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Party History

ALP in NSW

The Australian Labor Party is Australia 's oldest party and one of the oldest in the western world. It is the oldest 'left of centre' or workers' or labour parties in the world, being formed before the British Labour Party and long before any in Europe that are still in existence. The NSW and Qld branches of the Party were formed in 1891 and there is rivalry as to whether the Party originated in Qld's Barcaldine or NSW's Balmain. Ten years later, following Federation, the Federal Labor Party was formed.

The trade union movement had begun in the Australian colonies in the 1860's to get a better deal for workers. However, the trade unions were repeatedly defeated by employers, the colonial governments and courts and the realisation dawned that political power was necessary to implement reforms. The unions joined together in the NSW Trades and Labor Council and from 1870 the idea of the unions having direct, parliamentary representation was mooted.

The turning point was the maritime and shearers strike in 1890. The harsh suppression of this strike made many people in the trade union movement recognise the limitations of industrial action and the need for political representation. In March 1891 the NSW Trades and Labor Council set up the Labor Electoral Leagues" in every centre where practicable throughout the colony." Tradition has it that the first Labor League was formed in Balmain on the 4 April 1891 . By June 1891 forty-five branches had been established in NSW. The unions, particularly in the bush responded enthusiastically.

The political life at that time was different to what we are used to today. The colonial parliaments were composed of various factions grouped around their leaders and guided mostly by their own parochial interests. The new Labor party represented a new approach to politics. The incorporation of trade unions within their formal structures, the promotion of collective action and decision making and the involvement of the mass membership gave the parties unprecedented strength and influence among the working class. At the same time, although strongly influenced by the trade unions, these early labor parties were never confined to union membership and interests. From the start, the Labor Party was essentially a pragmatic and non-doctrinaire party, representing a broad range of social and economic interests. The shearer's union (the Australian Workers Union) contained smallholders who sheared part time and shearers who aspired to land ownership. Their interests were different to the members of the urban and radical craft unions.

During the 1890's the organisational models for labor leagues, caucuses and conferences were developed in NSW. SA provided the first 'pledged' candidates and the first majority Labor Government. The caucus system, developed in NSW was introduced into Federal Parliamentary Labor Party. The NSW Branch has exerted enormous influence on the character of the Australian Labor Party.

First Labor Party Platform (1891)

I

Electoral reform, to provide for the abolition of plural voting; the abolition of money deposits in Parliamentary elections; extension of the franchise to seamen, shearers, and general labourers by means of the provision for the registration of votes; extension of the franchise to policemen and soldiers; abolition of the six months residential clause as a qualification for the exercise of the franchise; single member electorates and equal electoral districts on adult population basis; all Parliamentary elections to be held on one day, that day to be a public holiday, and all public- houses to be closed during the hours of polling.

II

Free, compulsory, and technical education, higher as well as elementary, to be extended to all alike.

III

Eight hours to be the legal maximum working-day in all occupations.

IV

A Workshop and Factories Act, to provide for the prohibition of the sweating system; the supervision ofand boilers and machinery, and the appointment of representative working-men as inspectors.

V

Amendment of the Mining Act, to provide for all applications for mineral leases being sumarily dealt with by the local wardens; the strict enforcement of labour conditions on such leases; abolition of the leasing system on all new goldfields; the right to mine on private property; greater protection to persons engaged in the mining industry, and inspectors to hold certificates of competency.

VI

Extension to seamen of the benefits of the Employers' Liability Act

VII

Repeal of the Masters and Servants Act and the Agreements Validating Act.

VIII

Amendment of the Masters and Apprentices Act and the Trade Union Act.

IX

Establishment of a Department of Labour, a national bank, and a national system of water conservation and irrigation.

X

Elective magistrates.

XI

Local government and decentralisation; extension of the principle of the Government as an employer, through the medium of local self-governing bodies; the abolition of our present unjust and injurious method of raising municipal revenue by the taxation of improvements effected by labour.

XII

The federation of the Australasian colonies upon a national as opposed to an Imperialistic basis; and the abolition of the present Defence Force, and the establishment of our military system upon a purely voluntary basis.

XIII

The recognition in our legislative enactments of the natural and inalienable rights of the whole community to the land - upon which all must live, and from which by labour all wealth is produced - by the taxation of value which accrues to land by the presence and needs of the community, irrespective of improvements effected by human exertion; and the absolute and indefeasible right of property on the part of all Crown tenants in improvements effected on their holdings.

XIV

All Government contracts to be executed in the colony.

XV

Stamping of Chinese - made furniture.

XVI

Any measure that will secure for the wage-earner a fair and equitable return for his or her labour.

The Labor Party before World War I

In the 1890s parliament was dominated by free traders and protectionists. Until the Labor Party was in a position to form government it adopted the strategy of "Support in return for concessions".

One plank of the early Labor platform was achieved with the enactment of the 1893 Electoral Act which enshrined the principle of "one man one vote" and it was "man" as women did not get the vote until 1902 throughout Australia . (Women got the vote in South Australia in 1893 and 1899 in Western Australia.)

In what was something of a paradox the protectionist Labor Party supported Reid's Free Trade Party and won a number of legislative reforms including factory and shop condition, further electoral reforms, the exclusion of coloured races, land and income taxation and the regulation of mines. The Party switched allegiance to Black and between 1895 and 1904 the following measures were introduced: old age pensions, women's franchised, encouragement of trade unionism and collective bargaining, ending of contract labour in favour of day rates and the establishment of minimum wages.

In 1910 Labor won government in NSW which moved the Party beyond the strategy of "support for concessions" and made it a major political party.

Conscription

The First World War generated a division in the Party over the issue of conscription. Conscription was supported by a majority of leading Labor politicians and opposed by some sections of the Labor movement, notably Irish Catholics and nearly all union officials. When Hughes, then Labor Prime Minister, put the issue to a referendum, the NSW Labor Premier Holman, campaigned vigorously for the 'Yes' case. The Referendum was lost, Shortly thereafter, Holman and 17 other Labor members of the Assembly were expelled from the Party. Holman became the Premier of a National Party Government.

Similar expulsions were carried out on the Federal level and the Party was considerably weakened. The Federal Labor Government was destroyed and Hughes and 23 ALP politicians left the Labor Party and joined with the Opposition to form a Nationalist Government. Hughes continued as Prime Minister, the only Prime Minister to have represented both the Labor and the Conservative parties. A weakened Federal Labor Party struggled through the next ten years, led by Frank Tudor, then Matthew Charlton. The Party did not recover until 1929, when it won the election in October and J.H.Scullin became Prime Minister.

Despite the effects of the 1916-1917 Party split, Labor in New South Wales regained control by a narrow margin in 1920 under the leadership of John Storey. Storey, with a one seat majority did not believe he had a clear mandate to carry out Labor's policies. Storey died and was replaced by Dooley with the conservatives gaining power in 1922. Neither Storey or Dooley were in a position to introduce any progressive legislation. From the mid 1920's the Labor Party was regularly embroiled in internal disputes.

Out of the conflict emerged perhaps the most controversial Labor leader in NSW history, Jack Lang. His personal style was abrasive and he set about increasing the leader's powers within the Party. By the mid 1920's Lang had strong support from the unions and from the ALP Conference, the Party's decision making body. He did not have as strong support in the parliamentary caucus as he had in the Conference. His position was strengthened by giving his supporters ie the Conference, not the NSW Parliamentary Caucus, the power to choose the parliamentary leader. In the history of the NSW Labor Party the only time the Conference has had that power was during Lang's years (1926-38). Although he is strongly criticised for the power struggles in which he played a key role he is admired by many for the legislation he introduced to improve the lives of ordinary people. The Widows' Pension which kept many children with their mothers during the Depression and the Moratorium Act which stopped people being evicted when they could not meet mortgage payments, helped lessen the impact on families of widespread unemployment.

In 1925 the Lang Labor Government was elected. This government reinstated the 1917 transport strikers and restored the 44-hour week. In 1926 it introduced the Widows' Pensions and Workers' Compensation Acts. As a strong willed and ambitious leader, Lang felt restricted by the Party and his actions to circumvent the rules at times invoked criticism.

The Depression

The world-wide Depression created deep divisions in the Labor Party. One group wanted economic and social policies to maintain living standards and social services while the other group felt this was impossible in the depressed economic climate. This division was perhaps most strongly felt in NSW but the issue affected the Party Australia wide. Labor Treasurer, Joe Lyons, a Tasmanian left the Labor Party rather than act against the wishes of Sir Otto Niemeyer, who as the representative of British capital, made Australian Governments aware that any attempt to even defer overseas payments and use the money to alleviate the conditions of the unemployed would lead to retaliation by these overseas interests sufficient to destroy any government which chose that path. Joe Lyons went on to become the UAP Prime Minister.

Discontent which had simmered between the industrial and political wings of the labour movement broke out into open factional warfare during the 30's. As a result, the Party split in NSW, into Federal Labor and Lang Labor, also known as State Labor.

Lang lost the October 1927 elections, but re-emerged in 1930 and became Premier during the early Depression years. During that time the Lang Government gave relief to tenants, restricting evictions and the sale of tenants' furniture.

When Scullin and five State Premiers proposed cuts in salaries, pensions and government expenditure, as a means of countering the Depression, J.T.Lang, the Labor Premier of NSW at first accepted and then rejected the plan and proposed the Lang Plan. This Plan called on Australian governments to pay no further interest to British bond holders until Australian overseas debt was restructured, interest on all government borrowings to be 3 per cent and the replacement of the gold standard with a 'goods' standard. The furore this caused, with claims that Labor was financially irresponsible, scuttled Federal Treasurer Theodore's plan for a mildly expansionary budget to fund public works. This pre Keynesian measure would have created employment during the depths of the Depression. It had been a battle to get Caucus and the Commonwealth Bank to accept the proposal for a twenty million pounds of credit to be extended and Lang's actions lead to that approval being withdrawn.

The Lang Government was sacked by the NSW Governor, Sir Phillip Game on 13 May 1932 after Lang had instructed public servants not to pay money into the Federal Treasury, an instruction the Governor believed was unlawful.

This deeply divided the Party which lost the subsequent elections and stayed in opposition for nine years in NSW. By the late 1930's the Party had split into Industrial Labor (or as it was later know Heffron Labor) and Lang Labor. In 1939, Lang's rule was finally ended and William McKell became the leader of the NSW Parliamentary Party.

A unified Labor Party was elected to govern NSW in 1941. That year marked the beginning of 24 consecutive years of Labor government in NSW, with William McKell elected as wartime Premier.

Apart from directing a successful war effort, McKell launched an elaborate scheme for social, economic and environmental reform, which was continued by successive Labor governments.

Labor was also in power federally. The Federal Government began a vigorous program of post war reconstruction and introduced a comprehensive welfare state. The Labor Government ensured that the returned service men came back to jobs and adequate benefits, unlike World War I where servicemen came back to unemployment and meagre benefits.

Australia 's veterans have one of the most generous levels of benefits in the world. The migration programme was stepped up to provide a workforce for the growing economy.

The DLP Split

An organisation known as "The Movement" led by B.A. Santamaria and strongly influenced by Catholic social doctrines was to have a great impact on the Party from the 1940s to the 1960s.

In 1945 the Industrial Groups were set up in some States to oppose communists in union elections. "The Movement", which operated as a secret organisation, had significant influence in some of the Industrial Groups and built up increasing influence within the Party itself. As with the Communist Party this influence within the ALP by an outside organisation created problems for the ALP and was of concern to many. In a protracted struggle between 1954 and 1957, some supporters of "The Movement" and the Industrial Groups formed the Democratic Labor Party (DLP). The NSW the Party Assistant General Secretary, Jack Kane was pro DLP which had a devastating effect on the Party in NSW. In June 1956 the Federal Executive replaced the NSW ALP Executive. Jack Kane became a DLP Senator from NSW in 1970,but the DLP ceased to be a political force by the late 1970's.

The "split" as it came to be known, left the ALP in an extremely weakened position. In Victoria the DLP and in Queensland the Queensland Labor Party under former Premier Vince Gair openly split with the Party. In NSW the largely Catholic right wing group adopted a more moderate position and remained within the Labor Party. Through the approximately twenty years the DLP was a political force the ALP did not hold power in Victoria or Queensland and only gained power federally in 1972. That decision owes much to the then Secretary, Bill Colbourne, Premier Joe Cahill and to the strategy of Sydney Catholics, and in particular to Cardinal Gilroy and Bishop James Carroll, who took a more moderate position than the Victorian Church . Cardinal Gilroy made it clear that Santamaria's forces were not welcome in NSW and there was a deal of acrimony between the Melbourne and Sydney dioceses. And Bill Colbourne remembered the open splits in the 1930s which paralysed the Party.

Federally the Party lost three elections under Evatt who resigned in 1960. Under a new leader, Arthur Calwell, Labor narrowly lost the 1961 election. The Party's political fortunes declined in the following years, plunging to a disastrous defeat in the 1966 election, which was dominated by the controversy over Australia 's participation in the Vietnam War. In the 1969 federal election, under Gough Whitlam's leadership, the Party's polled well. In 1972 Labor was elected to power.

The Whitlam Years

Between 1972 and 1975 the Labor Government attempted an ambitious program of policy reform. The Whitlam Government: ended Australia 's involvement in the Vietnam War, recognised Communist China, opened up Australia 's trading and political influence in Asia, provided free tertiary education, extended the franchise by lowering the voting age to 18 years and introduced a national health scheme.

Its effort however, was frustrated by an Opposition majority in the Senate. This sparked a double dissolution election in May 1974 which Labor won although with a reduced majority, and failed narrowly to win a majority in the Senate.

In 1975 the Whitlam Government became embroiled in a series of controversial incidents. Opposition from the Senate climaxed in October 1975, when it refused to pass supply for the functions of government. This sparked a protracted constitutional crisis which saw the Governor General Sir John Kerr dismiss the Whitlam Government on 11 November 1975 and appoint the Opposition minority, as Caretaker Government. The actions of Sir John Kerr sent shock waves around the country. The Labor movement around Australia took protest action in the form of strikes and rallies in defence of the Whitlam Government. Within days of the Dismissal, however, the media clearly came out and supported the actions of Sir John Kerr and Labor was defeated in the 1975 election. And Labor was again defeated in 1977 and 1980.

The Dismissal

"The Old Question" By Graham Freudenberg*

What was the Dismissal all about? Fundamentally, the Dismissal of the Whitlam Government 25 years ago was about the oldest question in Australian politics - the never-ending effort by the Australian Right to deny the legitimacy of any Federal Labor government.

Nothing has changed since 1904, when an apoplectic Sir John Forrest shouted across the House of Representatives chamber in Melbourne at the newly-installed Labor Ministry of John Christian Watson, 'What are those men doing in our places?'

The Dismissal was simply the supreme example of this age-old denial of Labor's legitimacy. Attempts to invoke conspiracy theories, such as CIA involvement, miss the point.

November 1975 was the crisis the Australian Tories had to have.

Toe-cutter's home truth

It didn't begin on 16 October 1975 , the day Malcolm Fraser, as Leader of the Opposition, claimed to have found the 'reprehensible circumstance' to justify using his numbers in the Senate to block supply. That was the day Whitlam sacked the Minister for Minerals and Energy, Rex Connor, for misleading the Parliament over the so-called 'loans affair'.

It didn't begin in August, when the death of Queensland Labor Senator Bert Milliner gave the Opposition the temporary numbers in the Senate - enough to block Bill Hayden's budget, but not enough to reject it outright.

It didn't begin with the appointment of Lionel Murphy to the High Court in February, and his replacement by a non-Labor Senator, in breach of all established conventions, by the Lewis Government of New South Wales.

In reality, it began in December 1972 - from the day Whitlam brought Labor back to power after 23 years in the wilderness.

Senator Reg Withers, the 'toe-cutter' from Western Australia , immediately dismissed the result 'as an aberration on the part of a few thousand people living in the outer suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne.'

Withers told the Senate on 8 March 1973 , 'Because of the temporary electoral insanity of the two most populous States, the Senate may well be called upon to protect the national interest by exercising its undoubted constitutional rights and powers.'

This notion of a higher national interest over-riding the decision of the electorate lies at the very heart of the Tory doctrine of Labor's permanent illegitimacy. And it partly explains why the doctrine is seldom pursued with the same ferocity at the State level. Withers was Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. He master-minded the Coalition strategy throughout. He made no bones about it, 'as early as April 1973,' he is on record, 'we embarked on a course to force an election for the House of Representatives.'

Calling their bluff

Whitlam called their bluff by calling the Double Dissolution for 18 May 1974 . But his second victory, which included the total destruction of the Democratic Labor Party, and Labor equality of numbers in the Senate, changed nothing about the denial of legitimacy.

Bill Snedden's post-election statement that 'we didn't lose the election; we just didn't win enough seats in the House of Representatives' was not as fatuous as it seemed. It was in fact a classic expression of the Tory doctrine.

Bert Milliner's death merely provided an opportunity for its implementation. The crisis of October-November 1975 was not a true constitutional crisis at all. It was purely a political crisis, relating to the opportunistic use of numbers in the Senate. And it was about to be resolved in Labor's favour.

One defection was enough to pass the Budget and end the crisis. We now know, as a matter of record, that there could have been as many as four defections within 48 hours after 11 November.

Sir John Kerr's deceit, his ambush saved Fraser from defeat and humiliation. But even Kerr, indeed, especially Kerr, could never have dared to act in that way without the underlying assumption that the ordinary rules, standards, decencies and conventions need not apply to Labor governments.

Those who believe that five successive wins by Bob Hawke and Paul Keating have placed Labor's legitimacy beyond doubt ignore the present reality.

The line of attack has switched. It is now directed against the legitimacy of the unions, against their very existence. The new Tories see it very clearly: Why bother about Labor's body politic, if you can destroy its heart.

*Graham Freudenberg worked as a special adviser to Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. He is the author of A Certain Grandeur: Gough Whitlam in Politics and Cause for Power: The Official History of the NSW ALP.

Labor Representation in the NSW Parliament

In the 1891 election, contested in June 1891, just two months after the Labor Leagues were formed, the Labor Party won thirty five of the 141 seats. The new Labor Members were young (six were in their twenties) and about half held office in the union movement, one was a doctor and at least seven were lay preachers or temperance advocates. In 1895 single member constituencies were reintroduced with Labor winning 18 seats and in 1898 Labor won 19 seats.

The First NSW Labor Government.

The first Labor Government was formed in 1910 under the leadership of Jim McGowen who had first been elected to the NSW Parliament in 1891. By 2001 thirteen Labor premiers had served in NSW.

NSW Labor Premiers

Jim McGowen 1910-1913

James Sinclair Taylor McGowen, or "Honest Jim" (Premier 1910 - 1913) was born on a sailing ship headed for Australia in 1855. The family settled in Melbourne and moved to NSW in 1867.

His father was a boilermaker, a trade he followed himself having had little formal schooling. He became Secretary of his trade society at the age of 19 and held that position for 17 years. His public image and his amiable personality made him a very good candidate for NSW's first Labor Premier. The McGowen Government produced reforming legislation, such as the Industrial Arbitration Act and the Bursary Endowment Act, as well as industrial development programs. He was leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party from 1894-1913, the longest serving leader in the Party's history. He supported Conscription, and was expelled from the Party. He stood as an independent for Redfern (the seat he had held since 1and was defeated by the endorsed Labor candidate, Bill McKell, another boilermaker who, himself would become Premier. A devout Anglican, he was the Sunday School Superintendent of St Paul 's Redfern. He died in 1922.

William Holman

  • 1913 -1916 Labor
  • 1916 -1920 Nationalist Government

William Arthur Holman (NSW Premier 1913-1916; Nationalist Premier 1916-1920) was born in Clapham England in 1871 and was apprenticed as a cabinet maker. His parents were both actors and in 1888 the family migrated to Australia when William continued working in his trade. He organised and lectured for the Labor Leagues and ceased working as a cabinetmaker - he became involved with several newspapers, as subeditor and later proprietor. Holman became a part time student in law, because he saw the necessity for the Party to have legally qualified members, being admitted to the Bar in 1903. From 1900 through his succession to the Premiership, Holman was an influential spokesman for the Party and in large part, responsible for the development of the Labor Party as a major political force in NSW. He was an eloquent speaker and a charismatic leader. He was elected to the seat of Grenfell in 1898 and was the Member for Cootamundra 1904 -1920. A supporter of conscription, he was expelled from the Party with a number of others members in 1916. He formed a Nationalist Ministry and was Premier from 1916-1929. He died in 1934.

John Storey 12 April 1920 - 10 October 1921

John Storey (Premier 1920-1921) was born in Jervis Bay in 1861 where his father was a shipbuilder. The family moved to Balmain and after leaving Darling Road Superior School, John was apprenticed as a boilermaker at Morts' Dock. In 1901 he won the seat of Balmain. He opposed conscription although his two sons fought in the AIF. He opposed factionalism and the One Big Union movement. During the war eleven members of the International Workers of the World (IWW) or "wobblies" as they were known, were gaoled on what many believed were unjustified, politically motivated charges. Although opposed to the IWW he undertook, when elected, to release them, which he did. His government was a hung parliament and he felt powerless to implement any controversial legislation. A charming, sports loving man he died in office in 1921.

John Dooley 10 October 1921- 20 December 1921

John Thomas Dooley(Premier 1921 for 2 months) was born in Co Longford, Ireland in 1877 where his father was a farmer. He arrived in Brisbane in 1888 and became a draper's assistant and later a tailor. He attended night classes and debating societies before moving to NSW in 1901. He settled in Lithgow where he established a tailoring business. In 1907 he became the Member for Hartley. He became Deputy Leader in 1916 and following Storey's death he was made Premier. Like Storey he governed with a hung parliament and was restricted in his legislative programme. During the Storey / Dooley years legislation was introduced on arbitration as well as on profiteering and price control. An accomplished actor and singer he died in 1950.

Jack Lang

  • 1925-1927
  • 1930-1932

John Thomas Lang ( NSW Premier 1925-27; 1930-32) was born in 1876 at Sydney . The son of a watchmaker, he was educated at Marist Brothers Haymarket. Jack Lang, one of the most memorable of all Labor leaders, brought the Labor Party back to power with a two seat victory in 1925. His style of leadership was ruthless, he did not get on well with his parliamentary colleagues. He still arouses strong passions - some dislike him for what he did to the Party in waging factional war, others admire him for trying to help the people during the Depression. 'The Big Fella' was a tall person with a strong personality. Born in the slums of Sydney , Lang was all too familiar with the light of the underprivileged and had a ceaseless desire to improve their lot. He introduced: widows' pensions, child endowment, state lotteries, the Government Insurance Office, and the Moratorium Act to prevent people being evicted during the Depression who could not pay their mortgages. He was sacked as Premier by the Governor Sir Philip Game on 1932. He died in 1975.

William McKell

  • 1941 - 1947

William John McKell (NSW Premier 1941-47) was born at Pambula. His father was a butcher and the family moved to Redfern in the 1890s. He was apprenticed as a boilermaker at Mort's Dock and demonstrated his organisational skills by forming an apprentices' union. In 1917 won the seat of Redfern for the Labor Party, defeating Jim McGowen the former Labor Premier who stood as an Independent. In 1939 he became the ALP Leader, defeating Jack Lang, and he went on to lead Labor to victory in 1941. McKell's victory began the 25 years of Labor rule in NSW. Apart from major achievements in the conservation area, social and industrial changes were the most important aspects of the McKell Government. Among these changes were the establishment of the office of the Public Defender to represent under-privileged people in courts and increased pension payments for widows. Industrial legislation was enacted including the Annual Holidays Act, which guaranteed all employees the right to 2 weeks holiday per year with full pay. In the health area, the McKell Government made significant amendments to the Pure Food Act and the Public Health Act, embarked on statewide health education campaigns, established Baby Health Centres and relaunched the Government Insurance Office which had been wound back by the Conservative Government. He also set up the Housing Commission and was responsible for establishing the 1.3 million acre Koszuisko National Park . In 1947 he was made Governor General, a controversial choice at the time as he was working class and Australian born and he was succeeding the Duke of Gloucester. The only other Australian born Governor General had been Sir Isaac Isaacs. A keen sportsman he had played grade football and was an amateur boxer. He died in 1985.

Jim McGirr

  • 1947- 1952

James McGirr was born near Parkes NSW in 1890 where his father was a dairy farmer. Educated at St Stanislaus Bathurst he was apprenticed as a pharmacist to his brother.His brothers Greg and Michael were also members of the NSW Parliament.He joined the ALP in 1906 and was elected Member for Cootamundra in 1922. Following the resignation of McKell he became the Premier.The most significant achievement of the McGirr Government was the introduction of the 40 hour week. He resigned in 1952 because of ill health and was appointed Chairman of the Maritime Services Board. He and his brothers all had extensive business interests: land, pharmacies, hotels and other investments. He died in 1957.

Joe Cahill

  • 1952 - 1959

Joseph John Cahill (NSW Premier 1952-59) was born in 1891at Redfern, the son of a railway worker. Educated at Patrician Brothers Redfern he was apprenticed as a boilermaker in the Eveleigh Workshops. An active unionist, he was dismissed for his part in the 1917 strike. He picked up work as he could at one time selling insurance. He was elected as Member for St George (multi membered electorate) in 1925. A consumant politician he used his political skills and astuteness to keep the NSW ALP together during the tumultuous fifties, when the ALP nationally was deeply split over the outside influence on the labour movement. A few months before his death in office, he set a new record for the longest continuous term as Premier. Cahill's death, in 1959, was a great blow to the NSW ALP.

The Cahill Government introduced equal pay for women, three weeks' annual holidays, repudiated many of the penal clauses in arbitration and gave substantial support to the Opera House project, including setting up the Opera House Lottery. He died in 1959.

Robert Heffron

  • 1959 - 1964

Robert James Heffron (NSW Premier 1959 - 1964) was born in New Zealand in 1890 the son of a blacksmith. Early in his working life, he went to California and Alaska in search of gold. He returned to Australasia and became a Labor activist. In 1919 he joined the Victorian Socialist Party.
After moving to Sydney he became secretary of the Federated Marine Steward's Union. One of the key players in the anti Lang forces, during the 1930's he formed the Industrial Labor Party which contributed to the downfall of Jack Lang's leadership. He was elected Member for Heffron in 1930. A front runner for the premiership on McKell's retirement he was defeated by Jim McGirr and it was another ten years before he would become Premier.

Heffron did a tremendous amount to expand and advance the quality of education in NSW, during his time tertiary enrolments increased from 5,000 to 22,000. Highlights of his career include: formation of the University of Technology (later UNSW), formation of University of New England, payment of state aid to private schools, introduction of the TAB. He died in 1978.

Jack Renshaw

  • 1964 - 1965

John Brophy Renshaw (NSW Premier 1964-65) was born in 1909 at Welllington NSW where his father was a farmer. He was educated at Binnaway Central and at Holy Cross College Ryde. With his brothers he set up a stock and station agency and a butchery in Binnaway. He joined the Labor Party in 1930 and became the member for Castlereagh in 1941. From 1950 he held a variety of ministries, becoming Deputy Leader in 1959 and became Premier after Heffron's retirement. Labor lost the 1965 election.

Neville Wran

  • 1976-1986

Neville Kenneth Wran (NSW Premier 1976-1986) was born in Balmain in 1926, the son of a merchant seaman. The family moved to Five Dock when he was ten years old.

Wran attended Fort Street High School, studied law at the University of Sydney, practised as a solicitor, was called to the Bar in 1957 and made a QC in 1968. He joined the ALP in 1954.

In 1970, Wran entered the Legislative Council, and was elected Leader of the NSW Parliamentary Labor Party in 1973.

Wran's mastery of parliamentary debate and the electronic media brought a new energy and enthusiasm to NSW Labor. At the election of May 1976, Labor scraped into office by one seat, bringing to an end 11 years of Liberal-Country Party rule.

Wran's leadership gave NSW a decade of reform and social change, tempered by the McKell-style pragmatism characteristic of NSW Labor. That leadership led to stunning election wins in 1978 and 1981 (the so-called "Wranslides"), with another solid win in 1984.

In the crushing aftermath of the Dismissal, the Wran Government sustained Labor's morale and showed how the moderate-progressive Labor tradition could bring the Party long-term incumbency and the trust of the people. By 1983, Labor was in power federally and in every mainland State except Joh Bjelke-Petersen's gerrymandered Queensland.

The Wran record is impressive — Aboriginal land rights, new laws on anti-discrimination, equal opportunity and consumer protection, constitutional and electoral reform, new environment and planning rules, protection of the north-east forests, massive investments in public transport, construction of the Powerhouse Museum, the Wharf Theatre and Darling Harbour, and the revitalisation of the Macquarie Street heritage precinct, including the State Library extensions. And much more.

Wran retired undefeated as Premier in July 1986.

Barrie Unsworth

Barrie John Unsworth (NSW Premier 1986-1988) was born in 1934 at Dubbo and educated at Canterbury Junior High School and Kogarah Intermediate High School . An electrician, he became shop steward for the Electrical Trades Union at 21, beginning a progression through the ranks of the union movement.

Unsworth became Secretary of the NSW Labor Council in 1979, a position he held for five years. He was elected to the Legislative Council in 1978, and after the 1984 election he became Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council and Minister for Transport. He later became Minister for Health (February to July 1986).

On July 4, 1986 , Unsworth was sworn in as Premier and Minister for State Development after Neville Wran's resignation. He continued the program of reform begun by Wran, as well as new initiatives such as creation of the Judicial Commission and the Tangara train.

Regrettably, Labor was defeated at March 1988 election, due in part to Unsworth's vigorous and principled stand on gun laws.

Unsworth remained a senior member of Bob Carr's frontbench team until the 1991 election, successfully leading Labor's fight against the Greiner government's industrial relations policies.

Bob Carr

  • 1995- 2005

Robert John "Bob" Carr (Premier 1995-2005) was born in Sydney in 1947, the son of a train driver. Educated at Matraville High School, Carr joined the ALP at age 15.

He studied at the University of NSW and worked as a radio journalist with the ABC, Education Officer with the NSW Labor Council and as a journalist with The Bulletin.

Carr was elected Member for Maroubra at a by-election on October 22, 1983 , and became Minister for Planning and Environment in the Wran Government eleven months later. He took on the portfolio of Minister for Heritage in 1986.

After the defeat of the Unsworth Government in 1988, Carr was elected Leader of the NSW Parliamentary Labor Party. After seven years in Opposition, including a strong recovery in the 1991 election that made Greiner's a minority government, Labor was elected in March 1995.

Labor's return brought back a model of government McKell, Cahill and Wran before it, a blend of progressive reform and pragmatism, giving priority to sound economic management as the basis for employment growth and a healthy State budget.

Key achievements include the creation of 330 new national parks and reserves, staging the "best ever" Olympic Games, major educational reforms including a massive new investment in literacy and numeracy, reform of the School Certificate and HSC, an apology to the Stolen Generations, the innovative Drug Summit in 1999, new laws to protect migrant outworkers, the biggest reform to tort law in 70 years, and a massive infrastructure program.

The Carr Government was re-elected in a landslide in 1999, a result repeated in 2003.

In May 2005 Bob Carr became the State's longest continuous serving Premier of NSW. (Henry Parkes served longer — 12 years — but over five separate terms.)

Bob Carr retired as Premier in August 2005 after 17 years as leader of the NSW Parliamentary Labor Party, 10 of those years as Premier.


Morris Iemma

  • 3 August 2005 - current

Morris Iemma is the son of Italian migrants and was born in Sydney 1961. Morris was educated at Narwee Boys High School and joined the ALP at 16 years of age. Morris completed a Bachelor of Law degree at the University of Technology, Sydney and a Bachelor of Economics degree at the University of Sydney.

Morris and his wife Santina have four children – Clara Marie (born 1998), Matthew George (born 2000) and twins Joshua and Luca (born October 2003).

Morris Iemma served as the Member for Hurstville between 1991 and 1999, having won the marginal seat from the Liberal Party. Following the abolition of the seat of Hurstville in the electoral redistribution of 1998, Mr Iemma contested and won the neighbouring seat of Lakemba at the General Election held on 27 March, 1999 securing 74.7% of the vote. In the general election held March 22, 2003, Morris Iemma MP was again re-elected as Member for Lakemba with an increased margin to 78.0%

Between 1995 and March, 1999 he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, Bob Carr. Following the General Election of 1999, he was elected to the Ministry, and appointed Minister for Public Works and Services and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship. In November 2001 Morris Iemma was given the additional portfolio of Minister for Sport and Recreation.

On April 2, 2003, following the General Election of 22 March, 2003, Morris Iemma was appointed to the position of Minister for Health.

On August 3, 2005 Morris Iemma was sworn in as Premier of NSW following the retirement of Bob Carr.

In his inaugural statement as NSW Premier Morris Iemma committed himself to bringing an invigorated government to the people of NSW. As Premier Morris has committed himself to renewal in health, transport, infrastructure, social policy, industrial relations, and rural and regional NSW.


Labor Representation in the Federal Parliament

The Labor Party was formed as a federal party when the former colonies federated in 1901. (The term "Australian Labor Party" was adopted by the Commonwealth Conference in 1908.) The Party entered federal politics at the first Commonwealth elections of 1901, when 16 Labor members were elected to the House of Representatives and 8 to the Senate. Chris Watson, a Sydney printer and a former Member of NSW Parliament, was elected the first Leader of the Party.

In the first years of Labor in Parliament, the tariff issue dominated discussion, dividing the Free Traders, the Protectionists and the Labor Party. However, the Labor Party in Parliament was more coherent and better organised than the amorphous free trade and protection factions and its support was often decisive in pushing important measures through Parliament.

Australia 's first Labor Government took office in May 1904, with Watson as the first Labor Prime Minister. It was a minority government, which lasted for just over three months.

In the following years, the Labor Party mostly supported the protectionist policies of Alfred Deakin. In October 1907 Watson was succeeded as leader by Andrew Fisher, who formed the second Labor Government in October 1908, which lasted until June 1909.

At the elections of April 1910, Labor won a majority in both houses and for the first time was able to embark on a program of reform and innovation. This government was defeated in May 1913, but Labor won a subsequent double dissolution election in 1914. Fisher was elected Prime Minister once again, as Australia entered World War I. Fisher resigned to become Australian High Commissioner in London and W.M. Hughes became the Prime Minister.

Further Reading

Freudenberg, Graham: Cause for Power: The Official History of the

New South Wales Branch of the Australian Labor Party, Pluto Press, 1991.

Hagan, J & Turner K: A History of the Labor Party in NSW: 1891-1991, Longman Cheshire, 1991.

Markey, Raymond: The Making of the Labor Party in New South Wales 1880 - 1900 NSW University Press, 1988.

McMullin, Ross: The Light on the Hill, The Australian Labor Party 1891-1991, OUP, Australia , 1991

Hogan, M & Clune, D editors: The People's Choice - Electoral Politics in 20 th Century New South Wales, Parliament of NSW & University of Sydney 2001

Radi H, Spearritt P & Hinton E: Biographical Register of the New South Wales Parliament 1901-1970, ANU Press, 1979

  
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