many people for the better.
Northern Territory Maritime Union of Australia Branch Secretary Thomas Mayo said that Manning was a supreme mentor and a pillar of support.
“When I first became an official, I knew where to go to learn the lay of the land both politically and practically,” Mayor said.
“One of the most difficult issues was worker’s compensation. I knew that Brian was on the Board of Inquiry held that was completed in 1984 and that set the foundations for workers compensation for Territorians today, so I went to him for guidance.
“I was also interested in working towards Indigenous advancement and of course Brian’s reputation in this area is second-to-none. I spent several afternoons with Brian talking about these issues. He never once tried to tell me what I should do, but his grasp on history and his no nonsense approach have guided me since.”[5]
Northern Territory Aboriginal Rights Committee
Bill Day helped Brian Manning to set up the Northern Territory Aboriginal Rights Committee.
East Timor
In December 1974, Denis Freney organized a speaking tour of Australia for FRETILIN leaders under the banner of the CIET, which he founded with Laurie Aarons’s support. The tour inspired CPA activists to start local CIET chapters across Australia.
In Darwin, the Northern Territory’s capital city, CPA members Brian Manning and Warwick Neilley founded a CIET branch that published regular pro-FRETILIN bulletins and later East Timor News. Manning was a veteran Communist who cut his teeth as a member of the militant Waterside Workers’ Federation before joining the CPA-aligned campaigns for Aboriginal land rights and equal wages.[6]
Brian Manning also used his truck to erect an antenna to establish communications with the underground movement (the Fretilin) in East Timor in the early days of the Indonesian invasion. He campaigned strongly for East Timorese self-determination.
At the 2011 Fretilin Congress, Manning was applauded by 700 Fretilin members for coordinating the establishment of the communications in difficult conditions. He was still greatly loved and revered by the East Timorese people. He was unable to attend the Congress due to his ailing health.[7]
In 2014, along with Northern Territory communist, Brian Manning, who worked with him on the radio link, Denis Freney was posthumously awarded a state honour by the Timor Leste government. The citation described him as a pioneer of the Australian movement in solidarity with East Timor and praised his ‘patience and perseverance’ for his work on the Darwin-based illegal radio and the publication of the newsletter East Timor News.
Recognition
He was recognised for his hard work by becoming a Territory finalist for Australian Senior of the year in 2010. In the same year he was Darwin Senior Citizen of the Year, and accepted his award wearing a Morning Star tie in support of the West Papuans’ independence struggle.[8]