John Wheeldon

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John Murray Wheeldon (9 August 1929 – 24 May 2006) was an Australian federal politician and briefly a minister. He is mainly notable for his views on Australian foreign policy.

Wheeldon was born in Subiaco, Western Australia and educated at Perth Modern School and the University of Western Australia. He graduated in arts and law and then worked as a solicitor. He was later President of the Western Australian Young Liberals, but resigned in protest at Robert Menzies' attempt to ban the Communist Party of Australia.[1][2]

[edit] Political career

At the 1964 half-Senate election, Wheeldon was elected to the Australian Senate, representing the Australian Labor Party. His term commenced on 1 July 1965. He strongly opposed the Vietnam War and visited North Vietnam at the invitation of the North Vietnam peace committee, while Australia was involved in fighting in South Vietnam. In 1967, he spoke against the war in the United States with Jim Cairns.[1][2]According to Senator John Faulkner, Wheeldon "... showed real passion for the causes he believed in: his opposition to the Vietnam War, his support for the independence of East Timor, his abhorrence of apartheid and his deep concern about Soviet imperialism."[3]

Wheeldon was appointed Minister for Repatriation and Compensation in June 1974 in Gough Whitlam's third ministry and was responsible for implementing Whitlam's ambitious plan to establish a national compensation scheme. In addition, he was appointed Minister for Social Services in June 1975 when Bill Hayden was appointed Treasurer. Both appointments were terminated by the dismissal of the Whitlam government in November 1975.[1]He remained a senator until 30 June 1981, having chosen not to contest the 1980 election [4].

Wheeldon was chief editorial writer for The Australian newspaper from 1981 to 1995.

He died at his house in Sydney, survived by his wife, Judith (headmistress of Abbotsleigh School for Girls, 1996–2005), and a daughter and two sons from his first marriage.[1][2][5]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Minchin, Nick (13 June 2006). Condolences: Hon. John Murray Wheeldon. Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
  2. ^ a b c Chris, Evans (13 June 2006). Condolences: Hon. John Murray Wheeldon. Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
  3. ^ Faulkner, John (13 June 2006). Condolences: Hon. John Murray Wheeldon. Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
  4. ^ Parliamentary Handbook
  5. ^ Beazley, Kim (30 May 2006). Condolences: Hon. John Murray Wheeldon. Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
Political offices
Preceded by
Reg Bishop		 Minister for Repatriation and Compensation
1974 – 1975		 Succeeded by
Don Chipp
Preceded by
Bill Hayden		 Minister for Social Services
1975


Persondata
NAME Wheeldon, John Murray
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH 9 August 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Subiaco, Western Australia
DATE OF DEATH 24 May 2006
PLACE OF DEATH Sydney