Anthony Austin Street (8 February 1926 – 25 October 2022) was an Australian politician. He served in the House of Representatives from 1966 to 1984, representing the Division of Corangamite for the Liberal Party. He held ministerial office in the Fraser government, serving as Minister for Labor and Immigration (1975), Employment and Industrial Relations (1975–1978), Industrial Relations (1978–1980), and Minister for Foreign Affairs (1980–1983). His father Geoffrey Street was also a federal government minister. Street was the last surviving Liberal minister of the first Fraser ministry, as well as the last surviving Assistant Minister of the McMahon government.
Tony Street | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 3 November 1980 – 11 March 1983 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | Andrew Peacock |
| Succeeded by | Bill Hayden |
| Minister for Industrial Relations | |
| In office 5 December 1978 – 3 November 1980 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | Himself |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Peacock |
| Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations | |
| In office 22 December 1975 – 5 December 1978 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | Himself |
| Succeeded by |
|
| Minister for Labor and Immigration | |
| In office 11 November 1975 – 22 December 1975 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | Jim McClelland |
| Succeeded by |
|
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Corangamite | |
| In office 26 November 1966 – 18 January 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Dan Mackinnon |
| Succeeded by | Stewart McArthur |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Anthony Austin Street 8 February 1926 Melbourne, Australia |
| Died | 25 October 2022 (aged 96) |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Relations | Street family |
| Parent |
|
| Residence(s) | 'Eildon', Lismore, Victoria |
Early life
editStreet was born in Melbourne on 8 February 1926, one of two children born to Evora (née Currie) and Geoffrey Street and was raised at the family property 'Eildon', near Lismore, Victoria. His father was elected to federal parliament in 1934 and promoted to the ministry in 1938. He was killed in the 1940 Canberra air disaster, when his son was 14 years old.[1]
Street attended Melbourne Grammar School. After leaving school in 1944 he enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy and served as an able seaman aboard HMAS Norman (M 84), HMAS Queenborough and HMAS Shropshire.[2]
Political career
editIn 1966 Street was elected as a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Corangamite division in Victoria, Australia. He remained in this position, winning re-election, until he resigned on 18 January 1984.[3]
From 14 September 1971, during the McMahon Ministry, he was Assistant Minister assisting the Minister for Labour and National Service. In the First Fraser Ministry he became the Minister for Labour and Immigration. In the Second Fraser Ministry he served as Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, and Minister assisting the Prime Minister for Public Service Matters. During the Third Fraser Ministry he served as minister in several posts, including Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations and Minister for Industrial Relations. Swapping portfolios with Andrew Peacock, Street served as Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs during the Fourth Fraser Ministry, from 1980 until 1983.[4]
As employment minister, Street ordered the Commonwealth Employment Service to discontinue collecting its seasonal unemployment statistics on the grounds that they had become inaccurate. Responsibility was transferred to the Australian Bureau of Statistics which began issuing monthly figures.[5]
Street supported multilateralism as foreign minister, stating that "in its role as a middle power, Australia needs a foreign policy which encompasses not just bilateral relations but the multilateral diplomacy of international organisations and blocs of countries acting together".[6]
Street's prominent public addresses included the 1979 Alfred Deakin Memorial Lecture "Class Conflict or Common Goals" and the 1982 Roy Milne Memorial Lecture "Alliances and Foreign Policy Today".[7]
Personal life and death
editStreet held directorships in several companies and served as a Melbourne Cricket Club committee member. He ran a family property at Lismore.[8]
See also
editReferences
edit
- ^ Hazlehurst, Cameron (1990). "Street, Geoffrey Austin (1894–1940)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 12.
- ^ "The Hon Anthony Austin Street OM 1944". Melbourne Grammar School. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- ^ "Ministries and Cabinets". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- ^ Appendix 3: Fourth Fraser Ministry, 3 November 1980 to 7 May 1982, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 25 July 2016
- ^ Hutchens, Gareth (15 August 2021). "When politicians manipulated employment data, and journalism was disgraceful". ABC News. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ Ungerer, Carl (6 November 2013). "Abbott must abandon his Anglosphere nonsense". The Australian. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- ^ "The Hon Anthony Austin Street | Melbourne Grammar School".
- ^ "The Hon Anthony Austin Street | Melbourne Grammar School".
- ^ "STREET, Tony". Herald Sun. News Corporation AU. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ "Vale Hon Anthony (Tony) Street". Melbourne Cricket Club. Melbourne Cricket Club. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.