Ed Casey
Encyclopedia
Edmund Denis Casey (2 January 1933 - 1 May 2006) was best known as a former leader of the Australian Labor Party
in Queensland
between 1978 and 1982. He also served as Primary Industries Minister in the government of Wayne Goss
between 1989 and 1995. Casey was the member for Mackay
in the Queensland Legislative Assembly
between 1969 and 1995.
. Shortly before the 1969 election, he won Labor Party preselection for the seat of Mackay in the state parliament. He lost preselection for the Labor Party in the mid-1970s but was re-elected twice as an independent. http://www.abc.net.au/elections/qld/2004/background/mack.htm
who had resigned unexpectedly. (Encyclopedia of Australian Events 1978, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd accessed 2 May 2006). He contested the 1980 election as leader of the Queensland ALP but failed to make an impression on the Coalition Government led by Joh Bjelke-Petersen
. He was narrowly re-elected as the Leader of the Queensland ALP after the 1980 election.
Casey made an offer to the Queensland Liberal Party
after the 1980 election to join with the ALP to force a redistribution with one-vote-one-value. Relations between the Liberals and National Party
in the Coalition were poor, with the Liberal Party disadvantaged by the electoral system in place. He renewed his offer in 1982 when relations within the Coalition were poor, but it was again rebuffed despite a Liberal Convention in June voting against the current electoral system. Casey lost the leadership of the ALP to Keith Wright
in October 1982. (Encyclopedia of Australian Events, "1982" The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, accessed 2 May 2006)
had uncovered serious problems with corruption in the Queensland police force.
Goss appointed Casey as his Primary Industries Minister. He reformed the sugar industry, established agricultural academies and set up a drought relief task force. He resigned from the Ministry and from Parliament in 1995 due to health problems from diabetes. He died of a stroke on 1 May 2006.
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...
in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
between 1978 and 1982. He also served as Primary Industries Minister in the government of Wayne Goss
Wayne Goss
Wayne Keith Goss was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996.-Early life:He was born at Mundubbera, Queensland and educated at Inala High School and the University of Queensland...
between 1989 and 1995. Casey was the member for Mackay
Mackay, Queensland
Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....
in the Queensland Legislative Assembly
Queensland Legislative Assembly
The Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...
between 1969 and 1995.
Early life and career
Of Irish Catholic background, Casey started his working life as a bank clerk before entering his family's construction business. http://au.news.yahoo.com/060502/2/ysn6.html. He was active in local government, becoming deputy mayor of the City of MackayCity of Mackay
The City of Mackay was a Local Government Area located in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the regional city of Mackay and the surrounding region. The City was created as a municipal borough in 1869, and prior to amalgamation with the Shire of Pioneer in 1994,...
. Shortly before the 1969 election, he won Labor Party preselection for the seat of Mackay in the state parliament. He lost preselection for the Labor Party in the mid-1970s but was re-elected twice as an independent. http://www.abc.net.au/elections/qld/2004/background/mack.htm
Leader of the ALP
Casey was readmitted to the Labor caucus in 1978. In November 1978 he became Labor leader, replacing Tom BurnsTom Burns (Australian politician)
Tom Burns AO was an Australian politician who led the Australian Labor Party in Queensland between 1974 and 1978 and was Deputy Premier of Queensland between 1989 and 1996. He served as the Member for Lytton in the Parliament of Queensland between 1972 and 1996...
who had resigned unexpectedly. (Encyclopedia of Australian Events 1978, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd accessed 2 May 2006). He contested the 1980 election as leader of the Queensland ALP but failed to make an impression on the Coalition Government led by Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Sir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
. He was narrowly re-elected as the Leader of the Queensland ALP after the 1980 election.
Casey made an offer to the Queensland Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
after the 1980 election to join with the ALP to force a redistribution with one-vote-one-value. Relations between the Liberals and National Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
in the Coalition were poor, with the Liberal Party disadvantaged by the electoral system in place. He renewed his offer in 1982 when relations within the Coalition were poor, but it was again rebuffed despite a Liberal Convention in June voting against the current electoral system. Casey lost the leadership of the ALP to Keith Wright
Keith Wright (Australian politician)
Keith Webb Wright is a former Australian politician and convicted rapist. Born in Toowoomba, Queensland, he was educated at the University of Queensland and Kelvin Grove Teachers College in Brisbane before becoming a teacher and author....
in October 1982. (Encyclopedia of Australian Events, "1982" The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, accessed 2 May 2006)
Minister
Casey was re-elected comfortably in the 1983 and 1986 election. By this stage, the popularity of the National Party Government had declined and the Coalition with the Liberals had ended. Wayne Goss was elected as the new Premier in late 1989 after the Fitzgerald InquiryFitzgerald Inquiry
The Fitzgerald Inquiry into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted in the deposition of a premier, two by-elections, the jailing of three former ministers and a police commissioner who was jailed and lost his...
had uncovered serious problems with corruption in the Queensland police force.
Goss appointed Casey as his Primary Industries Minister. He reformed the sugar industry, established agricultural academies and set up a drought relief task force. He resigned from the Ministry and from Parliament in 1995 due to health problems from diabetes. He died of a stroke on 1 May 2006.