For Ballarat’s former federal representative John Mildren, the most important element of holding a seat in parliament was the power it provided to help people in the community.
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The lecturer built an impressive academic resume prior to joining the Labor Party in the early 1970s, where his passion for politics would eventually become a career. After pulling off a miraculous victory in the 1980 election and would hold the seat for the next 10 years.
Once a head of Department of School and Community Studies at Ballarat College of Advanced Education (now Federation University), Mr Mildren served as both deputy chair of committees and chair of caucus during his time in Canberra.
For his service to the Parliament of Australia and the wider community the 85-year-old will be among the select group of Ballarat residents who on Friday will be honoured with an Order of Australia Medal.
Mr Mildren said while he never entered politics for personal power or status, the role allowed him to assist people in a way he otherwise couldn’t have.
Simple things like helping an elderly lady solve a tax issue in his early years as an MP stood out as shining examples of how a call from a parliamentarian could lead to swift action.
“When you’re a member of parliament, you have been elected to do a job, you haven’t been appointed or employed and you are there to serve the people,” Mr Mildren said. “You realise it’s not your position, it belongs to them...you should never lose contact with the reality that you are a representative.”
Since leaving politics Mr Mildren has thrown himself into other facets of public life, playing a prominent role on a host of boards, most notably Pinarc Disability Support. Raising a daughter with a disability, he was one of the driving forces behind Pennyweight Park Services for the Disabled, now known as Scope Services.
“When we arrived in Ballarat, people such as (daughter) Bridget had nowhere to go to,” Mr Mildren said. “It was opened in 1975 and it had six kids, because people didn’t know how many people with disabilities there were. Within 12 months we had 126 and a waiting list.”
He has also sat on the board of Alzheimer’s Australia and is a past president of the Cornish Association of Australia. Despite admitting he was “thoroughly embarrassed” to be receiving the medal, Mr Mildren said it was a great honour to be acknowledged.
“I think it will be received well by my family,” Mr Mildren said of earning the medal. “Everyone has a place in history, sometimes you’re not certain what it’s going to be like.”
