John Stone (Australian politician)
Encyclopedia
John Owen Stone is a former Australia
n politician. He served as Secretary to the Treasury
between 1979 and 1984,
and as a Senator for Queensland representing the National Party
from 1987 to 1990.
in Mathematical Physics
for his Bachelor of Science
degree and representing Western Australia
(under 21) at hockey
, he was selected as the Rhodes Scholar
from Western Australia
for 1951.
At Oxford
he was awarded First Class Honours in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) and won the James Webb Medley Prize for Economics. Then, in 1954, he returned to Australia and joined the Treasury
.
Stone rose within the department to become Secretary to the Treasury during the reign of Prime Minister
Malcolm Fraser
. He penned a severe critique of Fraser's economic policies, which was used against the Liberal Party
once the Australian Labor Party
won the 1983 federal election
. Stone resigned from the Treasury in 1984, after the election of the Hawke-Keating government, some of whose economic reforms he supported, although he had little time for Bob Hawke
or Paul Keating
personally.
Despite what were in many respects neo-Liberal economic views, Stone initially opposed floating the currency and consistently deplored a consumption tax
. Indeed, he has repeatedly denounced the GST
(and Treasurer Peter Costello
) in print.
An informal advisor to Queensland
's longest-serving Premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
, Stone was elected to the Australian Senate
from Queensland as a member of the pro-Bjelke-Petersen National Party
contingent at the 1987 election. John Howard
, Liberal Party leader at the time, appointed Stone the opposition's finance spokesman. Following the release of the Coalition
's One Australia
immigration policy in 1988, Stone publicly said:
In 1990 Stone left the Senate, to contest the House of Representatives
seat of Fairfax
, his Senate place being taken by Bill O'Chee
. Unsuccessful in his attempt to win Fairfax, he abandoned parliamentary life thereafter, but remained very much in the public eye.
Since 1990 Stone has been an outspoken critic of multiculturalism and a supporter of the Samuel Griffith Society
, which he helped found. He formerly had a column, on economics and politics, in The Australian Financial Review
. Other Australian publications for which he has repeatedly written include The Sydney Morning Herald
and the quarterly National Observer
. Most recently, Stone has been critical of the Howard Government for its efforts at eroding the power of the states within the Australian federal
system, regarding this as a departure from long-standing Liberal/National coalition "states' rights" theory. Nevertheless, in its March 2008 issue, Quadrant magazine published an article in which Stone argued that Howard had been, on the whole, Australia's greatest Prime Minister.
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. He served as Secretary to the Treasury
Department of the Treasury (Australia)
The Department of the Treasury is an Australian Government department. Its role is to focus and develop economic policy.-History:The Commonwealth Treasury was established in Melbourne in January 1901....
between 1979 and 1984,
and as a Senator for Queensland representing the 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...
from 1987 to 1990.
Biography
John Stone was born in 1929. After gaining First Class HonoursBritish undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
in Mathematical Physics
Mathematical physics
Mathematical physics refers to development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The Journal of Mathematical Physics defines this area as: "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and...
for his Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree and representing Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
(under 21) at hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
, he was selected as the Rhodes Scholar
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
from Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
for 1951.
At Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
he was awarded First Class Honours in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) and won the James Webb Medley Prize for Economics. Then, in 1954, he returned to Australia and joined the Treasury
Department of the Treasury (Australia)
The Department of the Treasury is an Australian Government department. Its role is to focus and develop economic policy.-History:The Commonwealth Treasury was established in Melbourne in January 1901....
.
Stone rose within the department to become Secretary to the Treasury during the reign of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
. He penned a severe critique of Fraser's economic policies, which was used against the 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...
once 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...
won the 1983 federal election
Australian federal election, 1983
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election, following a double dissolution...
. Stone resigned from the Treasury in 1984, after the election of the Hawke-Keating government, some of whose economic reforms he supported, although he had little time for Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
or Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
personally.
Despite what were in many respects neo-Liberal economic views, Stone initially opposed floating the currency and consistently deplored a consumption tax
Consumption tax
A consumption tax is a tax on spending on goods and services. The tax base of such a tax is the money spent on consumption. Consumption taxes are usually indirect, such as a sales tax or a value added tax...
. Indeed, he has repeatedly denounced the GST
Goods and Services Tax (Australia)
The GST is a broad sales tax of 10% on most goods and services transactions in Australia. It is a value added tax, not a sales tax, in that it is refunded to all parties in the chain of production other than the final consumer....
(and Treasurer Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
) in print.
An informal advisor to 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...
's longest-serving Premier, Sir 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...
, Stone was elected to the Australian Senate
Australian 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,...
from Queensland as a member of the pro-Bjelke-Petersen 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...
contingent at the 1987 election. John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, Liberal Party leader at the time, appointed Stone the opposition's finance spokesman. Following the release of the Coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
's One Australia
One Australia policy
One Australia was the immigration and ethnic affairs policy of the Liberal-National opposition in Australia, released in 1988. The One Australia policy proclaimed a vision of "one nation and one future"...
immigration policy in 1988, Stone publicly said:
"Asian immigration has to be slowed. It's no use dancing around the bushes"
In 1990 Stone left the Senate, to contest 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....
seat of Fairfax
Division of Fairfax
The Division of Fairfax is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was created in 1984 and is named for Ruth Fairfax, founder of the Country Women's Association. It is located in the Sunshine Coast region north of Brisbane and includes the towns of Coolum, Maroochydore,...
, his Senate place being taken by Bill O'Chee
Bill O'Chee
William George "Bill" O'Chee is an Australian politician. He was a National Party member of the Australian Senate from 1990 to 1999, representing the state of Queensland.-Biography:...
. Unsuccessful in his attempt to win Fairfax, he abandoned parliamentary life thereafter, but remained very much in the public eye.
Since 1990 Stone has been an outspoken critic of multiculturalism and a supporter of the Samuel Griffith Society
Samuel Griffith Society
The Samuel Griffith Society was founded by former Chief Justice Sir Harry Gibbs, John Stone and others in 1992. Named after Sir Samuel Griffith, one of the architects of the Australian Constitution, the society describes its prime role: ".....
, which he helped found. He formerly had a column, on economics and politics, in The Australian Financial Review
The Australian Financial Review
The Australian Financial Review is a leading business and finance newspaper in Australia.Fairfax Media publishes it in a compact format six days a week, Monday to Saturday....
. Other Australian publications for which he has repeatedly written include The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
and the quarterly National Observer
National Observer
The National Observer was a weekly American newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company from 1962 until 1977. Hunter S. Thompson wrote several articles for the National Observer as the correspondent for Latin America early in his career....
. Most recently, Stone has been critical of the Howard Government for its efforts at eroding the power of the states within the Australian federal
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
system, regarding this as a departure from long-standing Liberal/National coalition "states' rights" theory. Nevertheless, in its March 2008 issue, Quadrant magazine published an article in which Stone argued that Howard had been, on the whole, Australia's greatest Prime Minister.
External links
- bio
- Time to Stop the Dreaming An article by John Stone in Quadrant Magazine, April 2008, in which he says that "traditional Aboriginal culture is a violent culture".