I rise on this very important condolence motion and reflect Raymond Steele Hall, aka Steele. He was born in Balaklava on 30 November 1928 and was a former wheat and sheep farmer in Owen in the state's Mid North. He was originally a regional MP representing Gouger. His parliamentary career spanned over 33 years, as the only Australian to serve as Premier and a member of three legislatures: the House of Assembly, Senate and the House of Representatives.

Many of the legacies that he left, the man he was, and what he meant to South Australia has already been stated and so I will not traverse those. One thing he was well remembered for in particular was a maiden speech in the House of Representatives. The story was that while on the hustings he and Andrew Peacock, Minister for Industrial Relations, visited a hotel in Boothby and they were told that the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Hayden, had been at the bar the day before and was on the wagon and he was drinking Claytons Tonic. Minister Peacock quickly said, 'Claytons, that's the drink you're not having when you're having a drink,' and Steele said, 'That's the leader you're having when you don't want a leader!' Steele recalled perhaps that summed up the voters' views in the electorate of Boothby.

He succeeded Sir Thomas Playford as the Leader of the Liberal and Country League in 1966. They shared similar backgrounds: firm but fair, strong views, both former farmers and both serving premiers. Steele was a great mentor to many incoming politicians and MPs, as he was to me, and as was Joan. Very often at outings he would pull me aside and give me words of wisdom, words that I think were principled and that I still adhere to today.

I want to acknowledge the great work that Steele did, particularly in pushing back with Sir Thomas Playford's vision to secure water supply for South Australia, which was to build the Chowilla Dam, at a cost of $68 million. It eventually was going to cost $28 million more than was planned. Steele was not prepared to support that. He did lose the 1970 election over that issue, as did the former member for Chaffey, the Hon. Peter Arnold. He had real concern.

He continued to lobby for what he saw as an environmental evaporation and science-based evidence that the Dartmouth Dam be built in Victoria on the Mitta Mitta River. It was a much better option. Having long conversations with the former member for Chaffey, Peter Arnold, he said that he persisted until the others just gave up and agreed and that negotiation was reached. The icing on the cake is the 1,850 gigalitres of water that Steele Hall negotiated, the water security that we all enjoy today. That 1,850 gigalitres of guaranteed storage is a legacy that he left.

I would like to acknowledge you, Joan, your extended family, Steele's colleagues, and your friends and family. Well, what a great man he was and what a legacy he left. He will never be forgotten.