Jim Forbes (Australian politician)

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President of the South Australian
Liberal Party
In office
13 November 1979 – 1982
LeaderDr. David Tonkin
Preceded byJohn Olsen
Succeeded byDon Laidlaw
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Barker
In office
13 October 1956 – 11 November 1975
Preceded byArchie Cameron
Succeeded byJames Porter
Personal details
Born
Alexander James de Burgh Forbes

(1923-12-16)16 December 1923
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Died10 August 2019(2019-08-10) (aged 95)
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Political partyLiberal
Spouse
Margaret Blackburn
​
(m. 1952)​
Relations
Second World War
AwardsMilitary Cross

Alexander James de Burgh Forbes,

First Gorton Ministry.[1]

Early life and military service

Forbes was born on 16 December 1923 in Hobart, the son of Brigadier Alexander Moore Forbes. He was educated on the Australian mainland, at Knox Grammar School in Sydney and at St Peter's College in Adelaide.[2] Having graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1942, he was commissioned into the Australian Army. He was stationed in Darwin in 1943, then assigned to the 2nd Mountain Battery.[3] On 24 April 1945, Forbes was awarded the Military Cross (MC) in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in the South West Pacific.[4] There was a dynastic tradition of exceptional military courage: his father had also won the MC during the First World War, and his brother Patrick Forbes later won the award during the Korean War, "the only known instance of three members of an Australian family winning similar decorations for bravery in three consecutive wars".[5]

Following the end of the

PhD in 1954. His thesis was titled The Attitude of the Dominions to Security and Welfare, 1939–45.[7] Upon his return to Australia he lectured in political science at the University of Adelaide.[2] He married Margaret Blackburn, the daughter of Victoria Cross recipient Brigadier Arthur Blackburn, in 1952 at St Peter-in-the-East, Oxford.[8] They had five children together.[2]

Politics

Early career

Forbes was president of the

Liberal and Country League from 1948 to 1951, as well as the founding president of the Adelaide University Liberal Union.[9] He first stood for parliament at the 1955 federal election, aged 31, losing to the incumbent Australian Labor Party (ALP) member Pat Galvin in the seat of Kingston.[10] The following year, he won the Liberal nomination at a by-election for the much friendlier seat of Barker caused by the death of Speaker Archie Cameron.[11] He held the seat of Barker until his retirement in 1975.[12]

In parliament, Forbes became part of the "Oxbridge group", the name given by journalists to a set of "outspoken" Liberal backbenchers who had studied at Oxford and Cambridge. The other members were Les Bury, Harry Turner, and Bill Wentworth; Bury and Forbes were particularly close.[13]

Ministerial career

Forbes with Billy Snedden and Doug Anthony in 1963

After the

Minister for the Navy on a temporary basis, in the expectation that Fred Chaney would take over once parliament approved an enlargement of the ministry; this occurred in March 1964. The Melbourne–Voyager collision occurred during his tenure, although he was not held responsible.[14] As army minister in the lead-up to the Vietnam War, Forbes successfully advocated for a selective national service scheme as a way of solving the army's manpower problems. This became the National Service Act 1964, and was a compromise between universal conscription and a military reliant upon volunteers. In 2014, he recalled "More than any other person, I had been responsible for persuading Cabinet that they should introduce this scheme. It was the right decision. [...] It was never terribly popular but it was a very fair system and I had to take the burden for that."[1]

After the retirement of

unpasteurised milk, based on advice from the National Health and Medical Research Council. This also proved controversial, and the ban was deferred twice.[17][18] Forbes retained the health ministry in the Gorton government and was tasked with implementing the government's national health scheme, based on the recommendations of the Nimmo Inquiry. The scheme came into effect on 1 January 1970 and provided free health insurance for low-income earners, while maintaining a reliance on private insurance.[19]

In March 1971,

Minister for Immigration, a title he held until the McMahon government's defeat in the 1972 election. He resisted British pressure to admit ethnically-Asian refugees expelled from Uganda during Idi Amin's regime, stating "Applications by Asians in Uganda will continue to be considered on their individual merits in accordance with our non-European immigration policies. These policies reflect the firm and unshakeable determination of the Government to maintain a homogeneous society in Australia."[20] Forbes also ordered the deportation of musician Joe Cocker in 1972, after a small quantity of cannabis was found by police in his Adelaide hotel room and he was charged with assault following a brawl at a Melbourne pub.[21] In a 2014 interview Forbes stated that, while he accepted responsibility for the decision, he "didn't think it was necessary" and had been pressured by McMahon who believed it would be politically popular.[7]

Final years in parliament

During the November 1973 House of Representatives session, ALP Prime Minister Gough Whitlam accused Forbes of having abused the Government's hospitality by drinking too much at a reception for the visiting New Zealand prime minister Norman Kirk. Forbes demanded that the remark be withdrawn; and Opposition Leader Billy Snedden, for his part, told parliament that Whitlam should be ashamed of himself. Snedden described Whitlam as "gutless". Whitlam responded: "It is what [Forbes] put in his guts that rooted him." Eventually, Whitlam (at the insistence of Speaker James Francis Cope) withdrew the remark, but only after ensuring that it had been transcribed by Hansard's stenographers.

An enraged Forbes followed Whitlam out of the chamber, calling him a "filthy bastard". Whitlam retorted: "Look, he's still shaking." Forbes stated that any shaking was due to sciatica and not alcohol consumption.[22][23]

In early 1975 Snedden, having failed to defeat Whitlam at the previous year's election, was deposed as Opposition Leader by Malcolm Fraser. Forbes immediately resigned from the frontbench and chose to retire at the next election, having become disillusioned with the internal conflict within the Liberal Party.[7]

After politics

Forbes was chairman of

Commonwealth Serum Laboratories from 1978 to 1984. He also served on the council of the National Library of Australia from 1979 to 1985, including as chairman from 1982 to 1985. He maintained an involvement with politics after leaving parliament, and in 1979 was elected South Australian state president of the Liberal Party.[24][2] In May 1982, Forbes was elected as the party's new federal president, defeating John Herron and Joy Mein to replace Sir John Atwill.[25] He resigned the position in July 1985,[26] delivering a "stern call for unity" in his final address to the party's federal council.[27]

In 2011, 36 years after his retirement from parliament, it was reported that he had spent $16,000 on subsidised flights in the first six months of 2011, charging taxpayers for a total of 29 flights for himself and his family.[28]

Having lived for many years in the Adelaide eastern suburb of St Peters, he died at Calvary Wakefield Hospital, aged 95, on 10 August 2019.[29]

Awards and honours

In 1977, Forbes was made a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in recognition of service to the parliament.[30] He was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001, "for service to the Commonwealth Parliament and as Chairman, Commonwealth Serum Laboratories".[31]

References

  1. ^ a b Naughton, Kevin (7 January 2014). "Conscription 50 years on: last Menzies' Lib stands his ground". InDaily. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Guide to the Papers of A. J. Forbes". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b FORBES, ALEXANDER JAMES DEBURGH Archived 17 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine, WW2 Nominal Roll, Department of Veterans Affairs.
  4. ^ "No. 37138". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 June 1945. p. 3237.
  5. ^ "Keeping Up A Tradition". The Canberra Times. 4 May 1963.
  6. ^ Pratt, Mel: Jim Forbes interviewed by Mel Pratt for the Mel Pratt collection (sound recording), National Library of Australia, 14 March 1978.
  7. ^ a b c Naughton, Kevin (9 January 2014). "Forbes on Menzies, Keating and the deportation of Joe Cocker". InDaily. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  8. The Adelaide Mail
    . 26 July 1952.
  9. ^ "Dr. A. J. Forbes To Contest Barker Seat". Northern Suburbs Weekly. 27 September 1956.
  10. ^ "Commonwealth of Australia legislative election of 10 December 1955 - Voting by constituency - South Australia". Australian Election Archive. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Close voting in Barker". The Canberra Times. 15 October 1956.
  12. ^ "Members of the House of Representatives since 1901". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
  13. ^ Boadle, Donald (2007). "Bury, Leslie Harry Ernest (1913–1986)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 17.
  14. ^ Hancock, Ian (2002). John Gorton: He Did It His Way. Hodder. p. 94.
  15. ^ "Chapter 5: Suburbs still searching for a city, 1957–72: Abattoir". Government Records about the Australian Capital Territory. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  16. ^ "Butchers accuse Forbes over statement". The Canberra Times. 9 April 1969.
  17. ^ "The Forbes luck". The Canberra Times. 23 September 1966.
  18. ^ "Cheese ban put off again". The Canberra Times. 18 March 1967.
  19. ^ Hancock 2002, p. 211–212, 256.
  20. ^ Neumann, Klaus (3 July 2004). "You're welcome, if we're interested". Project SafeCom Inc. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  21. ^ "Going Down Under". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 July 2004. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  22. ^ Ramsey, Alan (10 December 2003). "Going Down Under". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  23. ^ "Liberal denies drink charge". The Age. 16 November 1973. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
  24. ^ Liberals' president
  25. ^ "Forbes news president of Liberals". The Canberra Times. 16 May 1982.
  26. ^ "Forbes to quit as Liberal president". The Canberra Times. 12 June 1985.
  27. ^ "Liberals warned on unity". The Canberra Times. 16 July 1985.
  28. ^ Hudson, Phillip (29 November 2011). "Free Travel – even 36 years later". The Advertiser. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  29. ^ "FORBES, Alexander James CMG, MC". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  30. ^ "Dr Alexander James FORBES". It's An Honour. 31 December 1977. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  31. ^ "The Hon Dr Alexander James FORBES". It's An Honour. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for the Army
1963–1966 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for the Navy
1963–1964 		Succeeded by
Fred Chaney
Preceded by
Minister for Health

1966–1971 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Minister for Immigration

1971–1972 		Succeeded by
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Barker
1956–1975 		Succeeded by
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