Honour for unionist and tireless community volunteer
By Wendy Shaw
The official list of Paul Griffin’s services and achievements fills an A4 page, and it barely scratches the surface of his union roles, volunteer and community work.
Mr Griffin, 69, of Lilydale, received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to industrial relations through the trade union sector in the 2026 Australia Day Honours.
A Lilydale Catholic parishioner, which is part of the George Town Parish, he has served as chair of the Lilydale-Karoola parish council. He was also a board member of St Finn Barr’s Catholic School, Invermay, from 1992 to 2002, and a former chair. He was a member of the Tasmanian Catholic Justice and Peace Commission and volunteered with the St Vincent de Paul Society at George Town.
He has been a union member since 1974, became a union organiser with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA) in 1986, a member of the national executive from 1990 to 2022 and the general secretary-treasurer of the state branch from 1991 to 2022.
The father of four and grandfather of four ‘with two more on the way’ is also a former senior vice-president and executive member of Unions Tasmania and a former board member of Skills Tasmania.
He said he was surprised at the Australia Day honour.
“It is really to do with industrial relations as state secretary for the SDA union for 34 or 35 years,” he said.
“I have been involved in the community of Lilydale through the footy club, Lions Club and the Mary Walsh Centre.
“It’s just something that, for lack of a better word, you acquire.
“Growing up in Lilydale, many people were involved in helping the community thrive. They led by example.
“As older people retired from different organisations, people like me stepped into those roles.”
Mr Griffin was educated at St Anne’s Convent at Lilydale and then St Patrick’s College in Launceston. After leaving school, he worked for a car dealership for eight years and then Redline Coaches for three before becoming a full-time union organiser in 1986.
He has also served as a board member of Tasplan Super (now Spirit Super) from 1995 to 2021 and was on its administration committee. He was on the board of the Tasmanian Training Agreements Committee in the 1990s.
Mr Griffin is the current president and former secretary of the Lilydale sub-branch of the Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL), a life member of the Australian Labor Party and was Lilydale branch president for eight years, former secretary of Lilydale Lions Club, former head coach of Lilydale Football Club and former president of the Mary Walsh Health Centre at Lilydale.