State Government of Victoria beginning 20 November 1947 - period in office of Premier Hollway, Thomas Tuke ending on 3 December 1948
Period in office of premier (see Glossary entry for 'period in office' and related terms)
Parliamentary support during period
Coalition partner 1
Number of ministers at beginning of period (this may vary during the period)
Assembly elections contested as premier or after which became premier (see Glossary entry for 'after election')
| Election | Premier at election | Premier's party | Premier after election | Premier's party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIC 13 May 1950 | Thomas Tuke Hollway | Liberal Party | Thomas Tuke Hollway | Liberal and Country Party |
| VIC 8 November 1947 | John Cain [snr] | Australian Labor Party | Thomas Tuke Hollway | Liberal Party |
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Notes
Loss of general election (Cain): Beginning of Hollway's first period in office; The Cain government was forced to the polls by a hostile majority in the Legislative Council. 'On [1] October 1947 the Legislative Council refused Supply because the Opposition parties wishes to test opinion on the Commonwealth Labor Government's bank nationalization policy [Consolidated Revenue Bill (no.1); Victoria Parliamentary Debates,1947 Session, vol. 225, 29 August, pp 78-116]. Cain refused to resign on the ground that the Opposition did not have the numbers to form a government, and obtained a dissolution.' Hughes and Graham, p.131 (see 'Sources', below). The details and context of this episode are described in Strangio, pp 260-261 (see 'References' in previous period in office), and Wright, pp 182-184 (see, 'Sources', below).
At the general election for the Assembly held on 8 November 1947, the Labor government was defeated, with the Liberal Party (led by Hollway) and the Country Party (led by McDonald) together winning 47 of the 65 Assembly seats. 'Hollway offered an equal share in the cabinet to the Country Party, and the offer was accepted by the party's central council. Each party elected its Ministers and Hollway allocated portfolios.' Hughes and Graham, p.131 (see 'Sources', below). Hollway was commissioned as Premier of a Liberal Party and Country Party coalition government on 20 November 1947; former Premier Dunstan was included as a Country Party minister as a condition for the creation of the coalition.
Change of partisan support for premier: 'At the end of November 1948 a rift appeared in the coalition over settlement of the essential services industrial dispute. Hollway sought Dunstan's resignation [from the ministry] but was rebuffed by the Country Party.' Hughes and Graham, p.132 (see 'Sources', below). 'The premier then effectively issued an ultimatum to the Country Party to declare its loyalty to him and to drop Dunstan, whom he described in a letter to McDonald as "a disruptive force and an embarrassment ever since the Government was formed", from the ministry [reference omitted]. The parliamentary Country Party divided 14 votes all on Hollway's demands and McDonald used his casting vote to reject them, thus ending the coalition government. Hollway then convinced the governor to swear in a ministry consisting only of Liberals [on 3 December 1948]' Costar, pp 232-233 (see 'References', below).
References: For a study of Hollway's periods in office, see Brian Costar, 'Tom Hollway: The Bohemian', in Strangio and Costar (editors), ch. 18, (see 'Sources', below), and Kate White, 'Hollway: An Atypical Liberal Leader?', Politics, 8 (2) November 1978: 320-323. A survey of Hollway's career can be found in Barry O Jones, 'Hollway, Thomas Tuke (Tom) (1906–1971)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 14, (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1996), on line here [accessed 21 April 2014].
Sources
Colin Hughes and B D Graham (editors), A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1890-1964, (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1968, SBN 708102700); Parliament of Victoria, One Hundred Years of Responsible Government 1856-1956, (Melbourne: Government Printer, 1957, Parliamentary Paper No. 40 of 1956-58); Paul Strangio and Brian Costar (editors), The Victorian Premiers 1856-2006, (Sydney: Federation Press, 2006, ISBN 9781862876019); Raymond Wright, A People's Counsel: A History of the Parliament of Victoria 1856-1990, (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1992, ISBN 0195533593). Victoria Hansard (Record of Parliamentary Debates) on line here .
In consulting these sources, note the difference between ministries and periods in office.