“I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t in politics,” says Jay Weatherill, South Australia’s 45th Premier.
“It was always part of our kitchen-table conversations. My father’s union work and my mother’s church service shaped me from the beginning.”
Born at Le Fevre Hospital in Semaphore, Weatherill grew up at Henley Beach, where his family home backed onto the Torrens River.
His childhood was filled with salt water and sunshine – catching yabbies in the river, playing tennis at Henley South Tennis Club, and exploring the nearby beaches.
“We had a very outdoorsy upbringing,” he recalls. “Those experiences gave me a sense of community that’s stayed with me all my life.”
He attended Fulham Primary School and Henley High School before studying law and economics at the University of Adelaide.
“I admired Don Dunstan and Gough Whitlam. They were my heroes. I wanted to be just like them,” Weatherill says.
“Study law, get into politics, fight for justice.”
Weatherill describes both parents as key influences: his father was a trade union official, while his mother was a lay celebrant in the Anglican Church.
“The church, being a choir boy, my father’s work, all of it gave me a strong sense of justice and a desire to devote my life to working with and for people,” he says.
Weatherill began his career as a union legal officer, then became a lawyer.
“It was all about representing working people,” he says.
He entered parliament in 2002 as the Member for Cheltenham and, after holding a string of ministerial roles, was sworn in as Premier in October 2011. He led South Australia until March 2018, making him one of the state’s longest-serving Labor premiers.
The highs and lows of public office
One of Weatherill’s proudest achievements, he says, is something that didn’t happen.
“After we lost the car industry with Holden’s closure, the northern suburbs of South Australia could have ended up like Detroit – a wasteland of crime, poverty and despair,” he says.
“Instead, we fought hard to reimagine a future for Elizabeth and the northern suburbs. Now they’re thriving and have transitioned to new industries. That’s the highlight of my career.”
But public life also brought heartbreak.
“If you run a system that cares for children, predators will sometimes find their way past your protections,” he says.
“It was a source of enormous pain and suffering for the children and their families. Accepting responsibility for those failures was incredibly stressful. It’s the lowlight of my career.”
Life as premier began before dawn with a gym session and briefing from his chief of staff, followed by a day of radio interviews, meetings, speeches, media conferences and cabinet business.
Evenings often ended with hours of reading and signing cabinet submissions.
“I loved seeing the best of our state, people so proud to show off South Australia’s achievements,” he says.
“With a stroke of a pen you could positively affect the lives of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands. It’s a powerful experience and a real privilege.”
Life after politics
Today, Weatherill is Executive Director of Democracy at the McKinnon Foundation, where his work focuses on strengthening Australia’s democratic institutions.
“If money or circumstance weren’t an issue, I’d be doing exactly what I’m doing now,” he says.
“It has the best bits of what I cared about in politics, but none of the bad bits – no one attacking you.”
He also led the Thrive by Five early childhood reform campaign, sits on national boards, and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2021 for his work in early childhood development.
Advice to his younger self
What would he tell his high school self?
“It’s all going to turn out okay. Trust your own judgement, trust yourself,” he says.
Then he smiles.
“And don’t be too shy to kiss the girl who looked like she was interested in you at the high school social.”
Siena Messer
Siena Messer is a journalism and broadcasting student at Edith Cowan University with a flare for arts, cultural and lifestyle journalism. With experience in high level commercial entertainment and communications she is passionate about connecting with people and telling meaningful, relatable stories for creative audiences.
