John Spicer (Australian politician)
Encyclopedia
Sir John Armstrong Spicer (5 March 1899 – 3 January 1978) was an Australia
n lawyer, politician, cabinet minister and judge.
Spicer was born in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran
, but was taken to England by his family in 1905 and educated at Chelston School, Torquay
. His family returned to Australia in 1911 and he attended Hawksburn State School in the inner Melbourne suburb of South Yarra
. In 1913, he started working as an officer boy in a legal practice. He studied law at the University of Melbourne
from 1916 to 1918, and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in March 1921, later establishing a successful practice. He married Lavinia May Webster in June 1924.
as a United Australia Party
candidate in the 1940 election
. In the Senate, he spoke frequently on tax issues and promoted "sound and honest finance", but he was defeated at the 1943 election
. He strongly opposed Ben Chifley
's bank nationalisation and acted for the English banks in court action on the issue. He took silk in 1948.
Spicer returned to the Senate as a Liberal Party of Australia
candidate in the 1949 election
, and was immediately appointed Attorney-General
in the Menzies government
. His first priority was to draft a bill banning the Communist Party of Australia
, which was later declared unconstitutional
by the High Court of Australia
. In 1952, he drafted an official secrets bill which included a provision permitting the death penalty for spying and wide powers of search and arrest without warrant, but this was rejected by Cabinet. He was also Minister for Transport for two weeks after George McLeay
's death.
In August 1956, Spicer resigned from parliament so that he could be appointed to the Commonwealth Industrial Court
. He was made a Knight Bachelor
in 1963.
Spicer presided over inquiries into aviation accidents and naval disasters:
Spicer died in the Melbourne suburb of Armadale
, survived by his wife and son.
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 lawyer, politician, cabinet minister and judge.
Spicer was born in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran
Prahran, Victoria
Prahran , also known colloquially as "Pran", is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Prahran had a population of 10,651. It is a part of Melbourne with...
, but was taken to England by his family in 1905 and educated at Chelston School, Torquay
Torquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
. His family returned to Australia in 1911 and he attended Hawksburn State School in the inner Melbourne suburb of South Yarra
South Yarra, Victoria
South Yarra is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Stonnington and Melbourne...
. In 1913, he started working as an officer boy in a legal practice. He studied law at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
from 1916 to 1918, and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in March 1921, later establishing a successful practice. He married Lavinia May Webster in June 1924.
Political career
Spicer won a seat in the SenateAustralian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
as a United Australia Party
United Australia Party
The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
candidate in the 1940 election
Australian federal election, 1940
Federal elections were held in Australia on 21 September 1940. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
. In the Senate, he spoke frequently on tax issues and promoted "sound and honest finance", but he was defeated at the 1943 election
Australian federal election, 1943
Federal elections were held in Australia on 21 August 1943. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin easily defeated the opposition Country Party led...
. He strongly opposed Ben Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
's bank nationalisation and acted for the English banks in court action on the issue. He took silk in 1948.
Spicer returned to the Senate as a Liberal Party of Australia
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...
candidate in 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...
, and was immediately appointed Attorney-General
Attorney-General of Australia
The Attorney-General of Australia is the first law officer of the Crown, chief law officer of the Commonwealth of Australia and a minister of the Crown. The Attorney-General is usually a member of the Federal Cabinet, but there is no constitutional requirement that this be the case since the...
in the Menzies government
Fourth Menzies Ministry
The Fourth Menzies Ministry was the thirty-fifth Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 19 December 1949 to 11 May 1951.Liberal Party of Australia–Australian Country Party Coalition*Rt Hon Robert Menzies, KC MP: Prime Minister...
. His first priority was to draft a bill banning the Communist Party of Australia
Communist Party of Australia
The Communist Party of Australia was founded in 1920 and dissolved in 1991; it was succeeded by the Socialist Party of Australia, which then renamed itself, becoming the current Communist Party of Australia. The CPA achieved its greatest political strength in the 1940s and faced an attempted...
, which was later declared unconstitutional
Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth
Australian Communist Party v The Commonwealth 83 CLR 1, also known as the Communist Party Case, was a legal case in the High Court of Australia described as "undoubtedly one of the High Court's most important decisions."- Background :...
by the High Court of Australia
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...
. In 1952, he drafted an official secrets bill which included a provision permitting the death penalty for spying and wide powers of search and arrest without warrant, but this was rejected by Cabinet. He was also Minister for Transport for two weeks after George McLeay
George McLeay
George McLeay was an Australian politician and senior minister in the Menzies Liberal government.McLeay was born in Port Clinton, South Australia and educated at Port Clinton Public School until 1906 when he was sent to Adelaide where he continued his education at Unley Public School...
's death.
In August 1956, Spicer resigned from parliament so that he could be appointed to the Commonwealth Industrial Court
Australian Industrial Relations Commission
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission, or AIRC , was a tribunal with powers under the Workplace Relations Act 1996. It was the central institution of Australian labour law...
. He was made a Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1963.
Spicer presided over inquiries into aviation accidents and naval disasters:
- Trans Australia Airlines Flight 538 was a Fokker F27 Friendship aircraft that crashed into the sea in 1960 while attempting to land in Mackay, QueenslandMackay, QueenslandMackay 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....
, killing all 29 people on board. - Ansett-ANA Flight 325Ansett-ANA Flight 325On 30 November 1961 a Vickers Viscount aircraft departed from Sydney, Australia late in the afternoon for a flight of 128 nautical miles to Canberra. There were thunderstorms to the north and south of the airport. From about 9 minutes after takeoff the crew of Ansett-ANA Flight 325 did not...
was a Vickers ViscountVickers ViscountThe Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
aircraft that crashed into Botany BayBotany BayBotany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
in 1961, killing all 15 people on board. - Spicer chaired a royal commission in 1964Melbourne-Voyager collisionThe Melbourne-Voyager collision, also referred to as the "Melbourne-Voyager incident" or simply the "Voyager incident", was a collision between two warships of the Royal Australian Navy ; the aircraft carrier and the destroyer...
into the sinking of HMAS VoyagerHMAS Voyager (D04)HMAS Voyager was a Daring class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy , that was lost in a collision in 1964.Constructed between 1949 and 1957, Voyager was the first ship of her class to enter Australian service, and the first all-welded ship to be built in Australia...
. He found that officers in both Voyager and HMAS Melbourne had been at fault, but a second royal commission in 1967-68 attributed blame to Voyagers officers only. - Ansett-ANA Flight 149Ansett-ANA Flight 149On 22 September 1966 a Vickers Viscount aircraft departed from Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia for a 73 minute flight to Longreach. Forty-four minutes after takeoff a fire started in one of the engines. The crew were unable to extinguish the fire or feather the propeller so made an emergency...
was a Vickers Viscount aircraft that crashed near Winton, QueenslandWinton, Queensland-Qantas:Winton was one of the founding towns of the Australian airline Qantas. The first board meeting was held at the Winton Club on 10 February 1921.-Waltzing Matilda:...
in 1966, killing all 24 people on board.
Spicer died in the Melbourne suburb of Armadale
Armadale, Victoria
Armadale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Armadale had a population of 8,467....
, survived by his wife and son.