Australian Politics and Elections Archive 1856-2018
The University of Western Australia

State Government of Victoria beginning 5 June 1981 - period in office of Premier Thompson, Lindsay Hamilton Simpson ending on 8 April 1982

Period in office of premier (see Glossary entry for 'period in office' and related terms)

Parliamentary support during period

Number of ministers at beginning of period (this may vary during the period)

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Notes

Change of party leader (Hamer): Beginning of Thompson's period in office; 'On 15 March 1981 [Minister Ian] Smith announced that he would introduce a private member's bill to legalize casinos, a policy which the Liberal parliamentary party had just rejected. He was immediately dismissed [from the ministry] but was restored to cabinet two days later. On 22 May he publicly criticised Hamer and, after repeating his criticism at a cabinet meeting [chaired by Lindsay Thompson], resigned. Hamer, who had been overseas, returned on 28 May and resigned. At the election of a new leader [by the Liberal caucus] on 2 June Thompson defeated defeated [William] Borthwick who became deputy leader.' Hughes, p. 54 (see 'Sources', below). A more detailed account of the resignation can be found in Colebatch, ch. 26 (see 'References', below).

Period in office: Thompson was Premier of Victoria for only ten months. In forming his ministry, Thompson selected all but three ministers who were elected by the Liberal Caucus (see Rodan, p. 252, in 'References', below). Government actions during this period are discussed in Peel (see 'References', below). Thompson had been a Victorian minister for 28 years and his contributions to government policies are discussed in the references for premiers Bolte and Hamer, especially the book by Colebatch (see 'References' below).

Loss of general election: Premier Thompson called a general election on 3 April 1982. At the election for the Legislative Assembly, there was a 3 percent swing against the government, and the Liberal Party lost 17 of the 41 seats it had won at the previous election in 1979. The Australian Labor Party won over 50 percent of the first preference vote and a majority of the seats in the Assembly. Premier Thompson tendered his resignation on 8 April 1982.

References: Thompson's period in office is surveyed by Victoria Peel in 'Lindsay Thompson: The Team Player', in Strangio and Costar, ch. 23 (see 'Sources', below). References to his contribution as a minister can be found in Tim Colebatch, Hamer: The Liberal Liberal, (Brunswick, Vic.: Scribe Publications, 2014, ISBN 9781925106138) and there is brief mention of his role in opposition in Paul Rodan, 'The Liberals in Opposition' in Brian Costar and Colin Hughes (editors), Labor to Office: The Victorian State Election of 1982, ch. 19 (Melbourne: Drummond, 1983. ISBN 0909081735).

The Victorian Parliament under Liberal governments from 1955-1982 is surveyed by Wright, pp 196-206 (see 'Sources', below), and the Australian Journal of Politics and History has given brief summaries of Victorian politics and government since 1956 in the 'Political Chronicle' section of the journal in issues of each annual volume. This publication can be viewed online through Wiley-Blackwell Journals at subscribing libraries.

Sources

Colin A Hughes, A Handbook of Australian Government and Politics 1975-1984, (Rushcutters Bay, NSW: Australian National University Press, 1986, ISBN 008033038X); 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 at: http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/hansard .

In consulting these sources, note the difference between ministries and periods in office.