Election | Premier at election | Premier's party | Premier after election | Premier's party |
---|---|---|---|---|
VIC 6 December 1952 | John Gladstone Black McDonald | Country Party | John Cain [snr] | Australian Labor Party |
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Defeat in parliament (Hollway): Beginning of McDonald's second period in office; On 28 October 1952, the Hollway ministry was defeated on a procedural motion in the Assembly 31 to 33, by Country Party party members and those of the Liberal and Country Party, the Australian Labor Party members supporting Hollway; Victoria Parliamentary Debates, 1951-52 Session, vol. 240, 28 October 1952, pp 2773-2790. The following day, a motion of no confidence was moved by the leader of the opposition, McDonald, and a vote taken in the early hours of 30 October; the government was again defeated 33 to 31; Victoria Parliamentary Debates, 1951-52 Session, vol. 240, 29 October 1952, pp 2794-2863.
'[Hollway] then sought, but did not obtain a dissolution. The Governor, Sir Dallas Brooks, obtained Hollway's resignation, commissioned McDonald to form a government, and then granted a dissolution.' Hughes and Graham, p.135 (see 'Sources', below); note Victoria Parliamentary Debates, 1951-52 Session, vol. 240, 29 October 1952, p.2864.
McDonald became Premier of what was, essentially, a caretaker Country Party minority government on 31 October 1952 until the general election for the Assembly held on 6 December 1952.
Loss of general election (McDonald): At the general election on 6 December 1952, the Australian Labor Party won an additional 13 seats and gained a comfortable majority in the Legislative Assembly for the first time in Victoria. McDonald resigned on 8 December (see Hughes and Graham, p.135 in 'Sources', below).
References: For a study of McDonald's periods in office, see Brian Costar, 'John McDonald: A Remorseful Premier', in Strangio and Costar (editors), ch. 19, (see 'Sources', below). A survey of McDonald's career can be found in B J Costar, 'McDonald, Sir John Gladstone Black (Jack) (1898–1977)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 14, (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1996), on line here [accessed 28 April 2014].
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.