Goodluck was born on 14 May 1933 in Hobart, Tasmania.[1] His mother left the family when he was seven years old and he was raised by his father Harry who worked as a boiler attendant at Boyer.[2]
Goodluck spent his early years living in Dromedary, living in a house without electricity. He and his family later moved to the rural locality of Bundella on the Derwent River.[3] At the age of thirteen he received an award from the Royal Humane Society of Australasia after rescuing a drowning child from the Derwent.[2]
Goodluck received his early schooling from the state school at Bridgwater.[3] He went on to attend Hobart High School, where he captained the school's cricket and football teams. His father died when he was 15 years old.[2] At the age of 16, Goodluck was scouted by the Melbourne Football Club and moved to Victoria. He briefly played in the VFL thirds but soon returned to Tasmania.[3]
Goodluck was elected warden of the Clarence Municipality in 1972. He rose to public prominence in 1975 following the Tasman Bridge disaster, which saw Clarence cut off from central Hobart, and was "active in agitating on behalf of the Eastern Shore community which had been isolated by the disaster".[2]
Despite Franklin's reputation as a safe Labor seat at state level,[4] Goodluck was re-elected to parliament on six occasions.[1] He remained a backbencher throughout his parliamentary service and crossed the floor to vote against the Liberals on a number occasions.[2] According to the Canberra Times, he "astutely selected a number of populist issues on which to rebel against the party line", including opposing the Fraser government's abolition of pensioner funeral benefits and failure to index pensions.[4] His campaign materials did not mention the Liberal Party,[2] and described himself as "the little grub battl[ing] for the underdog" and "the little Aussie battler".[4]
Goodluck announced his retirement due to ill health in December 1992, following two mild strokes.[5] He retired at the 1993 federal election.[1]
