Michael Considine

Michael Considine
Member of the Australian Parliament for Barrier
In office 5 May 1917 – 16 December 1922
Preceded by	Josiah Thomas
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Personal details
Born	c. (1885-01-26)26 January 1885 County Mayo, Ireland
Died	2 November 1959(1959-11-02) (aged 74)
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Labor (1917–20) (1926+) Socialist Labor (1920–21) Industrial Labor Party (1921-)
Spouse	Bessie Washington
Occupation	Unionist

Michael Patrick Considine (c. 26 January 1885 – 2 November 1959) was an Irish-born Australian politician and unionist. He represented the seat of Barrier in the House of Representatives from 1917 to 1922. A controversial figure, Considine was pressured to resign from the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He won in 1919 as an independent before joining the Socialist Labor Party in 1920, but his seat was abolished for the 1922 election and he was defeated in an attempt to transfer to the seat of Darling.

Early life

Considine was born in

During World War I, Considine was president of the militant Amalgamated Miners' Association and was a member of the Marxist Australian Socialist Party, but he resigned from the latter due to his support for unions. At Eaglehawk, Victoria on 23 January 1918 he married Bessie Washington.

Politics

In 1917, Considine was elected to the

Following the 1919 split in the New South Wales Labor Party, Considine was placed under considerable pressure and resigned from the party in 1920. He contested the 1922 election as an Industrial Labor Party candidate in the seat of Darling^[1] and received 22.2 percent of the vote, but was unsuccessful. In 1926 he rejoined the Labor Party, but was unsuccessful in an attempt for endorsement for Darling.

Later life

Considine moved to Melbourne in 1927 and held various occupations. He remained prominent in the union movement and continued to rebel at the 1930s–40s Labor conferences. He died suddenly on 2 November 1959 and was survived by his wife, a son, and two daughters.

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