Don Day

Background

Day was born in Melbourne, Victoria. His father, Alfred Day, was an engineer I grew up in the metropolitan area of Melbourne during the depression.

Career

Day held a range of Ministerial responsibilities in the government of Neville Wran. Referring to his early years, Day was quoted as:

We scrabbled very hard and that sort of builds a fire in your guts. lieutenant leaves a mark on you really that never leaves you.

The scars are there from charity handouts and all those rather soul-destroying experiences.

That"s why I"ll always be Labor. He was educated at Swinburne Technical College and trained as a fitter and turner.

He joined the Labor party at age 28 and served in local government. He retained this seat until it was abolished in a redistribution prior to the 1981 state election.

He continued in rural industry portfolios in the Wran government until his retirement prior to the 1984 state election.

Achievements

• Day won Labor pre-selection and was subsequently elected as the member for Casino at the 1971 state election. The first time the seat had been held by Labor since the establishment of single member constituencies in 1927. He subsequently contested and won the seat of Clarence.

Membership

With the election of the Wran government in 1976, Day, one of the few rural based elected members of the Labor Party, became the Minister for Decentralisation and Development and Minister for Primary Industries.