The Gair Ministry was a ministry of the Government of Queensland and was led by Labor Premier Vince Gair. It succeeded the Hanlon Ministry on 17 January 1952 following Ned Hanlon's death two days earlier. On 26 April 1957, Gair and most of the Ministry were expelled from the Labor Party and formed the Queensland Labor Party (QLP), retaining the ministry but losing the confidence of the Assembly. The ministry was followed by the Nicklin Ministry on 12 August 1957 following the defeat of both Labor and the QLP at the resulting election.
First ministry
editOn 17 January 1952, the Governor, Sir John Lavarack, designated 11 principal executive offices of the Government, appointed former minister Ted Walsh to the Executive Council to fill the vacancy left by Hanlon's death, and appointed the following Members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland to the Ministry as follows. The initial form of the Ministry was almost unchanged from its predecessor.
| Office | Minister |
|---|---|
| Vince Gair | |
| Tom Foley | |
| Secretary for Agriculture and Stock | Harold Collins |
| Attorney-General | James Larcombe (until 10 March 1952) |
| Secretary for Labour and Industry | Arthur Jones |
| Minister for Transport | Jack Duggan |
|
(until 10 March 1952:) (from 10 March 1952:) |
William Power |
| Secretary for Public Instruction | George Devries |
| Bill Moore | |
|
Secretary for Public Works |
Paul Hilton |
| Treasurer | Ted Walsh |
| Ernest Riordan (from 10 March 1952) |
Second ministry
editOn 16 March 1953, the Governor, Sir John Lavarack, designated 11 principal executive offices of the Government and appointed the following Members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland to the Ministry as follows. No portfolios changed although the ordering did — it had the effect of promoting Jack Duggan and Ted Walsh.
| Office | Minister |
|---|---|
| Vince Gair | |
| Jack Duggan | |
| Tom Foley | |
| Treasurer | Ted Walsh |
| Secretary for Agriculture and Stock | Harold Collins |
| Secretary for Labour and Industry | Arthur Jones |
| Bill Moore | |
| Attorney-General | William Power |
| Paul Hilton | |
| Secretary for Public Instruction | George Devries |
| Ernest Riordan (until 9 December 1954) | |
| Colin McCathie (from 22 December 1954) |
Third ministry
editOn 28 May 1956, the Governor, Sir John Lavarack, designated 11 principal executive offices of the Government and appointed the following Members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland to the Ministry as follows. It represented a reshuffle of the Ministry, with some portfolios being transferred and Foley being demoted. Foley left the ministry just over two weeks later following the verdict of a royal commission into land leases which found him guilty of three counts of corrupt conduct.
On 18 April 1957, the Queensland Central Executive of the Labor Party passed a vote of no confidence in Premier Gair, and on 24 April, despite having gained a unanimous vote of support from the Cabinet, he was expelled from the Labor Party. On 26 April, Gair convened a meeting of 25 MLAs, including all of the Cabinet except Deputy Premier Jack Duggan and two ex-Labor Independents, and formed the Queensland Labor Party with those present. All these were also expelled from the party. Duggan resigned from the ministry on 29 April and became leader of the Labor Party — Thomas Moores was sworn in to replace him on 7 May. On 13 June, following denial of supply in parliament, an election was called for 3 August, at which the Government and the Labor Party were defeated by the Country-Liberal coalition led by Frank Nicklin. The ministry was succeeded by the Nicklin Ministry on 12 August 1957.
| Office | Minister |
|---|---|
| Vince Gair | |
| Jack Duggan (until 29 April 1957) | |
|
Treasurer |
Ted Walsh |
| Secretary for Agriculture and Stock | Harold Collins |
| Secretary for Labour and Industry | Arthur Jones |
| Bill Moore | |
| Attorney-General | William Power |
| Secretary for Public Lands and Irrigation | Paul Hilton |
| Secretary for Mines | Tom Foley (until 14 June 1956) |
|
Secretary for Public Instruction (until 22 June 1956) |
George Devries (until 13 July 1957) |
|
Secretary for Public Works |
Colin McCathie |
| Secretary for Public Instruction | Les Diplock (from 22 June 1956) |
| Minister for Transport | Thomas Moores (from 7 May 1957) |
Notes
editReferences
edit- "Proclamation". Queensland Government Gazette. 17 January 1952. p. 179:71–72.
- "Proclamation". Queensland Government Gazette. 16 March 1953. p. 182:919–920.
- "Proclamation". Queensland Government Gazette. 28 May 1956. p. 192:612.
- "Proclamation". Queensland Government Gazette. 7 May 1957. p. 195:81–82.
- Parliament of Queensland (2009). Alphabetical Register of Members of the Legislative Assembly 1860-2009 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
- Morrison, A. A. (November 1957). "Australian Political Chronicle: January–June 1957". Australian Journal of Politics and History. 3 (1): 103–109. ISSN 0004-9522.