State Government of Victoria beginning 20 May 1927 - period in office of Premier Hogan, Edmond John (Ned) ending on 22 November 1928
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 14 May 1932 | Edmond John (Ned) Hogan | Australian Labor Party | Stanley Seymour Argyle | United Australia Party |
| VIC 30 November 1929 | Wiliam Murray McPherson | National Party (Nationalists) | Edmond John (Ned) Hogan | Australian Labor Party |
| VIC 9 April 1927 | John Allan | Country Party | Edmond John (Ned) Hogan | Australian Labor Party |
Previous period in this series for VIC | Next period in this series for VIC
Notes
Loss of general election (Allan): Beginning of Hogan's first period in office; At the general election for the Assembly on 9 April 1927 the number of seats won by Australian Labor Party only increased by 1 to 28, but the non-Labor representation was split between five groups; 15 Nationalists, 10 members of the Country Party, 4 members from the new Country Progressive Party, and 2 members from the Liberal Party. While the total number members from non-Labor party groupings was almost unchanged, the two parties that had formed the previous governing coalition saw their support cut from 32 to 25.
'After the election of 9 April 1927, various proposals for replacing the coalition with an alternative non-Labor administration were discussed. Allan at first favoured meeting the Assembly, but resigned on 13 May without doing so. ... Following Allan's resignation, the Governor interviewed Hogan, the Labor leader, on 13 May 1927 but did not give him a commission until the following day, after Hogan had conferred with Dunstan, the leader of the Country Progressive Party, and other members. The Ministers were chosen by exhaustive ballot at a Labor caucus meeting.' Hughes and Graham, p.123 (see 'Sources', below).
On 20 May 1927, Hogan was commissioned as Premier of an Australian Labor Party minority government, supported by the 4 members of the Country Progressive Party and at least 2 of the 6 minor party and Independent members.
Defeat in Parliament (Hogan): 'McPherson [Nationalist], the Leader of the Opposition, moved a no-confidence motion in the ministry for its handling of a waterfront strike, and Dunstan [the leader of the Country Progressive Party] proposed an amendment censuring it for its electoral redistribution plans. The motion and amendment were carried on 14 November, both 30-31. Hogan refused to accept these results as a clear indication of opinion but the ministry was again defeated on a test motion, 34-28 on the 20th. Hogan resigned on the following day, his request for a dissolution having been refused.' Hughes and Graham, p.124 (see 'Sources', below).
For the debate on the first, and amended, confidence motion, see Victoria Parliamentary Debates, 1928 Session, vol. 178, 8-14 November 1928, pp 2739-2937; the second debate forced by Hogan to clarify the question of confidence, rather than the issue of a possible electoral redistribution, can be found in Victoria Parliamentary Debates, 1928 Session, vol. 178, 20 November 1928, pp 2941-2961. On the role of the Country Party during this period, see John Paul, 'Albert Dunstan and Victorian Government', in Cameron Hazelhurst (editor), Australian Conservatism: Essays in Twentieth Century Political History, pp 169-191 (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1979)
References: For a study of Hogan's periods in office, see Peter Love, 'Elmslie, Prendergast and Hogan: Labouring Against the Tide ', pp 179-184, in Strangio and Costar (editors), ch. 13, (see 'Sources', below). A survey of Hogan's career can be found in Pam Jonas, 'Hogan, Edmond John (Ned) (1883–1964)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 9, (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1983), on line here [accessed 18 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.