James Fenton (Australian politician)
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James Edward Fenton CMG
(4 February 1864 2 December 1950) was an Australian politician. He is notable for having been appointed a cabinet minister by two governments of different political complexions, but resigning from both governments on matters of principle.
Born at Nette Yallock, near Avoca
, Victoria, Fenton was educated at a local school. At 13 he became a printer's apprentice with the Avoca Mail and later became a compositor in the Government Printing Office in Melbourne, but lost his job in the 1893 depression. In 1887, he married Elizabeth Jane Harvey. He was editor of the Broadford
Courier from 1894 to 1903, and managing director of the Co-operative Dairyman from 1904 to 1910.
three times as a liberal from 1897. In 1908 he stood, again unsuccessfully, as a Labor
candidate; but in 1910
, he was first elected as a member of the House of Representatives
for the Division of Maribyrnong
in Victoria
. He held the seat without interruption until 1934.
When James Scullin
led the Labor Party to victory at the 1929 general election
, Fenton became Minister for Trade and Customs
. He greatly increased the level of tariff
s in an attempt to stimulate Australian industrial production.
However, the government soon was divided over the appropriate means to combat the Great Depression
. Fenton became a supporter of the cautious, deflationary economic policies championed inside the Cabinet by his fellow minister Joseph Lyons
, while other ministers supported more radical inflationary policies. While Scullin was in Britain from August 1930 to January 1931, attending the Imperial Conference and seeking to raise a low-interest loan for Australia, Fenton served as Acting Prime Minister
, and Lyons as Acting Treasurer
. Lyons, with Fenton's support, pursued conservative economic policies and sought to cut government spending, causing great anger among many in the Labor Caucus.
When Scullin returned to Australia in January 1931, he reappointed Ted Theodore
, the major proponent of inflationary economic policies, as Treasurer. In response, Lyons and Fenton both immediately resigned from Cabinet. The following March, along with three other Labor MPs, they resigned from the Labor Party and crossed the floor to sit with the conservative Nationalist Party
opposition. Soon the two groups merged to form the United Australia Party
(UAP), with Lyons as its leader. At the general election in December 1931, the UAP won government in a landslide, and Fenton narrowly won his seat of Maribyrnong as a UAP candidate.
Fenton was appointed as Postmaster-General in the new UAP government
and introduced the legislation that established the Australian Broadcasting Commission
. But he soon fell out with his fellow ministers over the government's acceptance of the Ottawa Agreement
, establishing Imperial Preference
, which he considered threatened the high tariff
policy. In October 1932 he resigned, after voting against the bill that ratified the agreement. He remained on the government backbench and ran again as the UAP candidate for Maribyrnong at the general election in 1934, but the seat was naturally a Labor one. He had been able to win it for the UAP in the anti-Labor landslide of 1931, but in 1934 Fenton lost to the Labor candidate, Arthur Drakeford
, suffering a 7-point swing.
After his defeat Fenton served as a director of the Commonwealth Oil Refineries
from 1934 to 1936. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
in 1938. He died in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston
, survived by a son and a daughter, but pre-deceased by his wife and another daughter.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(4 February 1864 2 December 1950) was an Australian politician. He is notable for having been appointed a cabinet minister by two governments of different political complexions, but resigning from both governments on matters of principle.
Born at Nette Yallock, near Avoca
Avoca, Victoria
Avoca is a town in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia, north west of Ballarat. It is one of two main towns in the Pyrenees Shire, the other being Beaufort to the south. At the 2006 census, Avoca had a population of 951.-Geography:...
, Victoria, Fenton was educated at a local school. At 13 he became a printer's apprentice with the Avoca Mail and later became a compositor in the Government Printing Office in Melbourne, but lost his job in the 1893 depression. In 1887, he married Elizabeth Jane Harvey. He was editor of the Broadford
Broadford, Victoria
Broadford is a small town in central Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Broadford had a population of 3,054. The town is the headquarters of the Shire of Mitchell Local Government Area and is approximately north of the state capital, Melbourne....
Courier from 1894 to 1903, and managing director of the Co-operative Dairyman from 1904 to 1910.
Political career
Fenton stood unsuccessfully for election to the Victorian Legislative AssemblyVictorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
three times as a liberal from 1897. In 1908 he stood, again unsuccessfully, as a Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
candidate; but in 1910
Australian federal election, 1910
Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 April 1910. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
, he was first elected as a member of the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
for the Division of Maribyrnong
Division of Maribyrnong
The Division of Maribyrnong is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Melbourne. It covers the suburbs of Moonee Ponds, Essendon, Niddrie, Keilor East, Avondale Heights, Tullamarine, Airport West, Sunshine and Brooklyn. Due to...
in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. He held the seat without interruption until 1934.
When James Scullin
James Scullin
James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
led the Labor Party to victory at the 1929 general election
Australian federal election, 1929
Federal elections were held in Australia on 12 October 1929. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election, with no Senate seats up for election, as a result of Billy Hughes and other rebel backbenchers crossing the floor over industrial relations legislation, depriving the...
, Fenton became Minister for Trade and Customs
Minister for Trade (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Trade has been Dr. Craig Emerson since 14 September 2010.-Portfolio:Currently the Minister for Trade administers the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade jointly with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, although prior to 1987 there was a separate Department of Trade...
. He greatly increased the level of tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s in an attempt to stimulate Australian industrial production.
However, the government soon was divided over the appropriate means to combat the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Fenton became a supporter of the cautious, deflationary economic policies championed inside the Cabinet by his fellow minister Joseph Lyons
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
, while other ministers supported more radical inflationary policies. While Scullin was in Britain from August 1930 to January 1931, attending the Imperial Conference and seeking to raise a low-interest loan for Australia, Fenton served as Acting Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, and Lyons as Acting Treasurer
Treasurer of Australia
The Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...
. Lyons, with Fenton's support, pursued conservative economic policies and sought to cut government spending, causing great anger among many in the Labor Caucus.
When Scullin returned to Australia in January 1931, he reappointed Ted Theodore
Ted Theodore
Edward Granville Theodore was an Australian politician. He was Premier of Queensland 1919–25, a federal politician representing a New South Wales seat 1927–31, and Federal Treasurer 1929–30.-Early life:...
, the major proponent of inflationary economic policies, as Treasurer. In response, Lyons and Fenton both immediately resigned from Cabinet. The following March, along with three other Labor MPs, they resigned from the Labor Party and crossed the floor to sit with the conservative Nationalist Party
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
opposition. Soon the two groups merged to form the United Australia Party
United Australia Party
The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
(UAP), with Lyons as its leader. At the general election in December 1931, the UAP won government in a landslide, and Fenton narrowly won his seat of Maribyrnong as a UAP candidate.
Fenton was appointed as Postmaster-General in the new UAP government
First Lyons Ministry
The First Lyons Ministry was the twenty-first Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 6 January 1932 to 12 October 1934.United Australia Party*Rt Hon Joseph Lyons, MP: Prime Minister, Treasurer...
and introduced the legislation that established the Australian Broadcasting Commission
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
. But he soon fell out with his fellow ministers over the government's acceptance of the Ottawa Agreement
British Empire Economic Conference
The British Empire Economic Conference was a 1932 conference of British colonies and the autonomous dominions held to discuss the Great Depression. It was held between 21 July and 20 August in Ottawa.The conference saw the group admit the failure of the gold standard and abandon attempts to...
, establishing Imperial Preference
Imperial Preference
Imperial Preference was a proposed system of reciprocally-levelled tariffs or free trade agreements between the dominions and colonies within the British Empire...
, which he considered threatened the high tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
policy. In October 1932 he resigned, after voting against the bill that ratified the agreement. He remained on the government backbench and ran again as the UAP candidate for Maribyrnong at the general election in 1934, but the seat was naturally a Labor one. He had been able to win it for the UAP in the anti-Labor landslide of 1931, but in 1934 Fenton lost to the Labor candidate, Arthur Drakeford
Arthur Drakeford
Arthur Samuel Drakeford was an Australian politician and was the minister responsible for the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II...
, suffering a 7-point swing.
After his defeat Fenton served as a director of the Commonwealth Oil Refineries
Commonwealth Oil Refineries
Commonwealth Oil Refineries was an Australian oil companyCommonwealth Oil Refineries that operated bewtween 1920 and 1952 as a joint venture of the Australian government and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company....
from 1934 to 1936. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
in 1938. He died in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston
Frankston, Victoria
Frankston is a suburb within the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area in Victoria, Australia. It is located 40 km southeast of the state capital Melbourne at the southernmost edge of Greater Melbourne, near the beginnings of the Mornington Peninsula...
, survived by a son and a daughter, but pre-deceased by his wife and another daughter.