Reference: http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=8044644&ticker=MCC:US&previousCapId=7652956&previousTitle=MacArthur%20Coal%20Ltd Downloaded 18 May 2012
FROM his start in life as a miner to his transformation to politician and businessman, Keith De Lacy never knew what fate had in store.
December 2 marked the 20th anniversary of the end of Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s 30 years in power in Queensland, when he was ousted with a landslide victory to Labor (a 9.5 per cent swing).
Local businessman Keith De Lacy, who was the then member for Cairns, and who became State treasurer under Wayne Goss’s leadership, recalls the lead-up.
"After 30 years, you begin to think things may never change," Keith says, particularly as he says electoral boundaries were gerrymandered to suit the National Party.
"Labor had been 30 years in the wilderness, so it was a momentous occasion," he says.
"There was the euphoria, but we didn’t really have time to reflect."
"The only other time I reflected was the moment I sat in the red leather seat of the State treasurer behind the mahogany table, and thought, ‘what’s a country humble boy doing in a job like this’," Keith says, laughing.
Keith was born in Cairns Base hospital and grew up in the Mareeba-Dimbulah area on a tobacco farm.
Before he ventured into politics, he was a tobacco farmer, supplementing his his income by working underground in the mines of Wolfram Camp.
Keith’s life in politics it seems was predestined.
"I grew up in a political household that suffered during the Depression," Keith says. "They thought the world wasn’t fair and that Labor was the only way, and then I just drifted into it."
Keith became the Labor member for Cairns in 1983 and came into government as state treasurer in 1989.
"I had lived about 10 lives before then, but nobody can train for politics – you have to learn on the job," he says.
"It’s the people who don’t do well who are usually the ones who think they know everything."
"You are forever learning, improving, understanding and listening."
Keith says he knew his time in government was going to be difficult.
The previous administration had left amid allegations of corruption, culiminating in the Fitzgerald inquiry and subsequent report.
Keith says Queensland was "a laughing stock".
"They were tough times," he says, "but I was struck by a sense of responsibility."
"But as my mother would say, ‘count your blessings’, because the previous member for Cairns never got in."
Keith says being the treasurer was "not the sexiest job in politics", but that he managed it well.
"We had a mandate to clean up the corruption and cronyism, clean up the election system, and to introduce social programs, but I did not want to do it at the expense of Queensland having a strong financial system," he says.
He describes Wayne Goss, his leader, as a man who was "intelligent, passionate and practical".
Twenty years later and Labor celebrated their victory with a party at Brothers League Club on Saturday, December 5.
"It was a wonderful night when we could live in the glories of the past," Keith says.
"What I found especially wonderful is there were old supporters who had been through tough times, yet they were still there."
Keith says he left politics, which was "a tough game" because he had a chance of a new career – a career as chairman of Ergon Energy, which he embraced with every bit as much enthusiasm and passion.
"I really enjoy being a company chair," he says. In his early days after retiring from politics, Keith wrote a book.
"When I left Parliament I was working 12 to 15 hours a day, so I was writing 12 to 15 hours a day," he says.
Blood Stains the Wattle published in 2002 was the story of long and bitter industrial dispute at the Mount Isa mines in the 1960s.
"I had been an underground miner with the refugees, so I suppose it had been harbouring in my mind for 30 years," he says.
Keith says he would love to write another book, but now he simply hasn’t got the time, which is not surprising.
Nowadays, although he has shaved off a fair few of his management commitments, he is still a very busy man.
"You may think it’s sad but all my pleasure in life comes from work," Keith says.
"I get my kicks out of it," he says.
His former roles have included being chairman of the Trinity Group, chairman of Queensland Sugar and the Global Sugar Alliance, chairman of CEC group, foundation chair of Advance Cairns, chairman of CoCA and of Ergon Energy.
And he has received many awards for his charity work including his work as chairman of the Red Cross’s red shield appeal.
He is now known for his directorial roles in a myriad of companies – he is chairman of MacArthur Coal, the Cubbie group, and Nimrod Resources, a director of the Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns and he is on the board of Queensland Energy Resources.
"These days technology assists," he says. "You can work on half a dozen companies every day."
Times have been tough in the past year and some of his enterprises have suffered.
Trinity Group, for example, from which he has since retired in July, fell in price on the stock exchange and are expect a $220 million loss, and the Cubbie Group, which he still chairs, is in administration.
But Keith is a fighter, believing that it’s only when times get tough, that people can show their true metal. To alleviate stress, he plays golf every Saturday at Cairns Golf Club.
"I love my Saturday golf,", he says. "I wish I could spend more time at it."
Keith divides his time between Brisbane and Cairns and still relishes in the pace of his frenetic life.
And he has some good advice for struggling and aspiring business owners. "You work hard and you take your luck when it comes," he says. When times are tough, he says, people should just work harder and "don’t let it beat you".
"You put your head down and work and you will prosper again."
Keith will be spending Christmas with his family; his wife, three daughters and five grandsons at his family home in Redlynch.
"We will be over-run," he says, laughing.
He reflects on all he has done.
"In my life, I didn’t know what was coming next, but I never had any regrets."
Reference: http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2009/12/12/82085_lifestyle.html Downloaded 18 May 2012
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