John Ducker
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John Patrick Ducker AO (29 March 1932 – 25 November 2005),
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n labour leader and politician, played a leading role in the Australian labour movement and the Labor Party for 20 years.


Background

Ducker was born in
Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
, in northern
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, the son of a bus driver, and worked on the docks from the age of 14. He migrated to Australia with his family in 1950, and became an ironworker and active in the Federated Ironworkers Association, at that time controlled by the
Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been i ...
. Ducker, a convert to
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, was a strong anti-Communist and became a supporter of
B.A. Santamaria Bartholomew Augustine Santamaria, usually known as B. A. Santamaria (14 August 1915 – 25 February 1998), was an Australian Roman Catholic anti-Communist political activist and journalist. He was a guiding influence in the founding of the Demo ...
's Industrial Groups, which campaigned successfully to overturn the Communist control of the union.


Career

From 1952, Ducker was an official of the union under the new anti-Communist leader,
Laurie Short Laurence Elwyn Short (15 December 1915 – 24 March 2009) was an Australian trade union leader and leading figure in the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Short was the national secretary of the Federated Ironworkers' Association (FIA), now part of ...
(a non-Catholic). When the Labor Party split in 1955 over the related issues of Communism and the role of Santamaria's "Movement" within the party, Ducker did not follow many other Catholic anti-Communists into the Democratic Labor Party, but remained in the Labor Party, becoming a leading figure in the party's right wing. His characteristic North English accent led to him becoming known as "Broovver Dooker" throughout the movement. In 1961, Ducker moved from the Ironworkers to the
Labor Council of New South Wales The Labor Council of New South Wales, branded Unions NSW, is the peak body for trade unions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. As of 2005 there are 67 unions and 8 Rural and Regional Trades & Labor Councils affiliated to the Labor Coun ...
, becoming first an organiser and in 1975 becoming secretary. In 1972, he was appointed a member of the
New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...
. He was also president of the New South Wales Labor Party and vice-president of the
Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and la ...
. In these positions he supported successive New South Wales Labor leaders such as
Pat Hills Patrick Darcy Hills (31 December 1917 – 22 April 1992) was a New South Wales politician. He served in various high offices across the state most notably the Deputy Premier of New South Wales, Leader of the Opposition and as the Lord Mayor ...
,
Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman of ...
and
Barrie Unsworth Barrie John Unsworth (born 16 April 1934) is a former Australian politician, representing the Labor Party in the Parliament of New South Wales from 1978 to 1991. He served as the 36th Premier from July 1986 to March 1988. Early years Unswort ...
(also a Catholic convert). In 1973, he was the main organiser of the leadership coup which replaced Hills as leader with Wran, who went on to become
Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...
for ten years. Ducker was also a powerful supporter of Federal Labor Leader
Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...
in his battles with the left wing of the Labor Party during the 1960s. In 1970, Ducker was a leading figure in the internal crisis in the Labor Party that cemented Whitlam's leadership. Convinced of the need to remove the left-wing controllers of the Victorian branch of the party if Labor was to win the 1972 federal election, Ducker did a deal with the left-wing leader
Clyde Cameron Clyde Robert Cameron, (11 February 191314 March 2008), was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1980, representing the Division of Hindmarsh. He wa ...
, under which the right shared power with the left in the New South Wales branch in exchange for Cameron's support for the reform of the Victorian branch. According to historian
C. J. Coventry Cameron James Coventry (born 25 February 1991) is an adjunct historian at Federation University Australia. Coventry is most notable for his 2021 political and diplomatic history of former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke's secret involvement ...
, Ducker was a "prolific informer" for the United States of American throughout the 1970s, providing inside-information about the Labor Party and the ACTU. During this time Ducker secretly helped the United States resolve industrial disputes. For example, when
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
insulted women journalists, causing a nationwide boycott of the singer, Ducker worked with the Ambassador and ACTU President
Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
to bring about a quick resolution. He had a long association with
Mater Maria Catholic College Mater Maria Catholic College is an independent Roman Catholic co-educational secondary day school, located in Warriewood, on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1962 by the Sisters of the Good Samari ...
. In 1979, Ducker's health declined and he resigned all his official positions, but Wran appointed him chairman of the New South Wales Public Service Board. He remained a powerful influence behind the scenes, supporting younger Labor leaders such as
Graham Richardson Graham Frederick Richardson (born 27 September 1949) is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1983 to 1994 and served as a Cabinet Minister in both the Hawke and Keating Governments. He is c ...
,
Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He later en ...
and
Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
. He was made an
Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
in 1979,It's an Honour
- Officer of the Order of Australia and the Catholic Church awarded him a
Papal knighthood The orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See include title of honour, titles, chivalric orders, Award, distinctions and medals honoured by the Holy See, with the Pope as the fount of honour, for deeds and merits of their recipients to t ...
. He was also appointed to several company boards, including
Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
and the poker machine giant Aristocrat Leisure Industries.


Community

Ducker was appointed (1988–2000) as both the NSW chair of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award – Australia and a national board director


References


External links


Condolence Debate in the New South Wales Legislative Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ducker, John 1932 births 2005 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Labor Right politicians Australian labour movement Officers of the Order of Australia