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Communist legend diesDate: 22 December 2008
The Communist Party of Australia is saddened to announce the death of its General Secretary, Mr. Peter Symon. Peter served for 36 years as the General Secretary of the Socialist Party of Australia and then the renamed Communist Party of Australia (CPA) until his death at the age of 86. Peter Symon was brought up in country South Australia during the 1930s Depression and moved to Adelaide. He left school at 14, and obtained a job with a haberdashery wholesaler. In 1949 he was called up for the armed forces, first serving in the army and then the RAAF where he served as a wireless operator and navigator. In 1951 he took a job as wharfie on the Adelaide waterfront. This began a long association with the Waterside Workers Federation, now the Maritime Union of Australia, and the Communist Party. He served in the RAAF during the war as a navigator. His understanding of the inequalities of the Australian system were heightened by his working life on the wharves and his activity during the war against fascism. He began his life long attachment to the Communist Party in the 1930s and did not waver from his conviction that only socialism could solve Australia's economic, social and environmental problems. "Peter's leadership of the struggle for the better conditions for workers and a more just society spanned many of the tumultuous episodes of Australia's 20th Century history from the Depression to the Second World War, banning of the Communist Party, the Communist Party dissolution referendum, and opposition to wars including Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan," CPA President Dr Hannah Middleton said. "He outlived ten Prime Ministers, actively campaigning against each in whatever way they threatened the working people of Australia, the marginalised and disadvantaged. "Peter was a veteran of many industrial struggles in his own workplace and later on the national stage. Throughout his working life and time in the leadership of the Party, Mr Symon fought for peace and for the rights of working people, in the most recent years he took a strong stand against Workchoices, using his considerable analytical and writing skills as well as his leadership of CPA campaigns. "He was deeply committed to the land and other rights of Australia's indigenous people and spurred CPA campaigns in support of migrant rights. He fought for an equal place for women in the CPA and in Australian society and was passionate in his commitment to peace and justice. "Peter's contribution to the Australian and International communist movement was considerable. He ranks with other great Australian Communists such as JB Miles, Dick Dixon and Lance Sharkey. "Peter will be remembered for his resolve and determination to win a socialist future for all Australians. "Peter was a kind and sensitive man, always willing to talk about politics and the state of the world, always offering an acute and committed analysis of the situation in Australia and the world."
Funeral detailsComrades and friends of Peter Symon are invited to attend his funeral at the Magnolia Chapel, Macquarie Park Crematorium, (next to Northern Suburbs Crematorium), cnr Delhi and Plassey Roads, Macquarie Park, on Wednesday, 24th December at 12 noon.No flowers by request. Donations in lieu to the Communist Party of Australia.
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