Billy Snedden
Encyclopedia
Sir Billy Mackie Snedden, KCMG, QC
(31 December 192627 June 1987) was an Australian politician representing the Liberal Party
. He was Leader of the Opposition at the 1974 federal election
, failing to defeat the Labor
incumbent Gough Whitlam
.
, the son of a stonemason, Billy Snedden was educated at Highgate Primary School, Perth Boys School and Perth Technical College. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force
in 1945. After the war he was discharged and attended the University of Western Australia
, where he completed a law degree in 1950. He was admitted to the bar in 1951. In 1950 Snedden married Joy Forsyth, with whom he had four children. During this time he stood once for the Western Australian state Parliament and twice for the House of Representatives
.
. In 1965 Prime Minister Robert Menzies
appointed him Attorney-General
. He was Minister for Immigration
1966–69, and Minister for Labour and National Service
1969–71, a difficult job which put him in charge of the government's highly unpopular policy of conscription
for the Vietnam War
. In 1967, following the death of Harold Holt
, he was a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party, but his candidacy was not taken very seriously.
by William McMahon
, and was elected Liberal Deputy Leader, making him the heir apparent to the leadership. When McMahon was defeated by the Labor Party
under Gough Whitlam
in 1972, Snedden was duly elected Liberal leader. Snedden promised a new and more "liberal" Liberal Party, but he suffered from his continuing image as a light-weight, and many Liberals believed he would never defeat Whitlam.
Snedden allowed himself to be persuaded to use the conservative majority in the Senate
to block the Whitlam government's budget in 1974. Whitlam promptly called a double dissolution
election for 18 May
, at which he was returned to office, albeit with a reduced majority. Labor campaigned on the Slogan "Oh no, not Snedden!". Snedden exposed himself to ridicule by refusing to formally concede defeat, insisting at a press conference that "while we didn't win, we didn't lose either."
, challenged Snedden's leadership, but he was narrowly re-elected. When he failed to make any headway against Whitlam, Fraser mounted a second challenge, and Snedden was deposed in March 1975, becoming the first leader of the Liberal Party not to gain the Prime Ministership. He retired to the backbench until February 1976, when Fraser supported his election as Speaker of the House
.
to retract an allegation that Fraser was a liar. Fraser was furious but could not be seen to be attacking the Speaker.
and heart disease
.
On 27 June 1987, just hours after attending John Howard
's election campaign launch, Snedden suffered a fatal heart attack at the Travelodge at Rushcutters Bay, Sydney, while having sex with his son Drew Snedden's ex-girlfriend. Melbourne newspaper The Truth
headlined its report "Snedden died on the job", while the Sydney Morning Herald
reported that Snedden was wearing a condom and that "it was loaded".
He was Chairman of the Melbourne Football Club
from 1981 to 1986, later a director of the Victorian Football League
and also Patron of the Professional Boxing Association of Australia.
His daughter Fiona Snedden was elected to the Melbourne City Council
in 2004 after an unsuccessful candidature for the Liberal Party in the seat of Melbourne Ports
in the 1998 federal election. She stood for re-election in 2008 but lost her seat.
of the Order of St Michael and St George
(KCMG) in January 1978. He was appointed a Privy Councillor in 1972.
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(31 December 192627 June 1987) was an Australian politician representing the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
. He was Leader of the Opposition at the 1974 federal election
Australian federal election, 1974
Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution...
, failing to defeat the Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
incumbent Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
.
Early life
Born in PerthPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, the son of a stonemason, Billy Snedden was educated at Highgate Primary School, Perth Boys School and Perth Technical College. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
in 1945. After the war he was discharged and attended the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
, where he completed a law degree in 1950. He was admitted to the bar in 1951. In 1950 Snedden married Joy Forsyth, with whom he had four children. During this time he stood once for the Western Australian state Parliament and twice for the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
.
Political career
In 1954 he moved to Melbourne, where he practised law until he was elected to the House of Representatives for the outer suburban seat of BruceDivision of Bruce
The Division of Bruce is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1955 and is named for Stanley Bruce, who was Prime Minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne...
. In 1965 Prime Minister Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
appointed him Attorney-General
Attorney-General of Australia
The Attorney-General of Australia is the first law officer of the Crown, chief law officer of the Commonwealth of Australia and a minister of the Crown. The Attorney-General is usually a member of the Federal Cabinet, but there is no constitutional requirement that this be the case since the...
. He was Minister for Immigration
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (Australia)
In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is responsible for overseeing the Department of Immigration and Citizenship....
1966–69, and Minister for Labour and National Service
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations is currently the Hon Senator Chris Evans.The Minister administers this portfolio, through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations....
1969–71, a difficult job which put him in charge of the government's highly unpopular policy of conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
for the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. In 1967, following the death of Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
, he was a candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party, but his candidacy was not taken very seriously.
Rise to the Liberal leadership
In 1971, however, Snedden was appointed TreasurerTreasurer of Australia
The Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...
by William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
, and was elected Liberal Deputy Leader, making him the heir apparent to the leadership. When McMahon was defeated by the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
under Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
in 1972, Snedden was duly elected Liberal leader. Snedden promised a new and more "liberal" Liberal Party, but he suffered from his continuing image as a light-weight, and many Liberals believed he would never defeat Whitlam.
Snedden allowed himself to be persuaded to use the conservative majority in the Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
to block the Whitlam government's budget in 1974. Whitlam promptly called a double dissolution
Double dissolution
A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks between the House of Representatives and the Senate....
election for 18 May
Australian federal election, 1974
Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution...
, at which he was returned to office, albeit with a reduced majority. Labor campaigned on the Slogan "Oh no, not Snedden!". Snedden exposed himself to ridicule by refusing to formally concede defeat, insisting at a press conference that "while we didn't win, we didn't lose either."
Leadership challenge by Malcolm Fraser
After the election the conservative wing of the Liberal Party, led by Malcolm FraserMalcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
, challenged Snedden's leadership, but he was narrowly re-elected. When he failed to make any headway against Whitlam, Fraser mounted a second challenge, and Snedden was deposed in March 1975, becoming the first leader of the Liberal Party not to gain the Prime Ministership. He retired to the backbench until February 1976, when Fraser supported his election as Speaker of the House
Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The presiding officer in the upper house is the President of the Senate....
.
Speaker of the House
Snedden filled the role of Speaker with dignity, although some members found what they saw as his pomposity rather tiresome. He was knighted early in his term of office (January 1978). He was the last Australian Speaker to wear the full regalia of full-bottomed wig and robes inherited from the UK House of Commons. In 1982, he had revenge of sorts on Fraser when he refused to insist a Labor frontbencher, Bob HawkeBob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
to retract an allegation that Fraser was a liar. Fraser was furious but could not be seen to be attacking the Speaker.
Later life
When the Fraser government was defeated by Hawke in 1983, Snedden immediately resigned from Parliament. He separated from his wife and withdrew from public life as his health declined from atherosclerosisAtherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a condition in which an artery wall thickens as a result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as cholesterol...
and heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
.
On 27 June 1987, just hours after attending John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
's election campaign launch, Snedden suffered a fatal heart attack at the Travelodge at Rushcutters Bay, Sydney, while having sex with his son Drew Snedden's ex-girlfriend. Melbourne newspaper The Truth
The Truth (newspaper)
The Truth was a Melbourne tabloid newspaper established in 1902 as a subsidiary of the Sydney Truth, established in 1890.In its early years its politics was very much left-leaning, and it painted itself as the voice of the working class. Before 1945 it had a style of journalism that was high...
headlined its report "Snedden died on the job", while the Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
reported that Snedden was wearing a condom and that "it was loaded".
He was Chairman of the Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
from 1981 to 1986, later a director of the Victorian Football League
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
and also Patron of the Professional Boxing Association of Australia.
His daughter Fiona Snedden was elected to the Melbourne City Council
City of Melbourne
The City of Melbourne is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. The city has an area of 36 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 93,105 people. The city's motto is "Vires acquirit eundo" which means "She gathers strength as she...
in 2004 after an unsuccessful candidature for the Liberal Party in the seat of Melbourne Ports
Division of Melbourne Ports
The Division of Melbourne Ports is an Australian federal electoral division in the inner south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
in the 1998 federal election. She stood for re-election in 2008 but lost her seat.
Honours
Snedden was appointed a Knight CommanderKnight Commander
Knight Commander is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant . The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the recipient to use the title 'Sir' or 'Dame' before his or her name...
of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(KCMG) in January 1978. He was appointed a Privy Councillor in 1972.