Watson government

The Watson Administration: in back (from left) Fisher, Dawson, McGregor, Mahon; front (from left) Higgins, Watson, Lord Northcote, Hughes, Batchelor

The Watson government was the third government of the Commonwealth of Australia . She was in office from April 27, 1904 to August 17, 1904. She was the first Australian government under Labor Party leadership .

After the minority government of the Protectionist Party , led by Alfred Deakin , lost the support of the Labor Party when it voted on the conciliation and arbitration bill , Deakin submitted his resignation and asked the Governor General Lord Northcote to chair the Labor Party to appoint Chris Watson to form the new government.

With the exception of Attorney General Higgins , who belonged to the Protectionist Party, the Watson administration consisted only of members of the Labor Party, which with 22 out of 75 seats was only the third largest group in the House of Representatives . It was dependent on the parliamentary support of the Protectionist Party, which, as the strongest party, had 26 members. Like its predecessor, this government also failed because of a dissent over the conciliation and arbitration bill . It was followed by a coalition government of the Free Trade Party and Protectionist Party under Prime Minister George Reid .

List of ministers

Office	minister	Term of office
Prime Minister and Treasury Minister	Chris Watson	April 27, 1904 - August 17, 1904
Foreign minister	Billy Hughes	April 27, 1904 - August 17, 1904
Attorney General	Henry Bournes Higgins	April 27, 1904 - August 17, 1904
Interior minister	Lee Batchelor	April 27, 1904 - August 17, 1904
Minister for Trade and Customs	Andrew Fisher	April 27, 1904 - August 17, 1904
Defense Minister	Anderson Dawson	April 27, 1904 - August 17, 1904
Postmaster General	Hugh Mahon	April 27, 1904 - August 17, 1904
Vice President of the Executive Council	Gregor McGregor	April 27, 1904 - August 17, 1904

Web links

Parliamentary Handbook for the 45th Parliament. (PDF; 13.4 MB) Part 6: Historical information on the Australian Parliament - Ministries and Cabinets. Parliament of Australia, p. 519 , accessed April 13, 2019 .

Individual evidence

^ R. Norris: Deakin, Alfred (1856-1919) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 8. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1981, ISBN 0-522-84219-4 (English).
^ Bede Nairn: Watson, John Christian (Chris) (1867-1941) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 12. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1990, ISBN 0-522-84437-5 (English).
^ Parliamentary Handbook for the 45th Parliament. (PDF; 13.4 MB) Part 6: Historical information on the Australian Parliament - Members of the House of Representatives since 1901. Parliament of Australia, p. 473 , accessed on April 13, 2019 .
^ WG McMinn: Reid, Sir George Houstoun (1845-1918) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 11. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1988, ISBN 0-522-84380-8 (English).

[Deakin-1] R. Norris: Deakin, Alfred (1856-1919) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 8. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1981, ISBN 0-522-84219-4 (English).

[Watson-2] Bede Nairn: Watson, John Christian (Chris) (1867-1941) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 12. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1990, ISBN 0-522-84437-5 (English).

[Higgins-3] Parliamentary Handbook for the 45th Parliament. (PDF; 13.4 MB) Part 6: Historical information on the Australian Parliament - Members of the House of Representatives since 1901. Parliament of Australia, p. 473 , accessed on April 13, 2019 .

[Reid-4] WG McMinn: Reid, Sir George Houstoun (1845-1918) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 11. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1988, ISBN 0-522-84380-8 (English).