It is with a heavy heart that I honour the life of a friend—the cultural warrior and relentless advocate for truth, Franco Baldi. To have known Franco was a privilege. He was a lovable rogue. To witness his work, particularly during his time as director of the Italian newspaper Allora!, was to understand what it means to serve a community. He did not just run a newspaper; he gave his community a firm, passionate and critical voice. Under his direction of more than a decade, Allora! grew to become one of the biggest weekly Italian publications in Sydney.
Franco and members of CNA Multicultural Services visited me about 10 years ago to tell me they had an idea for a newspaper. Given the loss of local media and the decline of local newspapers, something for the local Italian community would be fantastic. It grew very quickly and began to be distributed right across Sydney, Melbourne and Australia. This growth was driven by Franco's passion for journalism, his community and the truth. It has become a beacon for the Italian Australian community. I feature quite regularly in Allora! because I send my media releases to it at every opportunity.
Franco would sit down with me a couple of times a year to have a chat, especially during elections. It was not really an interview in the modern sense of the word. It was a genuine conversation. You would always wonder where he was going with his probing questions, as it was all very conversational. The latest copy of Allora! would arrive in your email inbox on Wednesday morning and he would have penned a remarkable piece of journalism that captured the spirit of his subject and story. With a pen and a camera always to hand, Franco reminded us that the best journalism is a form of love.
He lived a remarkable life. He was born in Imola, Italy, in 1944. His early life was marked by the tragic death of his father, who was killed while de-mining fields so that children could play safely. He spent the next 10 years in an orphanage after being in the care of his grandmother. Franco's life was shaped by sacrifice, resilience and a deep sense of service. He travelled the world from the printing houses of Bologna, where he initially plied his trade, to the theatres of Sydney and everywhere in between. He went to the earthquake-struck towns of Sicily and worked in Papua New Guinea.
Franco always had his camera in his hand, and not far behind it was his conscience and compassion. When he arrived in Australia in 1968, he joined the thriving migrant Italian community which has done so much for this State and for the country. He captured its struggles and triumphs, and documented many special events in the community's history. Throughout the decades he worked for La Fiamma, Il Globo and Settegiorni. He was later the editor of La Gazzetta and was the founding director of Allora!. If you were to capture his many decades in journalism, you would find that it is not only a history of Franco but also a history of the last 50 to 60 years of the Italian Australian community, particularly in Sydney.
As I mentioned, he loved his camera and knew the power of the image. He put together a number of works for Europhoto and Prima Linea Cinematografica. His documentaries and short films won recognition around the world, not because they were flashy but because they were real. He knew how to really get to his subject. He also contributed to CNA Multicultural Services which does some amazing work, especially in my community. He published books, including a story about Marco Polo and a collection of short stories. He was awarded a very deserved lifetime membership of CNA Multicultural Services in 2021. On Saturday night we were at an election party, and it was very sad that he was not there. I know that he would have been looking down and making sure that the writers of Allora! captured it well. Rest in peace, Franco.
