Doug Anthony
Encyclopedia
John Douglas Anthony, AC
, CH
(born 31 December 1929), is a former Australian politician. He was leader of the National Party
from 1971 to 1984, and Deputy Prime Minister
from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1983.
in northern New South Wales
. He was the son of Hubert Lawrence "Larry" Anthony
, a well-known Country Party
politician. Doug Anthony was educated at The King's School in Sydney
and at an agricultural college in Queensland
. After graduating he took up dairy-farming near Murwillumbah. In 1957 he married Margot Budd, with whom he had three children: Dougald, Jane and Larry
.
in the Liberal
-Country Party coalition government led by Robert Menzies
, died suddenly, and Doug was elected to succeed his father in the Division of Richmond
in the House of Representatives
, aged 27. He was appointed Minister for the Interior
in 1964. In 1967 he became Minister for Primary Industry
. It was obvious that the Country Party leader, John McEwen
, was grooming Anthony to succeed him.
When McEwen retired in 1971, Anthony was duly chosen as his successor, becoming Minister for Trade and Industry
and Deputy Prime Minister
in the governments of John Gorton
and William McMahon
. He was a shrewd, attractive figure, with considerable public speaking skills, and many people would have preferred to see him, rather than the bumbling McMahon, as Prime Minister. Such was not to be, but he showed his tough streak within the cabinet when he forced McMahon to accede to the Country Party's demands on petrol prices and other issues which affected rural voters.
After McMahon's defeat in 1972
, Anthony was said to favour a policy of absolute opposition to the Labor
government of Gough Whitlam
. Despite this, the Country Party voted with the Labor Government on some bills, for example the 1973 expansion of state aid to under-privileged schools. He urged the Liberals to take a hard line against Whitlam thereafter, and welcomed his dismissal by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, in 1975. To broaden the appeal of his party beyond its declining rural base, he led its name change to the National Country Party, which began contesting urban seats in Queensland
and Western Australia
.
When the coalition parties were confirmed in power at the 1975 election
, Anthony again became Deputy Prime Minister, with the portfolios of Overseas Trade
and National Resources
(Trade and Resources from 1977). But with the dominating Malcolm Fraser
as Prime Minister, and the Liberals having a majority in their own right between 1975 and 1980, Anthony found that he did not have the same power he had possessed before the 1972 election. Even Fraser's near-defeat in 1980 did not significantly increase Anthony's cabinet standing.
After Fraser lost office in 1983, Anthony remained as party leader (now named the National Party) for less than a year. He resigned from Parliament in early 1984. By then, although still only 55, he was the Father of the House of Representatives. He returned to his farm near Murwillumbah and generally stayed out of politics. In 1996 his son Larry Anthony
won his father's old seat, creating the first three-generation dynasty in the House of Representatives.
In 1981 Anthony was appointed a Companion of Honour
(CH). In
2003 he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia
(AC) for service to the Australian Parliament, for forging the development of bi-lateral trade agreements, and for continued leadership and dedication to the social, educational, health and development needs of rural and regional communities.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, CH
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
(born 31 December 1929), is a former Australian politician. He was leader of the National Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
from 1971 to 1984, and Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. The Deputy Prime Ministership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1968, and the Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime...
from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1983.
Early life
Anthony was born in MurwillumbahMurwillumbah, New South Wales
Murwillumbah is a town of approximately 7,500 people in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia in the Tweed Shire. It lies on the Tweed River, 848 km north-east of Sydney, 13 km south of the Queensland border and 132 km south of Brisbane. At the 2006 census, Murwillumbah had a...
in northern New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. He was the son of Hubert Lawrence "Larry" Anthony
Hubert Lawrence Anthony
Hubert Lawrence "Larry" Anthony , Australian politician, founded the only three-generation dynasty in the history of the Australian House of Representatives....
, a well-known Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
politician. Doug Anthony was educated at The King's School in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and at an agricultural college in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. After graduating he took up dairy-farming near Murwillumbah. In 1957 he married Margot Budd, with whom he had three children: Dougald, Jane and Larry
Larry Anthony
Lawrence James "Larry" Anthony is a former Australianpolitician. He was a National Party of Australia member of theAustralian House of Representatives representing the Division of Richmond, New South Wales, from the March 1996 election until his defeat in the 2004 election...
.
Political career
In 1957 Larry Anthony sr., who was Postmaster-GeneralMinister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (Australia)
The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy is currently Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy. He replaced Senator the Hon Helen Coonan on 3 December 2007.-Portfolio:...
in the Liberal
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...
-Country Party coalition government led by Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, died suddenly, and Doug was elected to succeed his father in the Division of Richmond
Division of Richmond
The Division of Richmond is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the far north-east of the state, along the Pacific coast...
in 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....
, aged 27. He was appointed Minister for the Interior
Minister for Home Affairs (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Home Affairs has been Brendan O'Connor since 6 June 2009. The Home Affairs portfolio brings together agencies such as the Australian Customs Service , the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, which were previously the...
in 1964. In 1967 he became Minister for Primary Industry
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Australia)
The current Australian Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig.-Portfolio responsibilities:The minister administers his portfolio through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and its component bodies:...
. It was obvious that the Country Party leader, John McEwen
John McEwen
Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
, was grooming Anthony to succeed him.
When McEwen retired in 1971, Anthony was duly chosen as his successor, becoming Minister for Trade and Industry
Minister for Trade (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Trade has been Dr. Craig Emerson since 14 September 2010.-Portfolio:Currently the Minister for Trade administers the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade jointly with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, although prior to 1987 there was a separate Department of Trade...
and Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
The Deputy Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. The Deputy Prime Ministership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1968, and the Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime...
in the governments of John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
and William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
. He was a shrewd, attractive figure, with considerable public speaking skills, and many people would have preferred to see him, rather than the bumbling McMahon, as Prime Minister. Such was not to be, but he showed his tough streak within the cabinet when he forced McMahon to accede to the Country Party's demands on petrol prices and other issues which affected rural voters.
After McMahon's defeat in 1972
Australian federal election, 1972
Federal elections were held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The Liberal Party of Australia had been in power since 1949, under Prime Minister of Australia William McMahon since March 1971 with coalition partner the Country Party...
, Anthony was said to favour a policy of absolute opposition to 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...
government of 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...
. Despite this, the Country Party voted with the Labor Government on some bills, for example the 1973 expansion of state aid to under-privileged schools. He urged the Liberals to take a hard line against Whitlam thereafter, and welcomed his dismissal by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, in 1975. To broaden the appeal of his party beyond its declining rural base, he led its name change to the National Country Party, which began contesting urban seats in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
When the coalition parties were confirmed in power at the 1975 election
Australian federal election, 1975
Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election following a double dissolution of both Houses....
, Anthony again became Deputy Prime Minister, with the portfolios of Overseas Trade
Minister for Trade (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Trade has been Dr. Craig Emerson since 14 September 2010.-Portfolio:Currently the Minister for Trade administers the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade jointly with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, although prior to 1987 there was a separate Department of Trade...
and National Resources
Minister for Resources and Energy (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Resources and Energy is Martin Ferguson, appointed on 3 December 2007. The Minister administers his portfolios through the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism.-List of Ministers for Resources:...
(Trade and Resources from 1977). But with the dominating Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm 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...
as Prime Minister, and the Liberals having a majority in their own right between 1975 and 1980, Anthony found that he did not have the same power he had possessed before the 1972 election. Even Fraser's near-defeat in 1980 did not significantly increase Anthony's cabinet standing.
After Fraser lost office in 1983, Anthony remained as party leader (now named the National Party) for less than a year. He resigned from Parliament in early 1984. By then, although still only 55, he was the Father of the House of Representatives. He returned to his farm near Murwillumbah and generally stayed out of politics. In 1996 his son Larry Anthony
Larry Anthony
Lawrence James "Larry" Anthony is a former Australianpolitician. He was a National Party of Australia member of theAustralian House of Representatives representing the Division of Richmond, New South Wales, from the March 1996 election until his defeat in the 2004 election...
won his father's old seat, creating the first three-generation dynasty in the House of Representatives.
In 1981 Anthony was appointed a Companion of Honour
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
(CH). In
2003 he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AC) for service to the Australian Parliament, for forging the development of bi-lateral trade agreements, and for continued leadership and dedication to the social, educational, health and development needs of rural and regional communities.