James Scullin
James Scullin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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9th Prime Minister of Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 22 October 1929 – 6 January 1932 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Monarch | George V | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Governors General | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deputy | Ted Theodore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Stanley Bruce | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Joseph Lyons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leader of the Opposition | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 6 January 1932 – 1 October 1935 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister | Joseph Lyons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deputy | Frank Forde | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Joseph Lyons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | John Curtin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 29 March 1928 – 22 October 1929 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister | Stanley Bruce | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deputy | Arthur Blakeley Ted Theodore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Matthew Charlton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | John Latham | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leader of the Labor Party | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 26 April 1928 – 1 October 1935 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deputy |
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Preceded by | Matthew Charlton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | John Curtin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 17 March 1927 – 29 March 1928 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leader | Matthew Charlton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Albert Gardiner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Arthur Blakeley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | James Henry Scullin 18 September 1876 Trawalla, Colony of Victoria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 28 January 1953 Melbourne, Australia | (aged 76)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Resting place | Melbourne General Cemetery | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Labor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Education | Mount Rowan State School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation |
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James Henry Scullin (18 September 1876 – 28 January 1953) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the ninth
The son of working-class Irish-immigrants, Scullin spent much of his early life as a laborer and grocer in
After Scullin won a
With the prospect of bankruptcy facing the government, Scullin backed down and instead advanced the Premiers' Plan, a far more conservative measure that met the crisis with severe cutbacks in government spending. Pensioners and other core Labor constituencies were severely affected by the cuts, leading to a widespread revolt and multiple defections in parliament. After several months of infighting the government collapsed, and was resoundingly defeated by the newly formed United Australia Party at the subsequent 1931 election.
Scullin would remain party leader for four more years, losing the 1934 election but the party split would not be healed until after Scullin's return to the
Early life
Scullin was born in
The family moved to Mount Rowan,
Scullin became active in politics during his years in Ballarat, being influenced by the ideas of
On 11 November 1907 he married Sarah Maria McNamara, a dressmaker from Ballarat.[12] The marriage was childless. Due to Scullin's frequent and often serious bouts of illness over his long career, Sarah served the role as her husband's protector and was a crucial source of support and care for her husband, particularly in his final years.[13] She was frequently called to assist or stand in for her husband at social occasions when her husband's illness prevented him from attending personally.[14] She was an active member of the Labor Party herself, and would remain well-informed on politics. Very unusually among Australian political spouses (and even more so during the period of her husband's career), Sarah would often attend parliamentary sessions, and would even be present during the debate and vote that brought her husband's government down.[15]
Political career
In
After defeat Scullin was appointed as editor of the Evening Echo, a daily newspaper owned by the Australian Workers Union in
The death of federal Labor leader Frank Tudor left a vacancy in the very safe urban seat of the Division of Yarra in Melbourne. Scullin handily won Labor preselection over several other candidates, and in February 1922 he took the seat at the ensuing 1922 Yarra by-election with more than three-quarters of the vote.[23] With his win, he and his family to relocated to Richmond, away from his long-time home of Ballarat, and to an electorate completely different in character to his earlier seat of Corangamite. However his new proximity to the Federal parliament (still located in Melbourne) and representation of a safe seat afforded many more political opportunities and freedoms, and soon Scullin was a prominent figure on the Labor campaign trail and appearing at events around the country. In these years Scullin's renown increased considerably within the party and the nation at large. He became one of the leading lights of the parliamentary opposition, and was quickly elevated to the Australian Labor Party National Executive in February 1923.[24]
During his years as an opposition
Leader of the Opposition
As Deputy Leader, Scullin excelled in taking the case to the government. Throughout 1927 Scullin earned particular acclaim in keeping the ageing Bruce government to account on economic and financial matters. A series of speeches by Scullin that year on the Government's mishandling of the economy, and the generally dangerous trajectory of Commonwealth financial policy, predicted catastrophe. He accused the government of spending too much, borrowing too much from overseas sources, and not rectifying a worrying excess of imports over exports: a three-part recipe for disaster. This alarming analysis of the Australian economy would prove to be correct within three years, however relatively few paid attention to Scullin's warning at the time, nor the prescient 1927 volume The Boom of 1890 – And Now by E.O.G. Shann, on which Scullin based many of his arguments.[26]
In March 1928, Matthew Charlton resigned as federal Labor leader and was replaced by Scullin in a unanimous motion, although some had their eye on newcomer Ted Theodore as a more promising replacement. The ensuing contest over the position of Deputy Leader saw Theodore denied once again in a close vote, foreshadowing some of the future controversy he would stir up within the party under Scullin.[27]
Scullin led Labor at the 1928 election. He visited widely around the country, and made especial focus on Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland – states where the Labor party's fortunes had greatly declined in previous years. Scullin was well received and made ground in these areas, as well as in rural districts to counteract the increasingly urban nature of Labor. Labor managed to take eight seats, significantly reducing the Coalition's previously large majority. This was due to a swing against the government rather than a swing towards Labor, but was still enough to put Labor within striking distance of winning the next election. Although Labor came up well short of forming government, the campaign was viewed as a success and Scullin's reputation remained intact as leader.
1929 was dogged by industrial disputes, the worst of which occurred within the waterfront, timber and coalmining sectors. The Bruce government struggled to manage these episodes – its proposal by
Prime Minister
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Term of government (1929–1932) Ministries
Elections |
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Scullin came to Canberra amid rapturous applause from his supporters and the largest majority that Labor had ever won at the time. However, the party had many diverse interests and factions within it, ranging from metropolitan socialist radicals to rural professional politicians. The
But the government's attention would soon shift to the economy. On the very day Scullin arrived in Canberra after the
Scullin's government faced significant limitations on its power to implement its response to the economic crisis. There had been no half-Senate election in 1929, meaning that the
Crisis and deadlock
Ongoing industrial disputes on the coalfields of the
Heavily indebted and with conditions worsening, Scullin and Theodore took many novel steps in an attempt to turn the economy around. Appeals were made, both to the Australian public and on overseas markets, to bolster confidence and boost government bond subscriptions. A "Grow More Wheat" campaign was launched in 1930 to encourage farmers to plant a record crop and attempt to improve Australia's serious
Tarred with the political scandal, the budget, which raised taxes, cut spending and still did not deliver a surplus, was very unpopular with all sections of the community.[33] What is more, the budget proved overly optimistic as Australian revenues continued to plunge and the deficit rose. By August 1930, crisis meetings were held in which Sir Robert Gibson and Sir Otto Niemeyer were demanding further economies in Commonwealth spending. Niemeyer, a representative of the Bank of England, had arrived in Australia to inspect financial conditions on behalf of creditors and had a grim report – that "Australian credit is at a low ebb...lower than that of any of the other dominions" and that without drastic steps default and financial collapse was assured.[34] Gibson agreed, and as Chairman of the Commonwealth Bank Board had the power to deny the Australian government loans to finance the budget unless more cuts were made by both the national and state governments. After meeting with Scullin and state premiers, the 'Melbourne Agreement' was reluctantly struck in which further major spending cuts were agreed to, although opposed by a significant minority of Scullin's party.[35]
In the heat of this crisis, matters were made worse still by Scullin's decision to travel to London to seek an emergency loan and to attend the
Internal divisions and the Theodore Plan
Returning to Australia in 1931, Scullin was faced with a party now deeply divided over how to respond to the Depression. Jack Lang had won election as Premier of New South Wales and had become a leading alternative voice within Labor, advocating radical measures including repudiation of interest on debts to Britain and printing money to pay for public works programs to relieve unemployment and inflate the currency. The NSW contingent in Federal parliament was sympathetic to Lang's views and had become disillusioned with Scullin's leadership and his compromises with conservative interests. At the first meeting of cabinet upon his return, Scullin made things worse by reappointing Theodore as treasurer, despite his name not having been yet cleared over the Mungana Affair. Although arguably Theodore was the most competent man available to implement Scullin's economic program, Lyons and Fenton (as well as several others) were strongly opposed and resigned from the cabinet in protest. Making matters worse, Theodore had become a fierce personal rival of Lang within the New South Wales branch, and his return as treasurer further isolated radical elements of the party. At the same time, the economy had continued to decline and unemployment had soared, with most of the government measures designed to combat the crisis still in limbo due to opposition either from the Senate or refusal of funding by the Commonwealth Bank.[36]
In February Scullin and Theodore presented a comprehensive plan at a conference of the state premiers that attempted to straddle both orthodox and radical approaches. While maintaining heavy budgetary cuts, it also planned to provide economic stimulus to help the unemployed and farmers, as well as repaying short-term debts and overdrafts held by British banks. This would require substantial further funds to be advanced by the Commonwealth Bank, however Gibson soon made it clear he would not do so unless significant cuts to social spending (particularly pensions) was also implemented. Scullin refused, instead planning to pay for the plan through the expanding the note issue. This 'Theodore Plan' was approved by narrow majorities of the state premiers and then the parliamentary party. However, Jack Lang rejected the plan, stating instead that Australia should default on its British debts until more equitable repayment terms were agreed to. Lyons and the conservatives within the party were horrified, as were the Opposition, seeing note issue as a sure path to hyperinflation and complete economic ruin.[37]
In March matters came to a head. The
Premiers' Plan and downfall
Now May, with unemployment at 27.6% widespread suffering across much of the population, Scullin called another conference of the state premiers to try and forge a new deal, now resigned to the fact that compromise with the Opposition was inevitable if any plan could be implemented. A new orthodox plan calling for 20% reductions in spending across the board for all governments was struck, and such cuts to also apply to social welfare spending. Combined with a mass loan conversion that would reduce the interest rates paid on
Traumatic as it was, the government finally now was implementing an economic plan, and things began to improve. Domestic confidence, and confidence in the British loan market, began to recover and default was averted. Voluntary acceptance of lower bond rates on government debt had been extremely successful in a patriotic campaign, wool and wheat prices finally began to rise, and government finances at both Commonwealth and state level were largely under control by October. But with unemployment still rising (it would not peak until 1932), Scullin still faced disillusionment from many within his party, and further gains in ground by Lang. Lang felt threatened by the apparent success of the Premier's Plan though, and renewed talks of unity between the factions had appeared with the improvement of economic conditions. Lang Labor subsequently forced a showdown with the Scullin government in November. With allegations arising that Theodore had abused his position as treasurer to buy support in New South Wales away from the Lang faction, Beasley and his followers called for a royal commission into the charges. Scullin refused. To the surprise of many observers, the Beasley group crossed the floor to join the Opposition, thereby defeating the government. A snap poll, the 1931 election, was called. Scullin for the first time in Australian politics made heavy use of the radio to reach voters.[39] The campaign was one of the shortest in history, but with open warfare between pro-Lang and pro-Scullin forces in Victoria and New South Wales, and much of the country still facing hardship and grievances against the government, a Labor defeat was virtually assured. Labor was defeated in a massive landslide.[40] The official Labor Party was reduced to a mere 14 seats[40] (Lang Labor won another 4), and Lyons became Prime Minister. However, Scullin was not held responsible for the debacle and stayed on as Labor leader. To date, it is the last time that a sitting Australian government has been defeated after a single term.[41]
Later career
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2018) |
The heavy task of leading the country through the brunt of the depression, beset as he was by many enemies and few friends, left deep marks on Scullin's character. As one Country Party parliamentarian observed, "the great burden that was imposed upon him then almost killed him".
Scullin markedly declined in vigor for his role as
Curtin became Prime Minister in 1941 after two independents joined Labor in voting down the government's budget. Curtin came to rely on Scullin greatly for his counsel. Scullin took no portfolio nor played any part in military strategy or much of the overall war effort, except where finance was concerned. However, he was given the office between Curtin and Treasurer
Ill-health continued to return in bouts, but Scullin remained active if subdued in parliament after Curtin's death and Chifley's succession in 1945. He continued to be influential in fiscal and taxation matters, and the impact of his experience was still occasionally felt in Chifley-era legislation. However his health declined significantly in 1947, and he did not appear in parliament again after June of that year, announcing he would retire at the 1949 election.
Death and funeral
Scullin was frequently bedridden in these last 18 months, and unable to attend many gatherings. His condition deteriorated further after retirement, suffering cardio-
Scullin died in his sleep on 28 January 1953 in Hawthorn, Melbourne
Legacy
Scullin had defended his record in government throughout his later career, and took pride in having been Prime Minister in times which might have broken a lesser figure. However he lived long enough to see many of his economic ideas vindicated by history, particularly inflationary financing, which was quite radical by the standards of his times but an accepted pillar of Keynesian economics adopted by Australia and most other Western governments in the late 1930s and 1940s. Indeed, John Maynard Keynes himself would state of Scullin's Premier's Plan which caused him so much woe and electoral unpopularity that it "saved the economic structure of Australia".[48] The Economist admitted after the 1931 election that Scullin "had already done much to place Australia on the high road to recovery".[49]
Several measures which had been proposed and defeated by the UAP opposition (particularly on gold shipments for loan repayments) were subsequently reintroduced and passed by the UAP once in government, giving Scullin some satisfaction. Furthermore, Scullin consoled himself with the fact that the Depression destroyed most of the political careers of those who occupied government through it – only one Australian premier won re-election from 1927 to 1935, and Scullin's foreign contemporaries Herbert Hoover (in the United States of America), Ramsay MacDonald (United Kingdom), Richard Bennett (Canada) and George Forbes (New Zealand) all suffered similarly devastating elections in the wake of the depression. In 1951, 114 manufacturers in Melbourne donated to a fund for Scullin's retirement. Having not forgotten his advocacy of tariffs during their height of unpopularity in the depression, several companies went as far to state that Scullin's efforts had "commenced a new era in the secondary industry field in Australia" and that the success of Australia's wartime industry was due to Scullin's protection of industry during its most vulnerable period a decade earlier.[citation needed]
Scullin's years following his term of government also proved fruitful – he exerted a surprising amount of influence over government policy as Opposition Leader. Scullin was for decades the foremost expert in the Australian parliament on taxation and a variety of other fiscal matters, a fact which rendered his advice very influential within the Curtin government and many of his ideas, having been denied during his own term of government, would eventually be enshrined in the wave of sweeping reforms made by the Curtin/Chifley governments. Scullin was a well-respected figure in politics. Although the target of much bile and disagreement over his policies, he was personally extremely well regarded and had a reputation as a fearless and stoic leader of great personal integrity and fortitude. His resignation as leader in 1935 caused even longtime critic Jack Beasley to admit that Scullin was "a fearless fighter in the exposition of what he believes to be the right course".[50]
See also
- Scullin Ministry
References
- ^ a b c "James Scullin: before office". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 2–4.
- ^ Carroll, p. 119.
- ^ a b Carroll, p. 120.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 4–5.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 4–7.
- ^ a b c Australian Dictionary of Biography.
- ^ Murray, pp. 60–61.
- ^ Robertson, p. 13.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 10–13.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 14–16.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 478–479.
- ^ Robertson, p. 269.
- ^ a b National Archives of Australia.
- ^ Bastian, p. 249.
- ^ a b Robertson, pp. 16–17.
- ^ """". The Argus. 30 September 1910.
- Camperdown Chronicle. 31 December 1910.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 28–30.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 19–30.
- ^ a b Carroll, pp. 120–121.
- ^ Adam Carr's Election Database.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 68–76.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 82–89.
- ^ Shann.
- ^ Denning, pp. 32–33.
- ^ Maddox, pp. 252–253.
- ^ The Whitlam government 1972–1975 by Gough Whitlam
- ^ Schedvin, pp. 108–129.
- ^ Alexander, p. 88–93; Denning, p. 99–119.
- ^ Treasury of Australia.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 246–256.
- ^ The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 August 1930.
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(help) - ^ Schedvin, pp. 178–183.
- ^ Alexander, pp. 90–99.
- ^ a b Souter, pp. 274–277.
- ^ Souter, pp. 215–255.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-77559-266-2.
- ^ Barber.
- ^ Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates, Vol.205, p. 2254.
- ^ Robertson, pp. 408–434.
- ISBN 019553381X
- ^ Robertson, p. 466.
- ^ "James Scullin". Australia's Prime Ministers. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ "Crowds mourn late Mr. Scullin". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 2 February 1953. p. 7. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ^ The Herald. 25 May 1932.
{{cite news}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ The Economist. 26 December 1931. p. 1225.
{{cite news}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates, vol.147, p.336.
Bibliography
Books
- Alexander, Fred (1982). Australia Since Federation: A Narrative and Critical Analysis (Updated ed.). West Melbourne, Victoria: Nelson. ISBN 978-0-17-005861-2.
- Bastian, Peter (2009). Andrew Fisher: An Underestimated Man. Sydney, NSW: UNSW Press. ISBN 978-1-74223-004-7.
- Byrne, Liam. Becoming John Curtin and James Scullin: The Making of the Modern Labor Party (Melbourne University Publishing, 2020)
- Carroll, Brian (2004). Australia's Prime Ministers: From Barton to Howard (Revised ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg Publishing. ISBN 978-1-877058-22-6.
- Denning, Warren (1982). Caucus Crisis: The Rise & Fall of the Scullin Government. Sydney, New South Wales: Hale & Iremonger. ISBN 978-0-908094-92-9.
- Denning, Warren; Moorhouse, Frank, 1938–; Denning, Warren, 1906–1975. Caucus crisis; Denning, Warren, 1906–1975 (2000), James Scullin (New ed.), Black Inc, ISBN 978-1-86395-242-2)
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link - Maddox, Graham (1978), "Australian Labor Party", in Starr, Graeme; Richmond, Keith; Maddox, Graham (eds.), Political Parties in Australia, Richmond, Victoria: Heinemann Educational Australia
- Murray, Robert (1970). The Confident Years: Australia in the Twenties. London: Allen Lane. ISBN 978-0-7139-1155-8.
- Robertson, John (1974). J.H. Scullin: A Political Biography. Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 978-0-85564-074-3.
- Schedvin, C.B. (1989). Australia and the Great Depression. Sydney, New South Wales: Sydney University Press. ISBN 978-0-424-06660-8.
- Shann, E.O.G. (1927). The Boom of 1890 – and Now. Sydney, New South Wales: Cornstalk.
- Souter, Gavin (1988). Acts of Parliament: A Narrative History of the Senate and House of Representatives. Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 978-0-522-84367-5.
Periodicals
- Cook, Peter. "Labor and the Premiers' Plan." Labour History (1969): 97–110. in JSTOR
- Head, Brian. "Economic crisis and political legitimacy: the 1931 federal election." Journal of Australian Studies (1978) 2#3 pp: 14–29. online
- Richardson, Nick. "The 1931 Australian Federal Election – Radio Makes History." Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television (2010) 30#3 pp: 377–389.
- Roberts, Stephen H. "The Crisis in Australia: September, 1930–January, 1932." Pacific Affairs (1932) 5#4 pp: 319–332. in JSTOR
- Robinson, Geoff. "The Australian class structure and Australian politics 1931–40." APSA 2008: Australasian Political Science Association 2008 Conference. Australasian Political Science Association, 2008. online Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- Robertson, J. R. "Scullin as Prime Minister: seven critical decisions." Labour History (1969): 27–36. in JSTOR
- Commonwealth of Australia, Parliamentary Debates, Canberra, ACT: House of Representatives
Unpublished
- Barber, Stephen (2011), "Federal Election Results, 1901–2010", Parliamentary Library Research Papers, Canberra, ACT: Department of the Parliamentary Library
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(help)
Online
- "James Scullin, Prime Ministers of Australia". Canberra, ACT: National Archives of Australia. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- Scullin, James Henry (1876–1953). Canberra, ACT: Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- "By-Elections 1919–22". Melbourne, Victoria: Adam Carr's Election Database. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- "James Scullin: Depression Treasurer" (PDF). Canberra, ACT: Treasury of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
External links
- "Scullin, James Henry (1876–1953)". ISSN 1833-7538.
- James Scullin at the National Archives of Australia
- Photos of James Scullin from the Mildenhall Collection at the National Archives of Australia.
- James Scullin Archived 25 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine at the National Museum of Australia
- James Scullin Fact Sheet at the Museum of Australian Democracy
- Scullin's Campaign Speeches of 1929 and 1931 at the Museum of Australian Democracy
- Resources on James Scullin by Trove at the National Library of Australia
- Essay on James Scullin as Treasurer from the Australian Treasury.