Clyde Cameron
Encyclopedia
Clyde Robert Cameron, AO (11 February 191314 March 2008), Australia
n politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives
for 31 years from 1949 to 1980, a Cabinet minister in the Whitlam
government and a leading figure in the Australian labour movement for forty years.
, the son of a shearer of Scottish descent. He was educated at Gawler
, but left school at 14 to work as a shearer. During the very worst years of the Great Depression
, he was unemployed, and this experience of joblessness was one that he never forgot or forgave. When he finally did get work, later in the 1930s, he ended up having to travel to every Australian state and also to New Zealand
. He was active in the Australian Workers Union and the Australian Labor Party
from an early age, becoming an AWU organiser and then South Australian State President and a Federal Vice-President of the union in 1941. From 1943 to 1948 he was the union's industrial advocate and taught himself industrial law. In 1946 he became State President of the Labor Party.
In 1939 Cameron married Ruby Krahe (always called "Cherie"), with whom he had three children (twins Warren and Tania, and a second son Noel). In 1949 he suffered a personal crisis when all three children were afflicted with poliomyelitis
(infantile paralysis). He also learned that his youngest son suffered from an intellectual disability
. Although they all eventually recovered from polio, the ordeal permanently affected Cameron, and contributed to the breakup of his marriage. In 1966 the Camerons were divorced and in 1967 he remarried, this time to Dorothy Bradbury.
Cameron was the most powerful figure in the South Australian labour movement in the years immediately after World War II. At the 1949 election
he was elected to the House of Representatives
for the safe Labor seat of Hindmarsh
, leaving his brother Donald
(later a Senator) in charge of the South Australian AWU. He rapidly made his mark as one of the most aggressive and uncompromising Labor members ever to enter the Australian Parliament. Cameron regarded the conservatives with a deep and personal hatred, and made no secret of it. He rapidly emerged as one of the leaders of the left wing of the Caucus
, led at that time by Eddie Ward
, who became Cameron's mentor.
It was the tragedy of Labor politicians of Cameron's generation that Labor spent almost a quarter of a century in Opposition from 1949 to 1972, with the result that Cameron, like many others, spent his best years out of office. During the Labor Split of the 1950s Cameron became a leading supporter of federal Labor Leader Dr H.V. Evatt and an opponent of the right-wing Catholic faction. He was among those who insisted that all the "Groupers" be expelled from the party. He also conducted a long feud with the right-wing (but anti-Grouper) federal leadership of the AWU led by Tom Dougherty
, one of the long list of people Cameron detested.
Nevertheless Cameron was an intelligent and able parliamentarian, and by the 1960s he could see that Labor would never win a federal election again unless it could find both a leader and a set of policies acceptable to an increasingly middle-class electorate. Ward's death in 1963 marked the end of the old Depression-era leftism in the federal Caucus. The younger leftist leaders such as Cameron himself, Jim Cairns
and Tom Uren
were more willing to adapt to changed circumstances. Cameron became increasingly critical of Arthur Calwell
's leadership, although he supported Calwell in his passionate opposition to the Vietnam War
.
Calwell retired in 1967 and was succeeded by Gough Whitlam
. Although he disagreed with Whitlam on many issues, after 1968 Cameron became a supporter of Whitlam's leadership. In 1969 Whitlam made Cameron Shadow Minister for Employment; and Cameron's decisive influence that gained Whitlam control of the Federal Executive
. In 1970 he supported Whitlam's move to reform the Victorian
branch of the Labor Party, which was controlled by the extreme left.
At the December 1972 election
Labor came to office under Whitlam, and Cameron became Minister for Labour
at the age of 59. He created a sensation by dismissing the permanent head of his department, Sir Halford Cook, and bringing in an outsider: he was always deeply suspicious of senior public servants. But he greatly improved the pay and conditions of other public servants, using the public sector to set new benchmarks which he hoped would be extended to the private sector. Revealing himself to be an unsuspected feminist
, he hired Mary Gaudron
(later the first woman on the High Court
bench) to argue before the Arbitration Commission for equal pay for women workers. His senior advisor was John Bannon
, later Premier of South Australia. Following Al Grassby
's defeat at the 1974 election
, Cameron became Minister for Labour and Immigration
.
The unions had high hopes that Cameron would bring greatly improved benefits for industrial workers. Unfortunately for Cameron, the Australian economy began to deteriorate rapidly in 1974 as a result of the inflation
caused by the oil shock
, and the government came under increasing pressure to hold back wage increases, which were seen by orthodox economists to be fuelling inflation. Cameron resisted this pressure, and his relations with Whitlam deteriorated. At the same time, he became increasingly critical of the more irresponsible union leaders who, as he saw it, blindly pursued wage rises without regard to the state of the economy, or to the incomes policy
of their own Labor government.
By 1975 the Whitlam government was in crisis and Whitlam made a sharp turn to the right, bringing in Bill Hayden
as Treasurer and Jim McClelland as Minister for Labour and Immigration. Cameron refused to resign as Labour and Immigration Minister, and Whitlam was forced to ask the Governor-General
, Sir John Kerr, to withdraw his commission. He was eventually persuaded to accept the position of Minister for Science and Consumer Affairs
.
Cameron thus became once again Whitlam's implacable enemy, but with the dismissal of Whitlam's government in November there was little he could do. He withdrew to the backbench, where he remained for the next five years till he retired from Parliament prior to the 1980 election
.
agents.
In the 1982 Australia Day Honours he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia
.
Clyde Cameron College was run by the Australian Trade Union Training Authority
from 1977 until its abolition in 1996.
Well into his last years, he remained a frequent contributor to public debate, uttering various remarks showing a surprisingly respectful attitude towards his contemporary and former antagonist B. A. Santamaria
. The two men never met, but when Santamaria died in 1998, Cameron (as reported by the Santamaria-founded magazine News Weekly) paid him a warm tribute, saying that "[his] soul was not for sale."
He was awarded the Centenary Medal
in 2001.
Cameron died on 14 March 2008, aged 95. He was survived by three children, six grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
for 31 years from 1949 to 1980, a Cabinet minister in the Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
government and a leading figure in the Australian labour movement for forty years.
Biography
Cameron was born in Murray Bridge, South AustraliaMurray Bridge, South Australia
Murray Bridge is the fourth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Whyalla. It is located east-southeast of Adelaide and north of Meningie....
, the son of a shearer of Scottish descent. He was educated at Gawler
Gawler, South Australia
Gawler is the first country town in the state of South Australia, and is named after the second Governor of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is located north of the centre of the state capital, Adelaide, and is close to the major wine producing district of the Barossa Valley...
, but left school at 14 to work as a shearer. During the very worst years of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, he was unemployed, and this experience of joblessness was one that he never forgot or forgave. When he finally did get work, later in the 1930s, he ended up having to travel to every Australian state and also to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. He was active in the Australian Workers Union and the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
from an early age, becoming an AWU organiser and then South Australian State President and a Federal Vice-President of the union in 1941. From 1943 to 1948 he was the union's industrial advocate and taught himself industrial law. In 1946 he became State President of the Labor Party.
In 1939 Cameron married Ruby Krahe (always called "Cherie"), with whom he had three children (twins Warren and Tania, and a second son Noel). In 1949 he suffered a personal crisis when all three children were afflicted with poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route...
(infantile paralysis). He also learned that his youngest son suffered from an intellectual disability
Intellectual disability
Intellectual disability is a broad concept encompassing various intellectual deficits, including mental retardation , deficits too mild to properly qualify as MR, various specific conditions , and problems acquired later in life through acquired brain injuries or neurodegenerative diseases like...
. Although they all eventually recovered from polio, the ordeal permanently affected Cameron, and contributed to the breakup of his marriage. In 1966 the Camerons were divorced and in 1967 he remarried, this time to Dorothy Bradbury.
Cameron was the most powerful figure in the South Australian labour movement in the years immediately after World War II. At the 1949 election
Australian federal election, 1949
Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1949. All 121 seats in the House of Representatives, and 42 of the 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, where the single transferable vote was introduced...
he was elected to the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
for the safe Labor seat of Hindmarsh
Division of Hindmarsh
The Division of Hindmarsh is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia covering the western gulfside suburbs of Adelaide.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Sir John Hindmarsh, who was Governor of South Australia 1836-38. For many years it was one of the safest Labor seats...
, leaving his brother Donald
Donald Newton Cameron
Donald Newton "Don" Cameron , Australian politician, was born in Murray Bridge, South Australia, and was educated at Gawler. Like his brother Clyde Cameron, he became a shearer and an official of the Australian Workers Union, and was also active in the Australian Labor Party...
(later a Senator) in charge of the South Australian AWU. He rapidly made his mark as one of the most aggressive and uncompromising Labor members ever to enter the Australian Parliament. Cameron regarded the conservatives with a deep and personal hatred, and made no secret of it. He rapidly emerged as one of the leaders of the left wing of the Caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
, led at that time by Eddie Ward
Eddie Ward
Edward John "Eddie" Ward , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1931 until his death....
, who became Cameron's mentor.
It was the tragedy of Labor politicians of Cameron's generation that Labor spent almost a quarter of a century in Opposition from 1949 to 1972, with the result that Cameron, like many others, spent his best years out of office. During the Labor Split of the 1950s Cameron became a leading supporter of federal Labor Leader Dr H.V. Evatt and an opponent of the right-wing Catholic faction. He was among those who insisted that all the "Groupers" be expelled from the party. He also conducted a long feud with the right-wing (but anti-Grouper) federal leadership of the AWU led by Tom Dougherty
Tom Dougherty
Tom Dougherty was a baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox in 1904. He is perhaps unique for his 'perfect' 1-0 winning record where he faced 6 batters over 2 innings without giving up any hits, walks or runs in the one game he pitched.-Notes:*...
, one of the long list of people Cameron detested.
Nevertheless Cameron was an intelligent and able parliamentarian, and by the 1960s he could see that Labor would never win a federal election again unless it could find both a leader and a set of policies acceptable to an increasingly middle-class electorate. Ward's death in 1963 marked the end of the old Depression-era leftism in the federal Caucus. The younger leftist leaders such as Cameron himself, Jim Cairns
Jim Cairns
James Ford "J. F." Cairns , Australian politician, was prominent in the Labor movement through the 1960s and 1970s, and was briefly Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam government...
and Tom Uren
Tom Uren
Thomas Uren, AO was a Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party. He helped establish the heritage and conservation movement in Australia and, in particular, worked to preserve the heritage of inner Sydney.-Early life:...
were more willing to adapt to changed circumstances. Cameron became increasingly critical of Arthur Calwell
Arthur Calwell
Arthur Augustus Calwell Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1940 to 1972, Immigration Minister in the government of Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949 and Leader of the Australian Labor Party from 1960 to 1967.-Early life:Calwell was born in...
's leadership, although he supported Calwell in his passionate opposition to the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Calwell retired in 1967 and was succeeded by Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
. Although he disagreed with Whitlam on many issues, after 1968 Cameron became a supporter of Whitlam's leadership. In 1969 Whitlam made Cameron Shadow Minister for Employment; and Cameron's decisive influence that gained Whitlam control of the Federal Executive
Australian Labor Party National Executive
The National Executive is the highest elected body of the Australian Labor Party, one of the major political parties in Australia. The Executive is elected by the party's National Conference, held every three years, and represents the party's state and territory branches. Many of its members are...
. In 1970 he supported Whitlam's move to reform the Victorian
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
branch of the Labor Party, which was controlled by the extreme left.
At the December 1972 election
Australian federal election, 1972
Federal elections were held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The Liberal Party of Australia had been in power since 1949, under Prime Minister of Australia William McMahon since March 1971 with coalition partner the Country Party...
Labor came to office under Whitlam, and Cameron became Minister for Labour
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations is currently the Hon Senator Chris Evans.The Minister administers this portfolio, through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations....
at the age of 59. He created a sensation by dismissing the permanent head of his department, Sir Halford Cook, and bringing in an outsider: he was always deeply suspicious of senior public servants. But he greatly improved the pay and conditions of other public servants, using the public sector to set new benchmarks which he hoped would be extended to the private sector. Revealing himself to be an unsuspected feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, he hired Mary Gaudron
Mary Gaudron
Mary Genevieve Gaudron, AC, QC , Australian lawyer and judge, was the first female Justice of the High Court of Australia.-Youth:...
(later the first woman on the High Court
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
bench) to argue before the Arbitration Commission for equal pay for women workers. His senior advisor was John Bannon
John Bannon
John Charles Bannon AO is a former Australian politician. He was the 39th Premier of South Australia, leading the Labor Party to government at the 1982 election. The Bannon Labor government was re-elected at the 1985 election and the 1989 election...
, later Premier of South Australia. Following Al Grassby
Al Grassby
Albert Jaime Grassby, AM , Australian politician, was Minister for Immigration in the Whitlam Labor government. He initiated sweeping reforms in immigration, human rights, and is often known as the father of Australian "multiculturalism".-Early life and state politics:Born Albert Grassby in...
's defeat at the 1974 election
Australian federal election, 1974
Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 May 1974. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 60 seats in the Senate were up for election, due to a double dissolution...
, Cameron became Minister for Labour and Immigration
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (Australia)
In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is responsible for overseeing the Department of Immigration and Citizenship....
.
The unions had high hopes that Cameron would bring greatly improved benefits for industrial workers. Unfortunately for Cameron, the Australian economy began to deteriorate rapidly in 1974 as a result of the inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
caused by the oil shock
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
, and the government came under increasing pressure to hold back wage increases, which were seen by orthodox economists to be fuelling inflation. Cameron resisted this pressure, and his relations with Whitlam deteriorated. At the same time, he became increasingly critical of the more irresponsible union leaders who, as he saw it, blindly pursued wage rises without regard to the state of the economy, or to the incomes policy
Incomes policy
Incomes policies in economics are economy-wide wage and price controls, most commonly instituted as a response to inflation, and usually below market level.Incomes policies have often been resorted to during wartime...
of their own Labor government.
By 1975 the Whitlam government was in crisis and Whitlam made a sharp turn to the right, bringing in Bill Hayden
Bill Hayden
William George "Bill" Hayden AC was the 21st Governor-General of Australia. Prior to this, he represented the Australian Labor Party in parliament; he was a minister in the government of Gough Whitlam, and later became Leader of the Opposition, narrowly losing the 1980 federal election to the...
as Treasurer and Jim McClelland as Minister for Labour and Immigration. Cameron refused to resign as Labour and Immigration Minister, and Whitlam was forced to ask the Governor-General
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
, Sir John Kerr, to withdraw his commission. He was eventually persuaded to accept the position of Minister for Science and Consumer Affairs
Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (Australia)
The current Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research is Kim Carr, appointed on 3 December 2007. He administers his portfolio through the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.-List of Ministers for Industry :...
.
Cameron thus became once again Whitlam's implacable enemy, but with the dismissal of Whitlam's government in November there was little he could do. He withdrew to the backbench, where he remained for the next five years till he retired from Parliament prior to the 1980 election
Australian federal election, 1980
Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 October 1980. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Malcolm Fraser with coalition partner the National Country Party led by Doug...
.
After politics
Subsequently he published several volumes of vindictive but amusing memoirs. He kept a diary throughout his career, but shortly after his retirement the volumes of this diary were (he insisted) stolen from his home by ASIOAustralian Security Intelligence Organisation
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is Australia's national security service, which is responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically-motivated violence, attacks on the Australian defence system, and...
agents.
In the 1982 Australia Day Honours he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
.
Clyde Cameron College was run by the Australian Trade Union Training Authority
Australian Trade Union Training Authority
The Australian Trade Union Training Authority was an Australian Government funded statutory authority providing education and training programs for union officials....
from 1977 until its abolition in 1996.
Well into his last years, he remained a frequent contributor to public debate, uttering various remarks showing a surprisingly respectful attitude towards his contemporary and former antagonist B. A. Santamaria
B. A. Santamaria
Bartholomew Augustine "B. A." Santamaria, otherwise 'Bob' , was an Australian political activist and journalist and one of the most influential political figures in 20th century Australian history...
. The two men never met, but when Santamaria died in 1998, Cameron (as reported by the Santamaria-founded magazine News Weekly) paid him a warm tribute, saying that "[his] soul was not for sale."
He was awarded the Centenary Medal
Centenary Medal
The Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...
in 2001.
Cameron died on 14 March 2008, aged 95. He was survived by three children, six grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.