John McPhee (politician)

John McPhee

John Cameron McPhee (born July 4, 1878 in Yan Yean , Victoria , † September 14, 1952 in Hobart , Tasmania ) was an Australian politician of the Nationalist Party of Australia , who was Prime Minister of Tasmania between 1928 and 1934 .

Life

MP, minister and opposition leader

McPhee was elected as a candidate for the Nationalist Party of Australia on May 31, 1919 in the Denison constituency for the first time as a member of the House of Representatives (Tasmanian House of Assembly) , the lower house of the Tasmanian Parliament, and belonged to this until his resignation for health reasons on March 14 1934.

On August 12, 1922, Prime Minister John Hayes appointed him as Minister for Railways for the first time in a state government and held this office until June 14, 1923. At the same time he was from August 12, 1922 to August 14, 1923 also chief secretary of the cabinet and from June 15 to August 14, 1923 also Minister for the Administration of the Forestry Act of 1920 (Minister administering the Forestry Act 1920) .

After the heavy defeat of the Nationalist Party in the elections of June 3, 1925, in which the party only got 21,932 votes (29.02 percent) and thus lost 11.93 percentage points and five of its twelve seats, McPhee became on July 29th 1925 as successor to Edward Hobbes new opposition leader in the House of Representatives .

As such, he led the Nationalist Party as the top candidate in the parliamentary election of May 30, 1928. The candidates of the Liberal Party of Walter Lee switched back to the McPhee-led Nationalist Party, which received 37,432 votes (42.2 percent) and 15 MPs posed. The Australian Labor Party of Prime Minister Joseph Lyons received 41,829 votes (47.15 percent), but only had 14 MPs due to the existing electoral law.

Prime Minister 1928 to 1934

Thereupon McPhee succeeded Lyons as Prime Minister on June 15, 1928 and held this post until his resignation for health reasons on March 15, 1934. During his tenure, he also served continuously as Treasurer and Minister for Forestry. . At the same time he was from June 15, 1928 to March 23, 1932 Minister for Control of the Hydro-Electric Department (Minister Controlling the Hydro-Electric Department) .

In the election of May 9, 1931, however, the McPhees Nationalist Party won 61,414 votes (56.4 percent) and was able to improve its result by 14.2 percent, so that with 19 seats it had an absolute majority in the 30-member House of Assembly had. The Labor Party, now led by Albert Ogilvie , only received 38,030 votes (34.92 percent) and thus lost 12.23 percentage points and four of its ten seats to date.

McPhee, who was also Minister for Agriculture from March 24, 1932 to March 15, 1934 , resigned as Prime Minister on March 15, 1934 and was then replaced by the former two-time Prime Minister Walter Lee , who had previously been Minister for Agriculture in his cabinet Settlement densification and settlement of soldiers as well as at the same time was Minister for Land and Public Works.

After he had withdrawn from political life for several years, McPhee was re-elected to the House of Assembly for the Nationalist Party on December 13, 1941, where he represented the Franklin constituency until he resigned on November 23, 1946 .

Web links

• Entry on the homepage of the Parliament of Tasmania
• Ministers - House of Assembly - 1856 to 1950