Almanac member, Economics professor and public intellectual, Tim Harcourt, first met Peter Malinauskas, the 47th Premier of South Australia through a footy connection. They both played for the Adelaide University Football Club (AUFC) in the South Australian Amateur (Aussie Rules) Football competition.
Tim writes:
The AUFC or ‘The Blacks’ is one of the largest open-age football clubs in the country and the home of well-known Adelaide personalities Rulebook, Fred ‘Chocka’ Bloch and Bob Neil. I was a guest speaker at the past-players lunch for the club, and Peter Malinauskas, then a rising star in the trade union movement, (and at that time a brand-new father) kindly showed up to my talk despite being on paternity leave.
The Blacks are a very egalitarian footy club with over ten sides most seasons, with the bottom side, affectionately known as ‘The Scum’ treated with the same disrespect as the top side. It turned out that Peter and I both played for the Scum. In fact later, when he was Premier, he introduced me at a SANFL Grand Final function as a bloke “Chosen in the Back pocket ‘the Scum’s” team of the century.” I couldn’t think of a better accolade than that!
We also had other things in common, getting our first jobs in supermarkets (Peter at the Woollies at Mitcham shopping centre and me at Coles Arkaba nearby), both being members of the shop assistants union (the SDA, Peter was later State Secretary), and we also crossed paths when I later worked for his predecessor as Labor Premier. Hon. Jay Weatherill.
Peter Malinauskas is a political talent, extremely popular with a great feel for what the electorate is thinking. Jay Weatherill once described him as “the IVF politician. If you wanted to create a perfect politician you’d put all those ingredients in a test tube and out would come Peter Malinauskas.”
Yesterday, Tim sent us the new Uni Blacks video with the words: “It’s pretty handy when the history of your football club is narrated by the Premier of South Australia Peter Malinauskas (who also happens to play for the club). Join “the Blacks” in 2026!”
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Proud to have played a few games for The Scum in my time at The World’s Greatest Football Club.
Everything Mali says here is on the money, especialyy the “gloriously unorthodox” bit.
I’m really really looking forward to next year’s Sty Council 1986 premiership reunion and getting back to Bob Neil #1
Bob bless
Swish