Neil Pickard
Encyclopedia
Neil Edward William Pickard (13 February 192913 April 2007) was a New South Wales
politician and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Sir Eric Willis
and Nick Greiner
. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
for 26 years from 17 November 1973 to 3 May 1991 for the Liberal Party of Australia
until his retirement from politics upon the abolition of his seat at the election. He was appointed NSW Agent-General in London, but was recalled soon after due to expenses abuse.
in Sydney
, the son of Edward Picard and Mary MacGilvray. Having left school at age 12 to support his family, Pickard gained a place to study at the Methodist Leigh College
in 1951 and was educated at the University of Sydney
, Wesley College
, where he gained a Bachelor of Arts
(BA), a Master of Education
(MEd), a Diploma of Education
(DipEd) and later at the University of Melbourne
he gained a Licentiate in Theology
(LTh) and a Diploma in Theology (DipTh).
He moved to Peak Hill
to serve as a Methodist Minister from 1952 to 1965. He entered politics when he was elected as became an Alderman of the Peak Hill Shire Council and it was there also that he joined the Liberal Party
: "to me the Liberal Party was the party that offered the greatest freedom on a grass roots level". In 1965 he became an English and History teacher at Dubbo High School. In 1969 he was also elected an Alderman of Dubbo City Council
, becoming Chairman of the Country Mayors Association. Pickard also became Western Regional Chairman and a member of the State Executive of the Liberal Party. In May 1971, Pickard was asked by Prime Minister William McMahon
to be part of the education sub-committee of the joint standing committee on Federal Policy, to examine Liberal education policy.
and offered the nomination for the vacant Liberal preselection of the seat of Hornsby
, when the sitting member, John Maddison
, chose to contest the new seat of Ku-ring-gai
. He accepted and was subsequently elected at the 1973 election
with 59.97% of the vote.
During the Askin and Lewis Governments he remained on the backbenches, but following the poor performance of Premier Lewis, despite a federal swing towards the Coalition after the 1975 Federal election
, Pickard, along with fellow backbenchers David Arblaster
(Mosman) and Keith Doyle
(Vaucluse), all of whom had supported Sir Eric Willis
in previous ballots, moved against Premier Lewis. At the party room meeting on 20 January 1976, Pickard moved the motion that the leadership be declared vacant. This was carried 22 votes to 11 and Willis was made Leader and Premier unopposed. Willis then appointed Pickard on 23 January 1976 to the cabinet as Minister for Education, which he held until the Coalition government lost the 1976 election on 14 May 1976. At the March election he retained his seat with a significant margin of 61.56%. In Opposition, he was appointed as Shadow Minister for Education under Willis and then Peter Coleman
from 28 May 1976 to 7 October 1978. At the 1978 'Wranslide' election
he almost lost his seat, following a redistribution, surviving by only 562 votes and 50.85% of the vote.
When Coleman lost his seat at the election, the new leader, John Mason made him Shadow Minister for Mineral Resources from 2 November 1978 to 11 July 1980. He was thereafter made Shadow Minister for Energy from 11 July 1980 to 12 October 1981. When John Dowd
became leader he was dropped from the opposition frontbench. However, upon the election of Nick Greiner
as leader, he returned as Shadow Minister for Education from 8 April 1983 to 18 February 1986, when he was appointed on 15 May as Shadow Minister for Mineral Resources. Pickard was suspended for two days from parliament after losing his customarily cool temper during a rowdy session in the Legislative Assembly on 27 October 1987. Pickard, who had been upset by Labor MPs laughing during a speech by Nick Greiner
, got up and pointed at Premier Barrie Unsworth
: "It's all right for you, you giggling Gert. That's all you can do is smile, you mock yourself if you can smile at all. Get your cardigan on and come out into the street and fight." Unsworth declined the invitation and the Speaker, Laurie Kelly
, had Pickard expelled.
Upon the Coalition victory at the 1988 election, Pickard was appointed as Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy in the Greiner
government. As Minister, Pickard came under fire for not declaring pecuniary interests which amounted to shares in two mining companies, for nine months, and taking a further three weeks to clear up the matter. Pickard generated international interest when he announced to Parliament a plan to use seized marijuana crops as a cheaper alternative for coal, the plan was met with uproarious laughter from both sides. He held office until 1991 when his seat of Hornsby was abolished, and he subsequently retired from politics.
. However, following allegations that he had abused his expenses while in that office, the new Premier John Fahey
abolished the office of Agent-General in 1992 and Pickard was recalled. However, Pickard contested the decision and later won a dispute over compensation and thereafter withdrew from public life. He died at Turramurra
on 13 April 2007.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
politician and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Sir Eric Willis
Eric Willis
Sir Eric Archibald Willis KBE, CMG was an Australian politician, Cabinet Minister and the 34th Premier of New South Wales, serving from 23 January 1976 to 14 May 1976. Born in Murwillumbah in 1922, Willis was educated at Murwillumbah High School and the University of Sydney, where he obtained a...
and Nick Greiner
Nick Greiner
Nicholas "Nick" Frank Hugo Greiner AC, is an Australian businessman and former politician. He was the 37th Premier New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. He was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 to 1988. He is married...
. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
for 26 years from 17 November 1973 to 3 May 1991 for the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
until his retirement from politics upon the abolition of his seat at the election. He was appointed NSW Agent-General in London, but was recalled soon after due to expenses abuse.
Early life
Pickard was born in StrathfieldStrathfield, New South Wales
Strathfield is an Inner West suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Strathfield is located 14 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, the son of Edward Picard and Mary MacGilvray. Having left school at age 12 to support his family, Pickard gained a place to study at the Methodist Leigh College
Leigh College
Leigh College was from 1915 until 1974 a Methodist Theological College located at 416-420 Liverpool Road, Strathfield South, New South Wales. The site includes three significant historic properties: Brundah, a Victorian style house, Leigh College Hall, a neo-Georgian Revival style building and the E...
in 1951 and was educated at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, Wesley College
Wesley College, University of Sydney
Wesley College is a Protestant co-residential college of over 230 students within the University of Sydney. The College occupies a site on the main campus of the University of Sydney and was built on a sub-grant of Crown Land.- Academic profile :...
, where he gained a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(BA), a Master of Education
Master of Education
The Master of Education is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in a large number of countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum and instruction, counseling, and administration. It is often conferred for educators advancing in...
(MEd), a Diploma of Education
Diploma of Education
The Diploma of Education, often abbreviated to DipEd or GradDipEd, is a postgraduate qualification offered in many Commonwealth countries including Australia, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom...
(DipEd) and later at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
he gained a Licentiate in Theology
Licentiate in Theology
The Licentiate of Theology or the Licence in Theology is a theological qualification commonly awarded for ordinands and laymen studying theology in the United Kingdom, Malta, Canada, Australia and New Zealand...
(LTh) and a Diploma in Theology (DipTh).
He moved to Peak Hill
Peak Hill, New South Wales
Peak Hill is a town in Parkes Shire in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Peak Hill had a population of 946 people.It is on the Newell Highway and the Dubbo to Parkes railway line, completed to Peak Hill in 1910...
to serve as a Methodist Minister from 1952 to 1965. He entered politics when he was elected as became an Alderman of the Peak Hill Shire Council and it was there also that he joined the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
: "to me the Liberal Party was the party that offered the greatest freedom on a grass roots level". In 1965 he became an English and History teacher at Dubbo High School. In 1969 he was also elected an Alderman of Dubbo City Council
City of Dubbo
Dubbo is a Local Government Area in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The City is traversed by the Mitchell Highway, the Newell Highway, the Golden Highway and the Main Western railway line.The largest population centre is the city of Dubbo...
, becoming Chairman of the Country Mayors Association. Pickard also became Western Regional Chairman and a member of the State Executive of the Liberal Party. In May 1971, Pickard was asked by Prime Minister William McMahon
William McMahon
Sir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
to be part of the education sub-committee of the joint standing committee on Federal Policy, to examine Liberal education policy.
Political career
In 1973, whilst teaching at Sydney University, Pickard was approached by the Premier of New South Wales, Sir Robert AskinRobert Askin
Sir Robert William Askin GCMG, was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party of Australia. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but always disliked his first name and changed it by deed poll in 1971...
and offered the nomination for the vacant Liberal preselection of the seat of Hornsby
Electoral district of Hornsby
Hornsby is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. Hornsby is one of two post-1927 electorates to have never been held by the Labor party and always by the Liberals, a predecessor party to the Liberals, or an independent, the other such district...
, when the sitting member, John Maddison
John Maddison
John Clarkson Maddison, was a New South Wales politician, Attorney General, Minister for Justice and Deputy Leader for the Liberal Party of New South Wales in the cabinets of Robert Askin, Tom Lewis and Sir Eric Willis until the Liberal party lost the 1976 election...
, chose to contest the new seat of Ku-ring-gai
Electoral district of Ku-ring-gai
Ku-ring-gai is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by the current Premier of New South Wales, Barry O'Farrell of the Liberal Party of Australia, since 1999.-Electorate History:...
. He accepted and was subsequently elected at the 1973 election
New South Wales state election, 1973
Elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly were held in the state of New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday 17 November 1973. The result was a win for the Liberal-Country Party coalition under Sir Robert Askin, which had been in office since 1965....
with 59.97% of the vote.
During the Askin and Lewis Governments he remained on the backbenches, but following the poor performance of Premier Lewis, despite a federal swing towards the Coalition after the 1975 Federal election
Australian federal election, 1975
Federal elections were held in Australia on 13 December 1975. All 127 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election following a double dissolution of both Houses....
, Pickard, along with fellow backbenchers David Arblaster
David Arblaster
David Amos Arblaster, was a New South Wales politician, Minister for Culture, Sport and Recreation and Minister for Tourism in the cabinet of Sir Eric Willis until the Liberal party lost the 1976 election...
(Mosman) and Keith Doyle
Keith Doyle (politician)
Keith Ralph Doyle is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1965 to 1978, representing the electorate of Vaucluse....
(Vaucluse), all of whom had supported Sir Eric Willis
Eric Willis
Sir Eric Archibald Willis KBE, CMG was an Australian politician, Cabinet Minister and the 34th Premier of New South Wales, serving from 23 January 1976 to 14 May 1976. Born in Murwillumbah in 1922, Willis was educated at Murwillumbah High School and the University of Sydney, where he obtained a...
in previous ballots, moved against Premier Lewis. At the party room meeting on 20 January 1976, Pickard moved the motion that the leadership be declared vacant. This was carried 22 votes to 11 and Willis was made Leader and Premier unopposed. Willis then appointed Pickard on 23 January 1976 to the cabinet as Minister for Education, which he held until the Coalition government lost the 1976 election on 14 May 1976. At the March election he retained his seat with a significant margin of 61.56%. In Opposition, he was appointed as Shadow Minister for Education under Willis and then Peter Coleman
Peter Coleman
William Peter Coleman is an Australian writer/journalist, former politician and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Tom Lewis and Sir Eric Willis. Following Willis' resignation as leader he was made Leader of the New South Wales Opposition...
from 28 May 1976 to 7 October 1978. At the 1978 'Wranslide' election
New South Wales state election, 1978
A general election was held in the state of New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday 7 October 1978. The result was the "Wranslide": a landslide victory for the Australian Labor Party under Neville Wran....
he almost lost his seat, following a redistribution, surviving by only 562 votes and 50.85% of the vote.
When Coleman lost his seat at the election, the new leader, John Mason made him Shadow Minister for Mineral Resources from 2 November 1978 to 11 July 1980. He was thereafter made Shadow Minister for Energy from 11 July 1980 to 12 October 1981. When John Dowd
John Dowd (politician)
John Robert Arthur Dowd AO QC , a former Australian politician and jurist, is the Chancellor of Southern Cross University and the President of ActionAid Australia, an international aid organisation.-Early years and background:...
became leader he was dropped from the opposition frontbench. However, upon the election of Nick Greiner
Nick Greiner
Nicholas "Nick" Frank Hugo Greiner AC, is an Australian businessman and former politician. He was the 37th Premier New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. He was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 to 1988. He is married...
as leader, he returned as Shadow Minister for Education from 8 April 1983 to 18 February 1986, when he was appointed on 15 May as Shadow Minister for Mineral Resources. Pickard was suspended for two days from parliament after losing his customarily cool temper during a rowdy session in the Legislative Assembly on 27 October 1987. Pickard, who had been upset by Labor MPs laughing during a speech by Nick Greiner
Nick Greiner
Nicholas "Nick" Frank Hugo Greiner AC, is an Australian businessman and former politician. He was the 37th Premier New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. He was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 to 1988. He is married...
, got up and pointed at Premier Barrie Unsworth
Barrie Unsworth
Barrie John Unsworth was an Australian politician, representing the Australian Labor Party in the Parliament of New South Wales from 1978 to 1991. He served as the 36th Premier from July 1986 to March 1988.-Early years:...
: "It's all right for you, you giggling Gert. That's all you can do is smile, you mock yourself if you can smile at all. Get your cardigan on and come out into the street and fight." Unsworth declined the invitation and the Speaker, Laurie Kelly
Laurie Kelly (politician)
Lawrence Borthwick "Laurie" Kelly is a former Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Corrimal in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1968 to 1988, and served as Speaker from 1976 to 1988....
, had Pickard expelled.
Upon the Coalition victory at the 1988 election, Pickard was appointed as Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy in the Greiner
Nick Greiner
Nicholas "Nick" Frank Hugo Greiner AC, is an Australian businessman and former politician. He was the 37th Premier New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. He was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 to 1988. He is married...
government. As Minister, Pickard came under fire for not declaring pecuniary interests which amounted to shares in two mining companies, for nine months, and taking a further three weeks to clear up the matter. Pickard generated international interest when he announced to Parliament a plan to use seized marijuana crops as a cheaper alternative for coal, the plan was met with uproarious laughter from both sides. He held office until 1991 when his seat of Hornsby was abolished, and he subsequently retired from politics.
After politics
Following his departure from politics, Pickard was appointed by the Premier as the Agent-General for New South Wales in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. However, following allegations that he had abused his expenses while in that office, the new Premier John Fahey
John Fahey (politician)
John Joseph Fahey, AC is a former Premier of New South Wales and Federal Minister for Finance in Australia. John Fahey is currently the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1984 to 1996 and the federal House of Representatives...
abolished the office of Agent-General in 1992 and Pickard was recalled. However, Pickard contested the decision and later won a dispute over compensation and thereafter withdrew from public life. He died at Turramurra
Turramurra, New South Wales
Turramurra is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Turramurra is located north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council...
on 13 April 2007.