John William Houston (30 December 1919 – 27 October 2008) was an Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Bulimba in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1957 to 1980.[1] He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Queensland Parliament from 11 October 1966 to 22 July 1974.[1]

Jack Houston
Leader of the Opposition in Queensland
Leader of the Labor Party in Queensland
Elections: 1969, 1972
In office
12 October 1966 – 1 July 1974
DeputyPerc Tucker
Preceded byJack Duggan
Succeeded byPerc Tucker
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Queensland
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party in Queensland
In office
November 1976 – 19 February 1980
LeaderTom Burns
Ed Casey
Preceded byJack Melloy
Succeeded byBill D'Arcy
In office
June 1966 – 12 October 1966
LeaderJack Duggan
Preceded byEric Lloyd
Succeeded byPerc Tucker
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Bulimba
In office
3 August 1957 – 25 July 1980
Preceded byRobert Gardner
Succeeded byRon McLean
Personal details
Born
John William Houston

(1919-12-30)30 December 1919
Wick, Scotland, United Kingdom
Died27 October 2008(2008-10-27) (aged 88)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Resting placeBalmoral Cemetery
Political partyLabor
Spouse
Joan Catherine Lindsay
(m. 1942)
Alma materBrisbane Technical College
OccupationElectrical fitter, Teacher

Early life

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Born in Scotland in 1919 to James Houston and Florence (nee Tilley) he moved to Australia and became electrical fitter and mechanic and later a teacher of electrical trades subjects.

Political career

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He first entered Parliament at the 1957 election that saw Labor swept from office following a split.

Party Leadership

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Following the 1966 election deputy leader Eric Lloyd became the subject of attacks from the extra-parliamentary wing of the Labor party, as well as within the caucus. As a result party leader Jack Duggan supported Houston in challenging Lloyd which he did successfully by 15 votes to 10.

Three months later on 11 October 1966 Duggan abruptly resigned as leader due to a "taxation difficulty of some magnitude". In the following ballot Houston defeated Pat Hanlon (son of former Premier Ned Hanlon) by 14 votes to 12 to become the new leader.

As opposition leader he established an arrangement of nominating ‘shadow spokespeople’ for specific portfolios which led in 1970 to the formation of Labor’s first formal ‘shadow ministry’ of 14 members.[2]

After failing to make significant inroads into the coalition's majority at either the 1969 or 1972 elections there were reports that Houston would be leaving the leadership either through appointment to the Qantas board or as High Commissioner to New Zealand, however these never came to pass.

Ultimately his deputy Perc Tucker organised a vote of no confidence in his leadership following the poor result in the federal election which was carried by 17 votes to 15, with Tucker defeating Houston by the same margin.[3]

Post Leadership

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After the disastrous election of 1974 where the ALP was reduced to just 11 seats, with Tucker and his deputy Newton losing their seats, Houston contested the deputy leadership against Jack Melloy but he was unsuccessful. He served as Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Police.

After Melloy stood down in 1976 he was returned to the deputy leadership where he served until he retired in 1980.

Personal life

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He married Joan Catherine Lindsay on 18 March 1942. They had two children, one son & one daughter.

Houston died in 2008 and is buried in Brisbane's Balmoral Cemetery.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  2. ^ WANNA, JOHN; ARKLAY, TRACEY (2010). The Ayes Have It: The history of the Queensland Parliament, 1957-1989. ANU Press. pp. 189–192. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  3. ^ WANNA, JOHN; ARKLAY, TRACEY (2010). The Ayes Have It: The history of the Queensland Parliament, 1957-1989. ANU Press. pp. 362–363. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  4. ^ Houston John William Archived 11 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine — Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
Political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition of Queensland
1966–1974
Succeeded by
Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by Member for Bulimba
1957–1980
Succeeded by