Harry Hauenschild

Interviewed by
Roger Scott
Aug 25 2009
Harry Hauenschild
Harry Hauenschild's (1933-2011) career spanned several fields – unionism, the Labor Party and the TAFE sector. He discusses the federal intervention in the Queensland Labor Party, the relationship between the state and commonwealth and the implementation of competency based apprenticeships and traineeships.
Biography
Time Summary Keywords
00:00:00 Harry Hauenschild discusses his early career as a lad porter with the railways in 1948, shortly after he started as a boilermaker with the railway workshops in Rockhampton. He completed his apprenticeship in 1955 and then travelled the state.
00:00:34 Harry Hauenschild discusses his initial involvement with the union movement as Honorary Branch President of the Rockhampton branch of the Boilermakers Unions of Rockhampton. unions
00:00:57 Harry Hauenschild explains how he joined the Labor Party in 1961 because of its union affiliations. He describes how he made the transition from being a state figure in the union to the National Executive of the Boilermakers and Blacksmith Society and discusses his involvement in the amalgamation of several unions. unions
00:03:10 Harry Hauenschild outlines his active involvement in the Labor Party in 1975 when he became a member of the executive of the Queensland branch. He explains the influence of Jack Egerton. Jack Egerton
00:04:23 Harry Hauenschild reflects on state politics and comments on the link between the Labor Party and unions. He describes how unions were able to influence the parliamentary party and how he feels in recent times this has changed. Joh Bjelke-Petersen, unions
00:07:53 Harry Hauenschild discusses the issues that led to federal intervention and the motivation behind those who were pushing for proportional representation. He explains how this group pressured the National Executive to intervene. Bill Hayden, Denis Murphy, George Georges
00:10:43 Harry Hauenschild discusses the changes following the federal intervention, the transfer of power from the Labor Party affiliated unions back to the AWU. Edgar Williams, Errol Hodder, unions
00:12:17 Harry Hauenschild discusses the membership of the AWU and explains why this union was never affiliated on a state basis, the politics involved and the base of their membership. unions
00:14:02 Harry Hauenschild identifies the key policy and decision makers during this period, the Inner Executive of the Labor Party and the Executive of the Queensland Trades and Labor Council (TLC). He describes how the intervention would not have occurred had the Labor Party radio station not been in a slump. Clem Jones, unions
00:15:17 Harry Hauenschild explains how the Labor Party came to own a radio station 4KQ and the decision process for accessing the Labor Party holdings during this era. He explains how the central executive made decisions. Clem Jones, Jack Egerton
00:18:06 Harry Hauenschild explains the differences in the Labor Party since federal intervention, namely giving the politicians control of the party. In particular he talks about the political and ideological differences since intervention. Bligh Government 2007-12
00:21:09 Harry Hauenschild discusses his career after the federal intervention and his involvement with tertiary training in 1965. He reflects on the changes to tertiary education, including the injection of capital funding by the Commonwealth.
00:23:45 Harry Hauenschild explains what influenced the National Education Minister to propose a TAFE at Emerald rather than Kingaroy.
00:24:25 Harry Hauenschild discusses the relationship between TAFE and training and education at the national and state levels. He discusses the funding priorities of the state government and the transfer to private providers of apprenticeships and training. He details some of the problems with competency based training including the cost. education reform
00:29:30 Harry Hauenschild comments on public servants and ministers who were particularly supportive within vocational education. He elaborates on the changes made to tertiary education in the TAFE sector. He explains the recommendation of the Kirby Committee for traineeships and how these recommendations were not implemented as imagined. education, education reform, Roy Wallace
00:33:10 Harry Hauenschild comments on the connection between industrial relations and employment and comments on whether these should be combined in the same portfolio.
00:35:30 Harry Hauenschild discusses his experience of the ILO. Bob Hawke, unions
00:38:09 Harry Hauenschild discusses his role in the introduction of competency based training. He explains that he agrees with the introduction but that the implementation stage has failed the program. education reform
00:40:33 Harry Hauenschild speaks on the various aspects of his career and the current political climate.
00:42:15 Interview ends.
Further reading: 
Ross Fitzgerald and Harold Thornton, Labor in Queensland: from the 1880s to 1988, UQP, 1989
Position:
Other
Bailiwick:
Education and Training
Decade:
1970s, 1980s
Sound byte: 

Harry Hauenschild

Biography

Harry Hauenschild

Harry Hauenschild (1933-2011), was a union official, President of the Trades and Labor Council and advocate of apprenticeship training.

Harry Hauenschild was born in Clermont, Queensland on 26 August 1933. He attended the Rockhampton Technical High School before commencing work in the Queensland Railways in 1948 as a lad porter but soon won a position as an apprentice boilermaker. He joined the Boilermakers Society of Australia, which amalgamated a number of times with other metals unions to become the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union, and is now the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU).

As soon as Hauenschild was out of his apprenticeship he became a shop steward, a role he continued until he became the president of the Rockhampton branch and then went on to become a paid official of the union. For many years Hauenschild continued as President of the AMWU.  Hauenschild joined the Australian Labor Party in 1960 in Rockhampton and remained a member until 2004. Along with Jack Egerton, Neal Kane, Tom Burton and others, Harry was part of the influential Trades Hall group of union officials who in the 1970s controlled both Queensland’s union movement through the TLC, and also, the ruling body of the Labor Party – the Queensland Central Executive. When Egerton accepted a knighthood in 1976, Hauenschild assumed the role of President of the TLC, a position he held until 1990.

Harry Hauenschild became Senior Vice President of the Queensland branch of the Labor Party in 1977 and continued in that role until 1981. Through the late 1970s, he was the principal spokesperson for the Old Guard or Trades Hall group who opposed reforms within the Labor Party leading to the National Executive decision to intervene in the affairs of the Queensland branch in March 1980. A fight through the courts resolved the issue in favour of reform. A lifelong advocate for apprenticeship training, Hauenschild was appointed Commissioner for Training with the Department of Employment, Vocational Education Training and Industrial Relations, serving from 1990 until 2000.

He retired in 2003. In recognition of his work in the trade union movement, Hauenschild became an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1988 and he also received the Centenary Medal in 2001 for his distinguished service to industrial relations. Harry died on 16 July 2011.

Copyright © The Centre for the Government of Queensland, the University of Queensland, 2011.

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