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James Webster (Australian politician)

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The Honourable
James Webster
Minister for Science and the Environment
In office
5 December 1978 – 8 December 1979
Prime MinisterMalcolm Fraser
Preceded byHimself (Science)
Ray Groom (Environment)
Succeeded byDavid Thomson
Minister for Science
In office
22 December 1975 – 5 December 1978
Prime MinisterMalcolm Fraser
Preceded byBob Cotton
Succeeded byHimself (Science and the Environment)
Senator for Victoria
In office
9 December 1964 – 28 January 1980
Preceded byHarrie Wade
Succeeded byLaurence Neal
Personal details
Born(1925-06-14)14 June 1925
Flinders Island, Tasmania, Australia
Died3 April 2022(2022-04-03) (aged 96)
Brighton, Victoria, Australia
Political partyCountry / NCP
Spouses
Jean Drake
​
(m. 1957⁠–⁠1989)​
Jeanette Hillis
​
(m. 1993)​
RelationsLeslie Webster (father)
OccupationAccountant, farmer

James Joseph Webster (14 June 1925 – 3 April 2022) was an Australian politician. He was a Senator for Victoria from 1964 to 1980, representing the National Country Party (NCP). He served as Minister for Science (1975–1978) and Science and the Environment (1978–1979) in the Fraser government. He left politics to become High Commissioner to New Zealand, serving from 1980 to 1983.

Early life

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Webster was born on 14 June 1925 on Flinders Island, Tasmania. He was the youngest of three sons born to Eileen (née Thorne) and Leslie Webster.[1] His father was the chairman of the Flinders Island Butter Factory and served as president of the Flinders Island Municipal Council.[2]

In 1929, Webster and his family moved to his father's home state of Victoria. His father ran a timber and hardware business in Melbourne before settling the family on a farm in Greenval in 1932.[2] Webster was educated at state schools before completing his education at Caulfield Grammar School. During World War II he managed the family farm in the absence of his older brothers, and also joined the Air Training Corps.[1] His father served in state parliament from 1944 to 1947 as a member of the Country Party.[2]

Webster took business classes at the YMCA before studying accounting at Melbourne Technical College. He worked for periods as a clerk at a timber company, as chief clerk at a sawmill in Orbost, and as a tallyman on the Melbourne wharves. He was active in the labour movement as a delegate to the Australian Timber Workers' Union and as a member of the Waterside Workers' Federation. In 1948, he joined J. J. Webster Pty Ltd, the Elsternwick timber, hardware, and plumbing retailer that had been founded by his grandfather in 1884. In 1954, he became a director of Lords Holdings Limited, a building supply wholesaler.[1]

Politics

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Webster in 1965

Webster joined the Young Country Party in 1940. He was a member of the party's Federal Council (1960–1964) and served as state president of the Victorian Country Party (1963–1964). At the 1955 state election he stood unsuccessfully in the seat of Broadmeadows.[1]

Webster was appointed to the Senate in December 1964, filling a casual vacancy caused by the death of Harrie Wade. He was re-elected in 1966, 1967, 1974, and 1975. Webster was an "active backbencher" and served on a variety of Senate committees. His views were "in many respects, those of a rural socialist", and he supported government subsidies and tax incentives for rural industries. He was also in favour of public funding of the Australian film industry, supporting the establishment of the Australian Film Development Corporation, the Australian Film and Television School, and the Australian Film Commission.[1]

In December 1975, Webster was appointed Minister for Science in the Fraser government. He was also given the environment portfolio in 1978, becoming Minister for Science and the Environment.[1]

In 1979, Webster announced that responsibility for whaling would be moved from the Department of Primary Industry to his own department.[3] He subsequently said that the government would seek to end illegal "pirate" whaling and was "firmly committed to a policy of vigorous and active protection of whales". During his tenure Australia and Seychelles successfully lobbied the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to introduce the Indian Ocean Whale Sanctuary.[4]

In 1975, his constitutional eligibility to sit in the Senate was questioned, prompting the Parliament to introduce the Common Informers (Parliamentary Disqualifications) Act 1975, although ultimately the High Court found that he was not ineligible and he continued to serve until his retirement in 1980.[5][6]

Later life

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In December 1979, it was announced that Webster would retire from politics in order to be appointed High Commissioner to New Zealand.[7] He formally resigned from the Senate in January 1980,[1] and was succeeded by Laurence Neal.[8] Webster served as High Commissioner during the negotiations leading up to the Closer Economic Relations agreement. According to John Menadue, he opposed the Fraser government's 1981 changes to the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement, which required New Zealanders to carry passports when entering Australia.[9] His term as High Commissioner ended in October 1983.[10] He subsequently resumed farming in Victoria.[1]

Personal life and death

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Webster married Jean Drake in 1957, with whom he had four sons. They were divorced in 1989 and in 1993 he married Jeanette Hillis.[1]

Webster became an elder in the Presbyterian Church of Victoria at the age of 21. He served on the board of the Victorian School for Deaf Children from 1954 to 1974.[1]

Webster died in Brighton, Victoria on 3 April 2022, at the age of 96. His funeral was held at St Leonards Uniting Church on 21 April.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Richardson, Jack E (2010). "WEBSTER, James Joseph (1925–2022)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Vol. 3. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Webster, Leslie Leeder". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Appointment of new Australian whaling commissioner". Department of Science and the Environment. 6 June 1979.
  4. ^ "Pledge on 'pirate' whaling". The Canberra Times. 21 July 1979. p. 7. Retrieved 25 January 2023 – via Trove.
  5. ^ Re Webster [1975] HCA 22, (1975) 132 CLR 270 (24 June 1975), High Court
  6. ^ Harris, I. C. (2005). House of Representatives Practice (PDF). Canberra: Department of the House of Representatives. p. 154. ISBN 0-642-78510-4.
  7. ^ "Fraser shuffles his Cabinet". The Canberra Times. 8 December 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 25 January 2023 – via Trove.
  8. ^ "New Senator". The Canberra Times. 19 March 1980. p. 12. Retrieved 25 January 2023 – via Trove.
  9. ^ Menadue, John (1999). Things You Learn Along the Way (PDF). David Lovell Publishing. p. 215. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Hayden names new envoy to Israel". The Canberra Times. 2 September 1983. p. 3. Retrieved 25 January 2023 – via Trove.
  11. ^ "WEBSTER, James Joseph | Funeral Notices | Melbourne". My Tributes. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
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Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Science
1975–1978 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Science
and the Environment
1978–1979
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand
1980–1984 		Succeeded by
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