FORMER Barrier Industrial Council president and staunch supporter of worker’s right, Danny O’Connor has passed away.
The 73-year-old passed away in Victoria last week.
Mr O’Connor came to Broken Hill as a relief firefighter in 1995, before becoming the Station Officer and immersing himself in the local community.
He started in the unions and took on roles as junior vice-president and senior vice-president in the Barrier Industrial Council (BIC).
Mr O’Connor was the president of the Barrier Industrial Council from 2005 to 2019; chairman of the Barrier Daily Truth (BDT) board for 14 years; secretary of the local ALP branch; and a board member of Regional Development Australia Far West.
For a time, he was also general manager of the BDT.
For 20 years, Mr O’Connor hosted ABC Broken Hill’s sport show and was also a co-host of Jukebox Journey.
In 2018 he and his wife Lindy moved to Lakes Entrance.
Current president of the BIC, Ros Ferry said Mr O’Connor was very passionate about worker’s rights and political matters.
“When he retired from the fire brigade, he was doing work with the ABC Radio, then he became a member of the Town Employees Union and became a delegate of the BIC,” she said.
“I think he just really fell into the role, he was a great spokesperson and could pretty much talk on any subject.
“It was like a role that you expect to be in for life.”
Ms Ferry said Mr O’Connor would give his soul to whatever he was doing.
“He was a great personal supporter,” she said.
Broken Hill City Council Mayor Cr Tom Kennedy said he had lots of involvement with Mr O’Connor – especially because they agreed on a lot of issues.
“He’s a real loss even though he left Broken Hill, he’s a loss to the world and a loss to Broken Hill,” he said.
“He was a big advocate for Broken Hill and our workers’ rights.
“I remember when Danny first became the president of the BIC – he was instrumental in helping organise a march that had thousands of people in it.
“We protested against redundancies at the local Health Centre.
“He was also a part of protests about water and water allocation within the Lakes.
“He was a fierce defender of council employees so Danny’s always someone that fought for the rights of employees across Broken Hill.
“He was someone that I got along very well with that on the vast majority of issues.”
Cr Kennedy said Mr O’Connor was very knowledgeable on many issues in the city.
“We did agree on industrial matters – both Danny and I regularly spoke on council issues, health issues, water issues so he won’t be someone that’s easily replaced within the BIC movement,” he said.
“There’s only one Danny, and Danny had no problem yelling and screaming to make sure that he got his point across when it came to protecting workers’ rights or ensuring that organisations actually did understand the importance of Industrial Relations.”
Cr Kennedy added Mr O’Connor was a big golfer and loved his sport.
“A lot of people who have an affiliation with Broken Hill, and that included Danny, is the love of sports and the camaraderie that sports brings,” he said.
“Danny fitted in really well with that and he took that same competitiveness from sports and that’s how he also operated when working and when representing the BIC or as president of the BDT board.”
Cr Kennedy offered Mr O’Connor’s wife Lindy and stepdaughter, Cr Hayley Jewitt, his best wishes.
ABC’s Andrew Schmidt worked alongside Mr O’Connor for many years and recalled a conversation with him late last year.
“He rang me in October/November last year. I picked up the phone and he said, ‘I’ve got six months to live, and he was here for 11 months’,” he said.
“What can you say about him, he was unique. He had a set of standards and values, and he didn’t stray to the left, he didn’t stray to the right – it was straight down the line.
“He’s very, very, very passionate about what he did whether it was in the BIC or sport.
“The main thing he just believed in people getting a fair shake. He would hate seeing people taken advantage of and his favourite saying was, ‘If all employers are good people, we wouldn’t need a union’.
“He used to say people ensure their house and their cars and they should join the union and partially insure their job so.
“He would defend his position with a great passion and rather vigorously.
“He just loved sport. He loved it all and he’s probably I suppose a people’s person.
“But no doubt it’s probably bulldoze his way through a few things.
“He was very passionate about the BDT and was disappointed with the outcome.
“He was fiery in everything he did, he did it 100 per cent.”
