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The Southern Cross : April 2011
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April 2011 Page 13 www.thesoutherncross.org.au The Southern Cross feature | Jack Snelling seems most comfortable around his young, unusually large family. The second youngest treasurer in South Australian political history is happiest playing chess with his oldest son, eight- year-old Frank, as he is building a tower of blocks with three-year-old Peter. Jack, 38, and wife Lucia have six children aged from 10-months to 13 years. Considered a "largish" family in tight modern economic times, Jack believes it's the role of government to represent the interests of South Australian families. Indeed the wellbeing of young families was among the very first issues Jack raised publicly just before being appointed treasurer in February. And it's not hard to see why. The eldest of five children, Jack recalls spending his schools holidays with both his parents -- who were teachers -- a luxury afforded to few children, especially in today's mostly dual-income earning households. "Much of my childhood memories are really happy memories of school holidays spent going camping... or spending time with Dad doing projects in the backyard." In a wide-ranging interview with The Southern Cross last month, Jack says the health of the state's economy directly affects the standard of living, job opportunities and living costs for families: "These are things that are a priority for me." So is that elusive work-life balance. When the numbers from Jack's Labor Right colleagues appeared in his favour to take on the State's top economic job, Jack and Lucia began to work out the impact of long working hours on their family life. "I talked long and hard with Lucia about it and I prayed about it as well," he says. He tries to make it home each night by 6pm -- that "crazy hour" for most families when young children need to be fed, bathed and put to bed. And every Sunday the Snellings make the trip from their Ingle Farm home (which lies in Jack's electorate of Playford) to the Holy Name Church in St Peters where Jack and his family attend the Latin Mass. "It's been a whirlwind the past couple of years. Sometimes I have to pinch myself." While some critics question his youth -- the youngest treasurer was Edward Vaughan in 1910, Jack has been a Member of Parliament since 1997. He was an MP for 12 years and a Speaker of the house for four years before becoming a minister in March 2010. His portfolios included employment, training and further education (which he has retained), science and information technology, road safety and veterans affairs. Jack joined the ALP as an Arts (economics) student at Adelaide University in the 1990s. He was involved in the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) -- the largest and one of the most powerful trade unions in the nation. Aligned to the union are Labor Right powerbrokers former Attorney- General and now backbencher Michael Atkinson and South Australian Senator Don Farrell. While always conservative in his views on abortion and biotechnology, Jack first came to the Labor Right fold as a uni student while travelling at night on a bus to an ALP sub-branch meeting in Stirling. He noticed a tall, lanky man enter the bus and flash a gold card -- a public transport pass for Members of Parliament. "HesatatthebackofthebusandI thought I'd sit next to him. And it turned out to be Mick Atkinson. So we started talking and didn't stop until the end of the journey. He was guest speaker that night at the same meeting and has been a mentor to me ever since. I really respect Mick's views and where he is coming from." But his interest in politics began much earlier. His mother and father were economics teachers. Dinner table discussion on fiscal policy was always "robust" at the Snelling household. "I think that was a lot of the reason why I grew up interested in politics." His mother Cathie Oswald started teaching at Blackfriars Priory School the same day Jack started Year 4 at the Prospect R-12 Dominican school. Cathie remains a teacher there. At Blackfriars, Jack became interested in Labor Party ideology, certainly in his senior years as a prefect and as a keen debater. He remembers best debating political policy at length with then Blackfriars principal Father Martin Wallace. "Blackfriars certainly encouraged my interest in politics and economics. It had an enormous effect on me and so helped form me." His Year 12 Economics teacher Brent Farquhar recalls a "determined and affable man". He says: "Jack was keen to study the Government sector in his (final school year), which reflected his interest in politics and in particular Labor Party politics." Jack now faces one of the toughest state budgets on June 9. Declining GST revenue, last September's unpopular budget measures, a siphoning of federal funds away from SA to flood and cyclone ravaged Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria and retaining the State's fragile AAA credit rating will certainly pose a challenge. But he's philosophical about it all. "Politics is an unpredictable business," he says. "You can find yourself in jobs you never expected to and find the job you always had your eye on never eventuate because of different opportunities. I am happy to be Treasurer of South Australia. "I really do resign myself to God's providence. I put myself in His hands." Helena, Joseph. Photo: Stephen Gray TOP OF HIS CLASS: In Year 12, Jack (front row, second from right) was the School Spirit Award recipient at Blackfriars Priory College, where he's been described by former teachers as "highly intelligent" and "a friendly, happy, good natured boy". A bus trip to the Adelaide Hills set State Treasurer Jack Snelling's career on a path not even he imagined would be realised, at least not so quickly. Now at what seems the pinnacle of his political career, REBECCA DIGIROLAMO talks with him about his own family life and his views on the Government's role in assisting South Australian families. Family Jack
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