William McMahon

The Right Honourable Sir William McMahon GCMG, CH
20th Prime Minister of Australia
In office 10 March 1971 – 5 December 1972
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	Sir Paul Hasluck
Deputy	Doug Anthony
Preceded by	John Gorton
Succeeded by	Gough Whitlam
Party leadership positions Leader of the Liberal Party In office 10 March 1971 – 20 December 1972 Deputy John Gorton Billy Snedden Preceded by John Gorton Succeeded by Billy Snedden Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party In office 20 January 1966 – 10 March 1971 Leader Harold Holt John Gorton Preceded by Harold Holt Succeeded by John Gorton
Ministerial offices Minister for Foreign Affairs In office 12 November 1969 – 22 March 1971 Prime Minister John Gorton Himself Preceded by Gordon Freeth Succeeded by Les Bury Treasurer of Australia In office 26 January 1966 – 25 October 1969 Prime Minister Harold Holt John McEwen John Gorton Preceded by Harold Holt Succeeded by Les Bury Vice-President of the Executive Council In office 10 June 1964 – 26 January 1966 Prime Minister Robert Menzies Preceded by Bill Spooner Succeeded by Alan Hulme Minister for Labour and National Service In office 10 December 1958 – 26 January 1966 Prime Minister Robert Menzies Preceded by Athol Townley Succeeded by Hugh Robertson Minister for Primary Industry In office 11 January 1956 – 10 December 1958 Prime Minister Robert Menzies Preceded by John McEwen Succeeded by Charles Adermann Minister for Social Services In office 9 July 1954 – 28 February 1956 Prime Minister Robert Menzies Preceded by Athol Townley Succeeded by Hugh Robertson Minister for the Navy Minister for the Air Force In office 17 July 1951 – 9 July 1954 Prime Minister Robert Menzies Preceded by Philip McBride Succeeded by Josiah Francis (Navy) Athol Townley (Air Force)
Parliamentary positions Father of the Parliament In office 1 July 1981 – 4 January 1982 Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser Preceded by Justin O'Byrne Succeeded by Malcolm Fraser, James Killen, and Billy Snedden Father of the House of Representatives In office 11 November 1977 – 4 January 1982 Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser Preceded by Kim Beazley Sr. Succeeded by Malcolm Fraser, James Killen, and Billy Snedden Member of the Australian Parliament for Lowe In office 10 December 1949 – 4 January 1982 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Michael Maher
Personal details
Born	(1908-02-23)23 February 1908 Redfern, New South Wales, Australia
Died	31 March 1988(1988-03-31) (aged 80) Potts Point, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Sonia Hopkins (m. 1965)
Children	3; including Julian
Education	Abbotsholme College Sydney Grammar School
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Profession	Lawyer, politician
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Service/branch	Australian Imperial Force
Years of service	1940–45
Rank	Major
Unit	6th Division
Battles/wars	World War II

Sir William McMahon, GCMG, CH (/məkˈmɑːn/; 23 February 1908 – 31 March 1988), was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, the longest continuous service in Australian history.

McMahon was born and raised in Sydney, studying law at the University of Sydney and working as a commercial lawyer. He served in the Australian Army during World War II, finishing with the rank of major; after the war's end, he returned to university to complete an economics degree. McMahon was elected to parliament at the 1949 federal election. He was promoted to the ministry in 1951 and added to cabinet in 1956, holding several different portfolios in the Menzies Government. His final appointment under Menzies was as Minister for Labour and National Service in 1958; he gained a high profile as the minister responsible for the reintroduction of conscription.

In 1966, McMahon was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Party and became Treasurer in the new Holt Government. Over the following three years oversaw a large reduction in the national deficit. McMahon made his first bid for the prime ministership in 1968, following Holt's disappearance; his candidacy was vetoed by John McEwen, the leader of the junior party in the governing coalition. McMahon initially continued on as Treasurer in the Gorton Government, but in 1969 was demoted to Minister for External Affairs after an unsuccessful challenge for the leadership. He eventually succeeded Gorton in early 1971, winning a vote against Billy Snedden after Gorton lost the confidence of the partyroom.

McMahon became prime minister at the age of 63, and remains the oldest non-interim prime minister to take office. His government has been described as "a blend of cautious innovation and fundamental orthodoxy", and continued many of the policies of its immediate predecessors, such as Gorton's phased withdrawal of Australian troops from Vietnam. In its final year it was faced with high inflation and unemployment. McMahon was defeated by Gough Whitlam's Labor Party at the 1972 federal election, ending 23 consecutive years of Coalition rule. He resigned the Liberal leadership, but remained in parliament until 1982 as a backbencher. He is Australia's longest serving Prime Minister who was never elected to office ^[1]

McMahon is often considered one of Australia's worst prime ministers, and after leaving office several of his former colleagues openly criticised his leadership style and personal character. However, Gough Whitlam acknowledged him as "an extraordinarily skilful, resourceful and tenacious politician", and credited him with having prevented a larger margin of defeat in 1972.

Early life

Politics

McMahon in 1950

Under Gorton

Further information: Gorton Government

When Holt disappeared in December 1967, McMahon was assumed to be his probable successor. However, John McEwen, interim Prime Minister and leader of the Country Party, announced that he and his party would not serve in a government led by McMahon. McEwen did not state his reasons publicly, but privately he told McMahon he did not trust him. McEwen, an arch-protectionist, correctly suspected that McMahon favoured policies of free trade and deregulation.

Lady McMahon (left) with the Mayor of Blue Mountains. William McMahon can be seen in the background.

McMahon therefore withdrew, and Senator John Gorton won the subsequent party room ballot for party leader and therefore Prime Minister. McMahon remained Treasurer and waited for his chance at a comeback. The Coalition was nearly defeated at the 1969 federal election. After the election, McMahon unsuccessfully challenged for the leadership, but was nonetheless re-elected as deputy leader. He was subsequently demoted from Treasurer to Minister for External Affairs. John McEwen had announced in the lead-up to the spill that he would lift his party's veto on McMahon as prime minister.

In March 1971, the Defence Minister, Malcolm Fraser, resigned from Cabinet and denounced Gorton, who then announced a leadership spill. The ensuing party room vote was tied, and under the party rules of the time this meant the motion was lost and Gorton could have theoretically remained as leader and Prime Minister. Nevertheless, Gorton declared that a tie vote meant he no longer had the confidence of the party, and voluntarily resigned the leadership. McMahon was then elected leader (and thus prime minister), and Gorton was elected deputy leader.

Prime Minister (1971–1972)

McMahon visiting President Richard Nixon at the White House in 1971

McMahon came into office at a bad time for the Coalition, which was increasingly seen as tired and unfocused after 22 years in power. His first problem was Gorton. Since Gorton had been elected as Liberal deputy leader, McMahon was all but forced to name him Defence Minister. This farcical situation came to a head when Gorton published two articles detailing the problems he had had with ministers leaking information from cabinet. McMahon forced Gorton's resignation.^[15] Billy Snedden was chosen as the new deputy Liberal leader.

McMahon found himself dealing with a resurgent Labor Party under Gough Whitlam. Labor had come within four seats of winning government in 1969, and since then had positioned itself as a credible government-in-waiting. Over the next year-and-a-half, McMahon was unable to get the better of Whitlam. McMahon was no match in parliamentary debates for Whitlam, a witty and powerful orator. He frequently found himself on the defensive as Whitlam attacked the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War and advocated radical new policies such as universal health insurance. In a typical instance, McMahon attacked Whitlam for his demands that Australia recognise the People's Republic of China, only to have to back down when U.S President Richard Nixon announced his visit to China. He was not helped by rising inflation, which hurt his reputation as a sound economic manager. Additionally, the Liberal Party was showing severe schisms, which came at an especially bad time since McMahon had, at most, two years before the next election.^[15] His voice and appearance also came across badly on television.

In June 1971, McMahon cancelled Gorton's planned nuclear power program, which had included a reactor capable of generating weapons-grade plutonium. He considered it inconsistent with the goals of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, signed under Gorton in 1970 and ratified under Whitlam in 1973.^[16]

McMahon went into 1972 facing a statutory general election. By then, Labor had established a clear lead in the polls and McMahon's approval ratings had dwindled to 28 percent. The press had turned on him so violently that the British psephologist David Butler recalled on a visit to Australia that he could not recall a prime minister in any country being "so comprehensively panned" as McMahon. By then, it was widely perceived that McMahon simply "did not look or sound like a Prime Minister". He waited for as long as he could, but finally called a federal election for 2 December. During the campaign, McMahon was abandoned by some of his own ministers, unheard of in a Westminster system.^[17] The Coalition was swept from power on an eight-seat swing. Late on election night, with the result beyond doubt, McMahon conceded defeat, ending the longest unbroken run in government in Australian history.

McMahon had been a minister continuously for 21 years and 6 months, a record in the Australian Government that has never been threatened. Only Sir George Pearce and Sir John McEwen had longer overall ministerial service, but their terms were not continuous.

Political journalist Laurie Oakes described McMahon as "devious, nasty, dishonest - he lied all the time and stole things" before describing an incident where McMahon attempted to steal a tape recorder from his radio station by claiming ownership of the device despite it having the radio station's name engraved on it. He concludes by saying that McMahon was a "totally unworthy individual and the fact that he was Prime Minister of this country was a disgrace".^[18]

Later parliamentary career (1972–1982)

McMahon's term as prime minister ended on 5 December 1972. He did not immediately resign as Liberal leader, but it soon became clear that there was no support for him to continue.^[19][20] On 20 December, the Liberal Party elected Billy Snedden as his successor. As a mark of respect for his past service, McMahon was included in Snedden's new shadow cabinet (as was John Gorton). However, at his own request he was not allocated a specific portfolio.^[21][22] In an interview with HSV7 in June 1973, McMahon stated that "disloyalty within our own party" was the main reason the Liberals had lost the election. He also said that he had three regrets from his time as prime minister – that he failed to abolish national service, that he had mishandled the 1971 budget, and that he had been a poor communicator.^[23]

After the 1974 election, McMahon returned to the backbench for the first time since 1951.^[24] In the lead-up to the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in 1975, he strongly defended the power of the Senate to block supply.^[25] However, he believed that Governor-General John Kerr had acted unconstitutionally in dismissing the prime minister, and said that he would have challenged the decision in the High Court if he had been in Whitlam's position.^[26] McMahon believed that those responsible for the "loans affair" – including Whitlam and several of his ministers – had acted illegally and should be prosecuted for their involvement. He assisted Danny Sankey (a private citizen) in bringing a private prosecution against Whitlam, which eventually came before the High Court as Sankey v Whitlam. Malcolm Fraser had promised Kerr that his government would bring no action against its predecessor, and was frustrated by McMahon's actions. In his memoirs, he said: "I knew McMahon was running around up to his tricks ... I couldn't control what he did, but I could make damn sure that the government, my government, did not get involved".^[27]

Prior to the 1977 election, McMahon was unsuccessfully challenged for Liberal preselection by John Abel, whose Division of Evans had been abolished in an electoral redistribution.^[28] After being re-elected, he became the joint Father of the House of Representatives with Clyde Cameron.^[29] He was the sole Father of the House after the 1980 election, winning election for a fourteenth and final time at the age of 72. In his final years in parliament he was often critical of the Fraser Government. McMahon left parliament in January 1982, citing dissatisfaction with the 1981 budget as a major factor in his decision to retire before a general election.^[30] He nominated future prime minister Malcolm Turnbull as his preferred successor in Lowe,^[31] but the Liberal Party chose another candidate. The by-election was won by the Labor Party on a 9.4-point swing.^[32]

He was the last former Prime Minister to be reelected to Parliament until Kevin Rudd in 2010.

Final years and death

In retirement, McMahon devoted much of his time to working on his memoirs, which he planned to title A Liberal View. They were rejected by six publishers, and reviewers (who included Barry Jones and Phillip Adams) considered them to be poorly written and overly detailed.^[33] In 1984, McMahon endorsed Bob Hawke and the Labor Party for re-election over the Coalition, which he said would not be ready for government for another four or five years.^[34] Later that year, he described Andrew Peacock's hold on the Liberal leadership as "very, very fragile", and tacitly endorsed John Howard as a future leader.^[35]

In his final years, McMahon underwent a series of operations related to skin cancer.^[36] He died in his sleep at St Luke's Private Hospital, Potts Point, on the morning of 31 March 1988. His remains were cremated at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium.^[37] A state memorial service was held at St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, on 8 April, with the eulogy given by David Fairbairn.^[38]

Personal life

In 1965, aged 57, McMahon married Sonia Rachel Hopkins, who was then aged 32. McMahon had proposed six months after the pair first met. The wedding was held three months later at St Mark's Church, Darling Point, followed by a reception for 400 people at the Royal Sydney Golf Club.^[39] She would survive him by over twenty years, dying aged 77 on 2 April 2010.^[40]

McMahon had three children; Melinda, Julian and Deborah. Julian is an actor and model while Melinda and Deborah, who is openly gay and suffers from schizophrenia,^[41] lead largely private lives.

Throughout his life there were also frequent rumours that he was homosexual.^{[42][43][44][45]} The suggestion was repeatedly denied by Lady McMahon;^[39] one occasion in the 1970s resulted in an infamous tabloid headline "My Billy's No Poofter - Sonia Tells".^[46][47]

Evaluation

McMahon is often ranked among Australia's worst prime ministers. In 2001, five out of six historians surveyed by Australian Financial Review ranked him among their worst five prime ministers.^[51] Similarly, The Age surveyed eight historians in 2004 and all but one ranked McMahon as Australia's worst prime minister since World War II.^[52] Some of McMahon's most prominent critics have been those who served with him in cabinet. John Gorton called him "utterly untrustworthy",^[53] while Doug Anthony said he was "just not big enough for the job".^[54] Malcolm Fraser said he "had an insatiable ambition [...] he wasn't immoral, he was totally amoral".^[55] Billy Snedden considered McMahon "conspiratorial, devious, untrustworthy",^[53] and Paul Hasluck viewed him as "disloyal, devious, dishonest, untrustworthy, petty, cowardly", in his diaries referring to him as "that treacherous bastard".^[56]

McMahon was nicknamed "Billy the Leak" for his willingness to divulge intimate and confidential information to the media. Despite this, he was disliked by many journalists and political commentators. Donald Horne called him "perhaps the silliest prime minister we ever had",^[54] and Peter Ryan said that "McMahon's way of politics was one of lying and leaking, conniving and conspiring, deceit and double-crossing".^[57] Malcolm Mackerras thought that he had "no achievements beyond actually getting the top job".^[58] Laurie Oakes, who spent over 50 years in the Canberra Press Gallery, viewed McMahon as "a liar and a sneak" and rated him as the worst prime minister he had worked with.^[59] Oakes recalled that he had continued leaking cabinet discussions even after becoming prime minister, and accused him of once having stolen a tape recorder.^[56]

Some writers have defended McMahon's reputation, arguing that he was a skilled politician who has been unfairly scapegoated for an almost inevitable election loss. According to John Hawkins, McMahon was "grudgingly admired for his energy and diligence",^[60] and generally acknowledged as having a mastery of economic policy.^[58] Mungo MacCallum, while noting that he left no lasting achievements, called his prime ministership a "brief but cheerful interlude" and praised him for leaving office with good grace.^[61] Marian Simms compared McMahon to Richard Nixon, suggesting that his character traits have been overemphasised,^[52] while Troy Bramston viewed him as "a prime minister who clearly understood the challenge of the times and was fighting to get his ship back on course" when he was forced out of office.^[54] In his memoirs, Gough Whitlam wrote that McMahon was "an extraordinarily skilful, resourceful and tenacious politician ... had he been otherwise, the ALP victory in December 1972 would have been more convincing than it was".^[62]

Honours

Bust of Sir Billy McMahon by sculptor Victor Greenhalgh located in the Prime Minister's Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens

McMahon was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1966, a Companion of Honour in the New Year's Day Honours of 1972^[63] and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1977.^[64]

Following the 2009 redistribution of New South Wales federal electorates, the Division of Prospect was renamed the Division of McMahon starting at the 2010 federal election.^[65]

See also

• McMahon Ministry

Notes

References

Further reading

• Hughes, Colin A (1976), Mr Prime Minister. Australian Prime Ministers 1901–1972, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, Victoria, Ch.22. ISBN 0-19-550471-2
• Reid, Alan (1971), The Gorton Experiment, Shakespeare Head Press, Sydney.
• Sekuless, Peter (2000), 'Sir William McMahon', in Michelle Grattan (ed.), Australian Prime Ministers, New Holland, Sydney, New South Wales, pages 312–323. ISBN 1-86436-756-3

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William McMahon.

• "William McMahon". Australia's Prime Ministers. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
• "William McMahon". National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
• William McMahon at the National Film and Sound Archive