Pat Morton
New South Wales Parliament for Mosman | |
---|---|
In office 3 May 1947 – 16 June 1972 | |
Preceded by | Donald Macdonald |
Succeeded by | David Arblaster |
Personal details | |
Born | Liberal Party | 28 October 1910
Spouse | Nance Maude |
Relations | Philip Morton (uncle) Mark Morton (uncle) Henry Morton (uncle) |
Children | Patricia Morton Margaret Morton |
Occupation | Politician/ businessman |
Philip Henry (Pat) Morton (28 October 1910 – 18 January 1999) was an Australian businessman and politician. Born in Lismore in Northern New South Wales to a prominent political family and educated at
Morton soon rose through the party ranks, becoming touted as a possible leader. When the Liberals lost their third election under party leader Vernon Treatt, Morton contested the leadership in July 1954. Although Morton was defeated, Treatt did not stay long, resigning in August. Morton then stood, but was deadlocked against party whip, Robert Askin, and Askin then asked Murray Robson to take the leadership. Robson proved ineffective and was deposed in September 1955 in a party spill and Morton was elected to succeed him as Leader of the New South Wales Opposition.
Morton contested as Leader the 1956 and 1959 elections, gaining seats each time but failing to defeat the long-standing Labor Government. A few months after the 1959 election, Morton was deposed as Leader by now-Deputy Leader Askin in July 1959. He remained on the backbenches until Askin led the Liberal Party to its first electoral victory in May 1965, whereupon Morton was appointed as the Minister for Local Government and Minister for Highways. He served in the cabinet, becoming prominent and controversial in his role in the reorganisation of the City of Sydney as Local Government Minister and state planning regulations, until he retired from parliament in June 1972. He died in Mosman aged 88 in 1999.[1]
Early life and background
Pat Morton was born on 28 October 1910 in Lismore, New South Wales, the son of Arthur Richmond Morton and Maria Morton. Although born on the north coast of New South Wales, Morton's family were prominent members of the Shoalhaven District on the New South Wales south coast. Morton's grandfather, Henry Gordon Morton, born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1828, arrived in Australia in 1852 and was a surveyor for the Berry Estate and the first Mayor of Numbaa, the private town founded by Alexander Berry.[2]
Henry Morton and his wife Jane Fairless had eight sons:
Morton was educated at
Political career
As an Alderman, Morton joined the new
Treatt led the Coalition again at the
At the 14 February 1953 election, Morton retained his seat with 75.59%,[9] The Liberals, however, suffered a total loss of ten seats and a swing against them of 7.2%.[10] This result wiped out nearly all of the electoral gains made in 1950; and not surprisingly, the party's confidence in Treatt's leadership decayed, now that Treatt had led the party to three consecutive losses.
The Liberal Party soon descended into factional in-fighting, culminating in the resignation of Deputy Leader Walter Howarth on 22 July 1954. Howarth announced on 4 July his imminent departure, and accused Treatt of having doubted Howarth's loyalty. Robert Askin became Deputy Leader in Howarth's stead.[11] The resignation split the party and sparked a leadership challenge from Morton, who criticised Treatt's "lack of aggression" towards the Labor Government. At the party meeting on 6 July, Treatt narrowly defeated Morton by 12 votes to 10.[12]
Nevertheless, with party support eroded, Treatt did not remain long as leader afterwards. On 6 August, Treatt announced that he would resign as leader four days later. At the following party meeting, after a deadlocked vote between Askin and Morton, Askin persuaded Murray Robson to accept the Leadership of the Liberal Party as a compromise candidate.[13]
Like other senior members of the party, Robson had no experience in government. The last non-ALP administration in the state had been that of
Leadership
As
Morton again led the opposition at the 21 March 1959 election, which resulted in an overall gain of three seats but the loss of Sutherland and Parramatta to Labor. After counting was finalised the Cahill Government was left with an overall majority of four seats. Many attributed the loss to the Opposition's failure to back up its promises with actual figures, which led Cahill to nickname Morton "Promising Pat".[18] Morton retained Mosman again with a significant 90.16% of the vote.[19]
During his time as leader, Morton had refused to give up his various business interests, including as a manager of a motor accessories distributor from 1956 until 1965 and a director of Coventry Tool and Gauge Company in 1958, among others.
Morton's leadership was further undermined when in April 1959, Liberal backbench MP for Manly, Douglas Darby, challenged Morton for the leadership. Although Morton won the vote 22 votes to six, the result was interpreted as only occurring because there was no other alternative to Morton. For his last few months as Leader, confidence in his leadership did not recover.[20]
On 14 July, three Liberal MLAs (Geoffrey Cox, Ivan Black and Douglas Cross) called on Morton to resign, stating that the party needed a full-time leader and that Morton no longer commanded the support of his colleagues. Morton refused and instead called an emergency meeting on 17 July to confirm his leadership.[21] Soon after, the two main opponents to Morton, the Member for Earlwood, Eric Willis, and Deputy Leader Askin, declared that they would only take the leadership if they were given an absolute majority of at least 28 votes. At the party meeting, Morton was removed as leader by two votes. Willis then surprised many by deciding not to put his name forward for nomination, leaving Askin as the only contender. Askin was subsequently elected unanimously as leader, with Willis eventually becoming Deputy Leader. Unlike Robson, Morton accepted his loss well, declaring that there would be "no recriminations" and pledging loyalty to Askin.[22]
On Morton's downfall, a Sydney Morning Herald editorial summed up his leadership thus: "True, the margin [of the last election] was slender. And, true, Mr Morton campaigned vigorously. But his punches seemed to be rather wild. He would have done better by directing his blows to a few vital points instead of trying to hit at anything in sight. In addition to losing the last election, when Labour seemed at its most vulnerable after 18 years of office, Mr Morton further disappointed his colleagues – indeed, antagonised some of them – by expanding his private business interests when he was being urged to concentrate wholly on the job of Leader of the Opposition. However, the sad truth is that the genial Mr Morton has never measured up as a sagacious, inspiring leader."[20]
At the 3 March 1962 election, Askin led the Coalition to another defeat to the Labor Party, now under Bob Heffron, who had become Premier following Cahill's death in October 1959. Morton retained his seat again with 80.76%.[23] Heffron was Premier until his retirement on 30 April 1964. He was succeeded by Jack Renshaw, whose tenure was perceived to be the last days of a party which, after almost a quarter of a century in government, was tired. At the May 1965 election, Askin led the Coalition to its first ever state electoral victory, gaining eight seats and a swing of 5.6% to achieve a majority of two. Askin became the first Liberal Premier.[24] Morton was re-elected with 82.30%.[25]
Minister of the Crown
Askin then named Morton as the Minister for Local Government and Minister for Highways, being sworn in by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Eric Woodward at Government House, Sydney on 13 May 1965.[26] As Minister, Morton was involved in the first dismissal of Warringah Shire Council in April 1967 which was triggered by the gaoling of two councillors for bribery. The Councillors involved, Dennis Thomas and George Knight, were prosecuted under the Secret Commissions Prohibition Act 1919 (NSW) for receiving bribes from a development company to influence planning and development decisions, and both received gaol sentences.[27] From 1967 to 1968 he appointed several public servants as Administrators to serve until a new council could be elected.
As a Minister of the Crown, Morton oversaw the rapid escalation of building development in inner-city Sydney and the central business district, which followed in the wake of his controversial 1967 abolition of Sydney City Council and a redistribution of municipal electoral boundaries that was aimed at reducing the power of the rival
Morton soon gained a reputation as a strong advocate for allowing free enterprise and business to take precedence over planning controls and government regulation. His time as Minister was marked by increasing strains on state infrastructure and his pro-development stance was largely attributed as an attempt to alleviate these problems. Despite this, Morton and his State Planning Authority were continuously criticised for not being totally accountable to the public, particularly as the pro-business Sydney Commissioners worked side-by-side with the Planning authority to increase developments in the Sydney CBD to their highest levels ever, embodied by the construction of the
At the
Retirement
On 18 July 1972, Queen Elizabeth II granted him retention of the title "The Honourable" for life, for having served as a Minister of the Crown and on the Executive Council of New South Wales.[32] Morton's mid-term retirement caused a by-election in his seat of Mosman. At the 29 July 1972 by-election he was succeeded by Liberal candidate David Arblaster with 51% of the primary vote.[33] On his retirement, Morton was appointed as a Trustee of the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales, becoming chairman in 1976. He died on 18 January 1999 at his Mosman home, survived by his eldest daughter, Patricia. His youngest daughter Margaret having died of melanoma in 1987. His funeral was held at St Luke's Anglican Church, Mosman, on 22 January 1999.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Mr (Pat) Philip Henry (2) Morton (1910–1999)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ a b "P. H. Morton – papers and photographs". State Library of New South Wales 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ^ "Mr Mark Fairles Morton (1865–1938)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ "Mr Henry Douglas Morton (1867–1932)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ "Mr Philip Henry (1) Morton (1862–1932)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1947 Mosman". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1950 overall election results". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1950 Mosman". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1953 Mosman". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1953 overall election results". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ "Leader quits L.C.P. post". The Argus. 5 July 1954. p. 10. Retrieved 25 July 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ "Treatt by 12–10 vote". The Courier-Mail. 7 July 1954. p. 3. Retrieved 12 January 2011 – via Trove.
- ^ "Liberals elect Robson As leader". The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 August 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 15 January 2011 – via Trove.
- ISBN 978-1-86287-659-0.
- ^ The Liberals: The NSW Division 1945–2000, pg 98.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1956 Mosman". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ The Liberals: The NSW Division 1945–2000, pg 99.
- ^ The Liberals: The NSW Division 1945–2000, pg 102.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1959 Mosman". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ a b c "Editorial". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 July 1959. p. 20.
- ^ "Morton May Be Deposed Today". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 July 1959. p. 1.
- ^ The Liberals: The NSW Division 1945–2000, pg 104.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1962 Mosman". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1965 overall election results". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1965 Mosman". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ "Cabinet of the Liberal-Country Party Government with Governor Woodward". State Library of NSW. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
- ^ "Councillor admits taking a bribe". The Age. 31 March 1967. Retrieved 27 May 2009 – via Google news archive.
- ^ "The Battle of Sydney". The Age. 19 September 1967. p. 3. Retrieved 2 February 2011 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1968 Mosman". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ a b c "A free enterpriser bows out". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 June 1972. p. 4. Retrieved 2 February 2011 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1971 Mosman". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ "No. 45732". The London Gazette. 18 July 1972. p. 8829.
- ^ Green, Antony. "1972 Mosman by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 24 July 2020.