Members_of_the_Australian_Senate,_1929–1932

Members of the Australian Senate, 1929–1932

Members of the Australian Senate, 1929–1932

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This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1929 to 1932.[1] Half of its members were elected at the 14 November 1925 election and had terms starting on 1 July 1926 and finishing on 30 June 1932; the other half were elected at the 17 November 1928 election and had terms starting on 1 July 1929 and finishing on 30 June 1935. The process for filling casual vacancies was complex. While senators were elected for a six-year term, people appointed to a casual vacancy only held office until the earlier of the next election for the House of Representatives or the Senate.[2]

Senate composition at 1 July 1929
Coalition (28) - (10 seat majority)[lower-roman 1]
  Nationalist (24)[lower-roman 2][lower-roman 3]
  Country Party (4)

  Labor (8) - (10 seat minority)[lower-roman 1] [lower-roman 4]
 
Changes in composition

  1. The Coalition government was defeated by Labor at the October 1929 House of Representatives election
  2. In May 1931 the Nationalist party merged with pro-Joseph Lyons Labor defectors to form the United Australia Party.
  3. UAP Senator Walter Duncan resigned on 1 December 1931 and was replaced by Lang Labor member Patrick Mooney.
  4. In 1931 2 NSW Senators walked out of the Labor party to join Lang Labor

The government changed during the Senate term as the Coalition of the Nationalist Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Stanley Bruce and the Country Party led by Earle Page lost the confidence of the House of Representatives and called an election for October 1929. The Labor Party, led by James Scullin, won the election with a large majority. This was the first time in which an election for the House of Representatives was held without an election for the Senate. Section 13 of the Constitution requires an election to occur within one year of the expiry of senate terms and the terms of senators elected in 1925 were not due to expire until 1932.[3]

In 1931 five Labor members in the House of Representatives split from the Scullin government in opposition to its economic policies on the Great Depression and joined the Nationalist Party and three conservative independents in the House to form the United Australia Party (UAP). Subsequently, some New South Wales members and senators were expelled from the Labor Party for their support of New South Wales Premier Jack Lang's policy of repudiating foreign debt and formed the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales)—known as Lang Labor—and later voted with the UAP to defeat the Scullin government, leading to the 1931 election.

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Notes

  1. Nationalist Senator Harold Edward Elliott died on 23 March 1931; UAP member Tom Brennan was appointed on 12 May to replace him for the remainder of his term finishing on 30 June 1932.
  2. Appointed to a casual vacancy and only held office until the earlier of the next election for the House of Representatives or the Senate.[2]
  3. Labor Senator John Chapman died on 14 March 1931; Labor member Harry Kneebone was appointed on 1 April to replace him until the 19 December 1931 election when he was defeated by UAP candidate Jack Duncan-Hughes for the remainder of his term finishing on 30 June 1932.
  4. UAP Senator Walter Duncan resigned on 1 December 1931; Lang Labor member Patrick Mooney was appointed on 23 December to replace him for the remainder of his term finishing on 30 June 1932.
  5. UAP Senator James Ogden died on 5 February 1932; UAP member and former Senator Charles Grant was appointed on 3 March to replace him with his term expiring at the September 1934 election, when he was re-elected for the balance of the term expiring on 30 June 1935 and a six year term expiring on 30 June 1941.

References

  1. "The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate 1929". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  2. Evans, H. "Filling Casual Vacancies before 1977" (PDF). The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate, Volume 3. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  3. Constitution (Cth) s 13 Rotation of senators.

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