Jim Forbes (Australian politician)
The Honourable Dr Jim Forbes CMG, MC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Minister for Immigration | |
In office 22 March 1971 – 5 December 1972 |
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Prime Minister | William McMahon |
Preceded by | Phillip Lynch |
Succeeded by | Lance Barnard |
Minister for Health | |
In office 26 January 1966 – 22 March 1971 |
|
Prime Minister | Harold Holt (1966–67) John McEwen (1967–68) John Gorton (1968–71) William McMahon (1971) |
Preceded by | Reginald Swartz |
Succeeded by | Ivor Greenwood |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Barker |
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In office 13 October 1956 – 11 November 1975 |
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Preceded by | Archie Cameron |
Succeeded by | James Porter |
Personal details | |
Born | Hobart, Tasmania |
16 December 1923
Nationality | Australian |
Political party | Liberal Party of Australia |
Alma mater | Royal Military College, Duntroon University of Adelaide Magdalen College, Oxford |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Australia |
Service/branch | Australian Army |
Years of service | 1940–1947 |
Rank | Lieutenant |
Unit | 2nd Australian Mountain Battery |
Battles/wars | Second World War |
Awards | Military Cross |
Alexander James de Burgh "Jim" Forbes, CMG, MC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , (born 16 December 1923) is a former Australian politician.
Early life and military service
Forbes was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on 16 December 1923. He graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1942, and was commissioned into the Australian Army. He was stationed in Darwin in 1943, then assigned to the 2nd Mountain Battery.[1] On 24 April 1945, Forbes was awarded the Military Cross (MC) in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in the South West Pacific.[2] Following the end of the Second World War, Forbes was part of Australia's victory contingent in the London Victory Celebrations of 1946.[3]
After his discharge from the army in 1947,[1] he studied at the University of Adelaide and Magdalen College, Oxford.[3]
Political career
Forbes was the Liberal candidate for the marginal Adelaide seat of Kingston in the 1955 election, losing to Labor incumbent Pat Galvin.
After the death of Speaker and former Country Party leader Archie Cameron in 1956, Forbes ran as the Liberal candidate in a by-election for Cameron's seat of Barker, a safely conservative seat in rural South Australia. He won the seat, though suffering a swing of almost 10 percent. Forbes was reelected in his own right in 1958 and held the seat until his retirement in 1975.[4] He was Minister for the Army from 1963 to 1966, Minister for the Navy from 1963 to 1964, Minister for Health from 1966 to 1971 and Minister for Immigration from 1971 until William McMahon's defeat in the 1972 election. As Minister for Immigration he was responsible for resisting British pressure to admit ethnically-Asian refugees from Uganda during Idi Amin's regime; he said, "Applications by Asians in Uganda will continue to be considered on their individual merits in accordance with our non-European immigration policies. These policies reflect the firm and unshakeable determination of the Government to maintain a homogeneous society in Australia."[5] He also ordered the deportation of Joe Cocker when a small quantity of cannabis was found by police in his band's hotel room.[6]
In November 1973, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam accused Forbes in parliament of abusing the Government's hospitality by drinking too much at a reception for the New Zealand Prime Minister. Forbes demanded the remark be withdrawn, with Opposition Leader Billy Snedden saying Whitlam should be ashamed and calling him 'gutless'. Whitlam responded "It is what he [Forbes] put in his guts that rooted him." Whitlam eventually withdrew the remark, after ensuring it had been transcribed to Hansard. An angry Forbes followed Whitlam out of the chamber calling him a "filthy bastard", to which Whitlam responded "Look, he's still shaking." Forbes insisted that any shaking was due to sciatica, and not alcohol consumption.[7][8]
Even 36 years after retirement, Jim Forbes was still in the headlines when it was revealed he had spent $16,000 on subsidised flights in the first six months of 2011: "New figures show Dr Jim Forbes, 87, who was the federal member for Barker when he retired from Parliament in 1975, took 29 flights for himself and his family, costing $16,078 under the Gold Pass scheme."[9]
Awards and honours
In 1977, Forbes was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in recognition of service to the parliament.[10]
In 2001, he was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to the Commonwealth Parliament and as Chairman of the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories.[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 FORBES, ALEXANDER JAMES DEBURGH, WW2 Nominal Roll, Department of Veterans Affairs.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37138. p. 3237. 21 June 1945. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pratt, Mel: Jim Forbes interviewed by Mel Pratt for the Mel Pratt collection (sound recording), National Library of Australia, 14 March 1978.
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- ↑ FORBES, Alexander James, It's an Honour, 31 December 1977.
- ↑ FORBES, Alexander James, It's an Honour, 1 January 2001.
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by | Minister for the Army 1963–1966 |
Succeeded by Malcolm Fraser |
Preceded by | Minister for the Navy 1963–1964 |
Succeeded by Fred Chaney |
Preceded by | Minister for Health 1966–1971 |
Succeeded by Ivor Greenwood |
Preceded by | Minister for Immigration 1971–1972 |
Succeeded by Lance Barnard |
Parliament of Australia | ||
Preceded by | Member for Barker 1956–1975 |
Succeeded by James Porter |
- Use dmy dates from April 2011
- 1923 births
- Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
- Australian Army officers
- Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Australian military personnel of World War II
- Australian Ministers for Health
- Australian recipients of the Military Cross
- Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
- Living people
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Barker
- People from Hobart
- Recipients of the Centenary Medal
- Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates
- University of Adelaide alumni