John Earle (Australian politician)
John Earle | |
---|---|
22nd Premier of Tasmania | |
In office 20 October 1909 – 27 October 1909 | |
Preceded by | Elliott Lewis |
Succeeded by | Elliott Lewis |
In office 6 April 1914 – 15 April 1916 | |
Preceded by | Albert Solomon |
Succeeded by | Walter Lee |
Senator for Tasmania | |
In office 1 March 1917 – 30 June 1923 | |
Preceded by | Rudolph Ready |
Personal details | |
Born | Nationalist (1916–1928)Independent (1928–1932) | 15 November 1865
John Earle (15 November 1865 – 6 February 1932) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Tasmania from 1914 to 1916 and also for one week in October 1909. He later served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1917 to 1923. Prior to entering politics, he worked as a miner and prospector. He began his career in the Australian Labor Party (ALP), helping to establish a local branch of the party, and was Tasmania's first ALP premier. However, he was expelled from the party during the 1916 split and joined the Nationalists, whom he represented in the Senate.
Early life
Earle was born on 15 November 1865 in
After completing his apprenticeship, Earle worked on the mines at Mathinna, Zeehan and Corinna. In 1893 he was a miners' representative at a government conference in Hobart. He returned to Zeehan in 1898 and became prominent in the local community, serving on the Zeehan Municipal Council, on the local hospital board, and as president of the Gormanston branch of the Amalgamated Miners' Association. He was one of 28 men blacklisted by the manager of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company for being "disloyal and treacherous".[1]
In 1901, Earle chaired the conference which established the Workers' Political League (WPL), the predecessor of the modern
Political career
State politics
Earle was defeated by three votes in the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Waratah at the 1903 state election.[3] He reprised his candidacy in 1906 and was successful, subsequently being elected as leader of the parliamentary party. Following electoral reform, Earle was elected to the multi-member seat of Franklin at the 1909 election. He served Leader of the Opposition until 20 October 1909, when he formed a minority government of one week. He was the first premier of Tasmania from the ALP.[1]
In 1914, Earle and the ALP formed another minority government after the defeat of
After the ALP was defeated at the 1916 election, Earle returned to his prior position as Leader of the Opposition. He viewed the aim of the ALP as "true progressive liberalism" rather than socialism, and some of his policy positions had alienated more radical members of the party, notably his support for overseas conscription.[1] In November 1916, during the nationwide party split over conscription, he announced his resignation from the ALP in an open letter, stating that "the movement has been corrupted by bodies of extremists, irresponsible and in some cases distinctly disloyal men, aided and abetted by the weakness, cowardice, and treachery of the officers of the organisation and members of the Parliamentary party obtaining control of the movement". He resignation was widely regarded as pre-empted his expulsion.[2]
Federal politics
In March 1917 Earle, who had by then joined the
Death
Earle died at
Legacy
In 2009 Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd briefly noted the centenary of Earle forming Tasmania's first Labor government.[5]
References
- ^ ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ a b c Singleton, Gwynneth (2000). "Earle, John (1865–1932)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Vol. 1. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ a b Serle, Percival (1949). "Earle, John (1865–1932)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
- ^ "John Earle". Members of the Parliament of Tasmania. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ "Transcript 16706 | PM Transcripts".