It is sad news that former Victorian Democrat Senator Sid Spindler has died after a fairly long battle with cancer.

Sid was 75. He was born in Poland, experiencing the horrors of Nazi occupation and World War II. He came to Australia as a seventeen year old in 1949 – yet another example of the immense benefit Australia has gained from migrants.

He was heavily immersed in Indigenous issues during and after his time in the Senate. Sid Spindler also worked on child labour issues and conditions faced by outworkers and people in industries affected by tariff cuts.

He was the pioneer of legislation aimed at removing discrimination on the grounds of sexuality from our federal laws. He was successful in the 1990s in changing our laws to make it unlawful to discriminate in employment on the grounds of sexual preference.

He also strongly defended the rights and value of migrants and refugees, and stood up against those who opposed migration.

His wartime experiences undoubtedly influenced his strong passion for justice and against war, and made him starkly aware of the dangers of racism and demonisation of others. He stated that his early days were also responsible for his “suspicion of chauvanistic prejudice masquerading as patriotism, and for my intense opposition to all forms of totalitarian compulsion.”

source: http://andrewbartlett.com/blog/?p=1953

Many in the union movement remember Syd as a strong supporter of workers rights.