Nev Warburton

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The Honourable
Nev Warburton
Leader of the Opposition in Queensland
Leader of the Labor Party in Queensland
Elections: 1986
In office
29 August 1984 – 2 March 1988
PremierJoh Bjelke-Petersen
Mike Ahern
DeputyTom Burns
Preceded byKeith Wright
Succeeded byWayne Goss
Minister for Police and Emergency Services
In office
16 December 1991 – 24 September 1992
PremierWayne Goss
Preceded byTerry Mackenroth
Succeeded byPaul Braddy
Minister for Employment, Training and Industrial Relations
In office
7 December 1989 – 16 December 1991
PremierWayne Goss
Preceded byVince Lester
Succeeded byKen Vaughan
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Queensland
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party in Queensland
In office
20 October 1982 – 29 August 1984
LeaderKeith Wright
Preceded byBill D'Arcy
Succeeded byTom Burns
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Sandgate
In office
12 November 1977 – 19 September 1992
Preceded byHarold Dean
Succeeded byGordon Nuttall
Personal details
Born
Neville George Warburton

(1932-02-23)23 February 1932
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Died5 August 2018(2018-08-05) (aged 86)
Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Political partyLabor
Spouse(s)Frances Helen Doig (m.1956)
OccupationElectrical industry

Neville George Warburton (23 February 1932 – 5 August 2018)[1] was an Australian politician from Queensland, who served as leader of the opposition from 1984 to 1988, and as a minister in the Goss Ministry from 1989 to 1992.

Career[]

Early career[]

Warburton was elected at the 1977 election as the Labor Party candidate for the seat of Sandgate, succeeding Harold Dean who had held the seat for the ALP since 1960.[2]

In 1982, following a string of poor election results under Ed Casey, a leadership contest lead to fellow opposition frontbencher Keith Wright defeating Casey in a secret ballot. Warburton was appointed deputy opposition leader in Wright's shadow cabinet, despite having served only five years in parliament.[3]

Warburton became a member of the then dominant Trades and Labour Council faction, an affiliation he retained during his later career.[4]

Leader of the Opposition[]

In 1984, Wright resigned from the Legislative Assembly to stand for election to federal parliament. Warburton was elected by caucus as the new Labor leader in Queensland on 29 August 1984.[5] Warburton was often portrayed in the media as being an "old style" Labor leader; uncomplicated and honest. Peter Bowers, a columnist with the Sydney Morning Herald declared that Warburton was "...a straight up and down politician, no charisma, no nonsense".[6]

Labor approached the 1986 election being given little hope of taking power, given the continued existence of the Bjelkemander, despite continued disunity and infighting between the Liberal and National parties that formed government. Warburton's policies included the introduction of random breath testing in Queensland, and a ban on uranium mining in Queensland,[6] an idea that would become longstanding Labor party policy. Warburton also made overtures to the Liberals, offering to form a coalition government with them in order to break the National Party's grip on power.[7] However, on polling day, the National party won a resounding victory that enabled them to govern in their own right, and Labor lost two seats, despite polling more votes than the Nationals.[8] Warburton hung on as leader of the opposition after this defeat, but eventually handed over the party leadership to Wayne Goss in 1988.

Minister in the Goss Government[]

Warburton stayed on the opposition frontbench at the invitation of Goss, and when Labor won power for the first time in over thirty years at the 1989 election, he was appointed as Minister for Employment, Training and Industrial relations. In 1991, he switched portfolios and became Minister for Police and Emergency Services, a post he held until he retired from Parliament in 1992.[5]

Lawn bowler[]

In addition to his political career, Warburton was also an enthusiastic participant in the sport of lawn bowls.[9]

Death[]

Warburton died on 5 August 2018 on the Sunshine Coast.[10] At the time of his death he was the only surviving ALP leader who did not become Premier and the last surviving Opposition Leader who had led his party during its 32 years in Opposition between 1957 and 1989.

References[]

  1. ^ "Queensland Parliament – Record of Members and Office Holders". Parliament of Queensland. Archived from the original on 11 July 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  2. ^ "Motion of Condolence: Harold Dean" (PDF). Hansard. Queensland Parliament. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  3. ^ Morley, Peter (20 October 2009). "Battle of Brisbane's ship industry". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  4. ^ Bron Stevens, John Wanna (1993). The Goss government: promise and performance of labor in Queensland. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-7329-2622-9.
  5. ^ a b "Queensland Parliament Members Register" (PDF). Queensland Parliament. p. 314. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  6. ^ a b Bowers, Peter (20 October 1986). "Meet Nev, Joh's Rival". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  7. ^ "It's us or them, Sir Joh tells voters". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 October 1986. Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  8. ^ Australian Government and Politics Database. "Parliament of Queensland, Assembly election, 1 November 1986". Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  9. ^ Loane, Sally (30 November 1989). "Queensland catches up at last". The Age. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  10. ^ Moore, Tony (9 August 2018). "Former Labor leader Nev Warburton dies aged 86". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by
Harold Dean
 Member for Sandgate
1977–1992 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition
1984–1988 		Succeeded by
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