Blackwell Reference Online

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John Halfpenny was a prominent trade unionist in Melbourne, Australia, who served as secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council from 1987 until 1995. During the Kennett premiership of Victoria (1992–9), Halfpenny mobilized several protests against changes in industrial relations and workers' rights, including the largest protest march in the history of the state.John Francis Halfpenny was born on April 7, 1935 in Bendigo, Victoria, son of Thomas and Thelma Halfpenny. His father was secretary of the local branch of the railwaymen's union. John worked as a fitter and turner, becoming an organizer with the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) in 1969. By this time he was an active member of the Communist Party of Australia and was occasionally demonized in the media. In 1970 he became secretary of the union, and in 1972 he was elected Victorian state secretary of the Amalgamated Metal Workers' Union, which was formed from the merger of the AEU and other unions. In his 16 years as state secretary, he built up the membership to 200,000. Halfpenny then became state representative of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and in 1987 secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council.Halfpenny resigned from the Communist Party in 1979 and soon afterwards joined the Australian Labor Party, to which he dedicated much of the rest of his life. Although he opposed some of the changes ... log in or subscribe to read full text