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John Stone (Australian politician)

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John Stone
AO
Senator for Queensland
In office
11 July 1987 – 1 March 1990
Succeeded byBill O'Chee
Secretary of the Department of the Treasury
In office
8 January 1979 – 14 September 1984
Personal details
Born (1929-01-31) 31 January 1929 (age 95)
Perth, Western Australia
Political partyNational Party of Australia
Alma materOxford University
OccupationPublic servant and politician

John Owen Stone AO (born 31 January 1929) is a former Australian public servant and politician. He was Secretary to the Treasury between 1979 and 1984,[1] and a senator for Queensland, representing the National Party, from 1987 to 1990.

Early life

Stone was born on 31 January 1929 in Perth, Western Australia.[2] After gaining first class honours in mathematical physics for his bachelor of science degree and representing his state at hockey (under 21), he was selected as the Rhodes Scholar from Western Australia for 1951.[3] At Oxford he was awarded first class honours in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) and won the James Webb Medley Prize for Economics.

Public service career

In 1954, Stone returned to Australia and joined the Treasury. He rose within the Treasury department to become Secretary during the period of the Fraser government. He penned a severe critique of Fraser's economic policies, which was used against the Liberal Party once the Australian Labor Party won the 1983 federal election. He supported some of the Hawke-Keating government's economic reforms, although he had little time for Bob Hawke or Paul Keating personally. While his resignation from the Treasury did not become effective until 14 September 1984,[4] he announced his imminent departure on 15 August 1984,[5] just six days before the 1984–85 Budget was handed down.[6] That was seen by commentators at the time as a strongly adverse comment on the government's direction.

Despite holding what were seen by some to be neoliberal economic views, Stone initially opposed the decision in December 1983 to float the Australian dollar, and consistently deplored a consumption tax. In fact, after it was introduced, he repeatedly denounced the GST, and then–Treasurer Peter Costello.[citation needed]

Politics

An informal advisor to Queensland's longest-serving premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Stone was elected to the Australian Senate at the 1987 election representing Queensland, as a member of the pro-Bjelke-Petersen National Party.[7] John Howard, Liberal Party leader at the time, appointed Stone as the Opposition finance spokesman. Following the release of the Coalition's One Australia immigration policy in 1988, Stone said: "Asian immigration has to be slowed. It's no use dancing around the bushes."[8]

In 1990, Stone left the Senate and contested the House of Representatives seat of Fairfax, his Senate place being taken by Bill O'Chee.[9] Unsuccessful in his attempt to win Fairfax, he abandoned parliamentary life but remained very much in the public eye.

Later activities

After 1990, Stone was an outspoken critic of multiculturalism and a supporter of the Samuel Griffith Society, which he helped found. He had a column on economics and politics in The Australian Financial Review. Other Australian publications for which he wrote include The Sydney Morning Herald, the quarterly National Observer, and Quadrant. Stone was critical of the Howard Government for eroding the power of the states within the Australian federal system, regarding that as a departure from the long-standing Liberal/National coalition support for "states' rights". However, in an article published in the March 2008 issue of Quadrant, Stone argued that Howard had been Australia's greatest Prime Minister.[10]

In June 2022, Stone was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours for "distinguished service to the people and Parliament of Australia, and to public administration".[11]

Notes

  1. ^ "Australia's Prime Ministers". National Archives of Australia. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2007.
  2. ^ CP 489: John Owen STONE, National Archives of Australia, archived from the original on 12 March 2020, retrieved 29 March 2014
  3. ^ Western Australian Rhodes Scholars, University of Western Australia
  4. ^ Samuel Griffith Society (John Stone: Curriculum Vitae)
  5. ^ Quadrant online, July–August 2011
  6. ^ House of Representatives Hansard, 21 August 1984
  7. ^ Saunders, Malcolm; Lloyd, Neil. "STONE, John Owen (1929– )". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  8. ^ Peter, Mares (2002). Borderline: Australia's Response to Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Wake of the Tampa. UNSW Press. p. 113. ISBN 0-86840-789-5.
  9. ^ Pasquarelli, John (28 August 1999), Super rort – speech for woodpeckers, archived from the original on 6 June 2014
  10. ^ "Quadrant March 2008 edition". Quadrant magazine. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2007.
  11. ^ "Queen's Birthday 2022 Honours - the full list". Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. 12 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.

References

Government offices
Preceded by Secretary of the Department of the Treasury
1979–1984 		Succeeded by
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