Richard Court
Encyclopedia
Richard Fairfax Court AC
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"...

 (born Nedlands
Nedlands, Western Australia
The City of Nedlands is a Local Government Area in the inner western suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, located about west of Perth's central business district...

, 27 September 1947), was a 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...

n politician, representing the seat of Nedlands
Electoral district of Nedlands
The Electoral district of Nedlands is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. Nedlands is named for the inner western Perth suburb of Nedlands which falls within its borders.-History:...

 in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....

 for the Liberal Party of Australia
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...

 from 1982 to 2001. He served as Premier of Western Australia
Premier of Western Australia
The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...

 from 1993 to 2001.

Court was born into an old political family. His father, Sir Charles Court
Charles Court
Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, was a Western Australian politician, 21st Premier of Western Australia and member for the seat of Nedlands for the Liberal Party for nearly 30 years.-Early life:...

, was the previous member for Nedlands (1953–1982) and served as Premier from 1974 to 1982. His older brother Barry Court was president of the Pastoralists' and Graziers' Association, married Margaret Court, and became President of 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...

 of Western Australia in March 2008.

Education

Richard Court was educated at Hale School
Hale School
Hale School is a selective, independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia....

 and graduated from 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...

 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1968. He subsequently spent a year as a management trainee at Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and on his return to Western Australia, operated a number of businesses including food retailing and the manufacture, wholesale and retail of marine and boating equipment.

Political career

In March 1982, at a by-election
Nedlands state by-election, 1982
The Nedlands state by-election, 1982 was a by-election held on 13 March 1982 for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Nedlands in the western suburbs of Perth....

 upon the retirement of his father from politics, Court was elected to represent Nedlands
Electoral district of Nedlands
The Electoral district of Nedlands is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. Nedlands is named for the inner western Perth suburb of Nedlands which falls within its borders.-History:...

 in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....

 for the Liberal Party of Australia
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...

. His time as a government backbencher was short-lived, however, as the opposition Australian 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...

 and its charismatic leader, Brian Burke
Brian Burke
Brian Thomas Burke was Labor premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1983 until his resignation on 25 February 1988...

, won the 1983 state election
Western Australian state election, 1983
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 19 February 1983 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and 18 members to the 34-seat Legislative Council....

. Court was elevated to the shadow frontbench in 1984, serving as the opposition spokesman for Resources and Industrial Development, Mines and Aboriginal Affairs. He became deputy leader of the Liberal Party in September 1987, serving under Barry MacKinnon, and became leader in 1992.

In February 1993, a state election
Western Australian state election, 1993
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 6 February 1993 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council...

 brought the Liberal Party and their coalition partner, the Nationals
National Party of Western Australia
The National Party of Western Australia is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity....

, to power with a stable majority following revelations from the WA Inc
WA Inc
WA Inc was a political scandal in Western Australia. In the 1980s, the state government, which was led for much of the period by premier Brian Burke, engaged in business dealings with several prominent businessmen, including Alan Bond, Laurie Connell and Warren Anderson...

 royal commission examining deals made with businessmen such as Alan Bond
Alan Bond (businessman)
Alan Bond is an Australian businessman noted for his criminal convictions and high-profile business dealings, including what was at the time the biggest corporate collapse in Australian history. Bond was born in the Hammersmith district of London, England, and emigrated to Australia with his...

 and Laurie Connell
Laurie Connell
Laurie Connell was a Western Australian business entrepreneur. He was well known for his dealings with the Government of Western Australia and his close relationship with the then Premier of Western Australia, Brian Burke, during the WA Inc period in the mid to late 1980s as chairman of the...

 by Labor governments during the 1980s.

The Court government was comfortably re-elected in 1996. However, its popularity suffered in his second term as Premier due to scandals, including deals made between the government and the Premier's brother, Ken Court, as well as the finance broking scandal, where many elderly investors lost their savings and an inquiry found the Government ineffective and inefficient in managing the industry. Also important was the continued logging of old growth forests in the South West of Western Australia. A rejuvenated Labor Party, led since 1996 by Dr Geoff Gallop
Geoff Gallop
Geoffrey Ian Gallop, AC is an Australian academic and former politician. He was the Premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. He currently resides in Sydney.-Early life and education:...

, won the state election
Western Australian state election, 2001
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 10 February 2001 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council...

 on 10 February 2001 on a 13-seat, 7.07% swing — a shift in voter sympathies not seen since the 1911 state election
Western Australian state election, 1911
Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 3 October 1911 to elect 50 members to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. The Labor party, led by Opposition Leader John Scaddan, defeated the conservative Ministerialist government led by Premier Frank Wilson...

.

Departure from politics

On 14 February, Court defied media predictions of his resignation by announcing he would stay for up to eight years.
He refused to endorse his long-serving deputy leader, Colin Barnett
Colin Barnett
Colin James Barnett , Australian politician, is the leader of the Western Australian Liberal Party, the 29th and current Premier of Western Australia since the 2008 election and served as the Treasurer of Western Australia in 2010. He was sworn into office by Governor Ken Michael on 23 September 2008...

, to continue in the role, even though other well-known contenders had lost their seats at the election. Political commentator Matt Price
Matt Price
Matt Price was a Western Australian journalist and newspaper columnist. He was educated at Newman College, Churchands and the University of Western Australia, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1984...

 described the decision to stay on as "insanity", although allowed for the possibility Court's main reason for staying on was to thwart the plans of his "barely tolerated deputy" by buying time for another contender. Initially, Barnett did not nominate for any position ahead of the 21 February party-room ballot, but on 19 February, announced he would stand against Court for the leadership, saying that party renewal was necessary. On the morning of the ballot, Liberal MPs and the public learned of a "reported backroom deal" brokered by Western Australian party president David Johnston
David Johnston (politician)
David Albert Lloyd Johnston , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate since July 2002, representing the state of Western Australia. Johnston was born in Perth and was educated at University of Western Australia, where he graduated in law...

 whereby Barnett would be offered the safe federal seat of Curtin
Division of Curtin
The Division of Curtin is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. The division was created in 1949 and is named for John Curtin, who was Prime Minister of Australia 1941-45. It is located in the wealthy beachside suburbs of Perth, including Claremont, Cottesloe, Mosman Park,...

, Julie Bishop
Julie Bishop
Julie Isabel Bishop is an Australian politician and the current Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia. She holds this title as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. She is the party's first female Deputy Leader and the third woman in Australian history to...

 would contest either the resulting by-election in Cottesloe
Electoral district of Cottesloe
The Electoral district of Cottesloe is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. Cottesloe is named for the western Perth suburb of Cottesloe which falls within its borders.-History:...

 or that in Court's seat of Nedlands
Electoral district of Nedlands
The Electoral district of Nedlands is a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Western Australia. Nedlands is named for the inner western Perth suburb of Nedlands which falls within its borders.-History:...

 (both of which were within Curtin's boundaries), and Court would hand over the party leadership to Bishop. The plan was announced on the front page of The West Australian
The West Australian
The West Australian is the only locally-edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia, and is owned by ASX-listed Seven West Media . The West is published in tabloid format, as is the state's other major newspaper, The Sunday Times, a News Limited publication...

 in a story by editor Brian Rogers, which reported that Barnett had been "sounded out about the plan". However, Barnett stated he "choked on his Weet-Bix
Weet-Bix
Weet-Bix is a high-fibre breakfast biscuit manufactured in Australia and New Zealand by the Sanitarium Health Food Company, and in South Africa by Bokomo....

" as he read details of the plan in the newspaper, describing it as "an act of treachery". Many other Liberal MPs had also not heard of the plan before the story. Despite this, Court won the ballot 17–13 against Barnett during a four-hour party-room meeting, with Dan Sullivan
Dan Sullivan (politician)
Daniel "Dan" Frank Barron-Sullivan is an Australian former politician.-Political career:He was a Liberal member and later an independent member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Mitchell now known as the electorate of Leschenault from December 1996 to...

 being elected as his deputy. By 23 February, the plan had to be scrapped when Bishop, who had never formally committed to the plan, rejected it. Court was then forced to resign the next day as opposition leader, and did not contest the resulting party-room ballot at which Barnett was elected to the leadership.

Post-political life

On 9 June 2003 Richard Court was awarded the 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"...

, entitling the awardee to the postnominal letters AC
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"...

. In conferring the award, it was cited "for service to the Western Australian Parliament and to the community, particularly the Indigenous community, and in the areas of child health research and cultural heritage and to economic development through negotiating major resource projects including the export of gas to China furthering the interests of the nation as a whole."
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