Wallace Clyde Fife (2 October 1929 – 16 November 2017) was an Australian politician and minister in the New South Wales Government and Federal Government.
Wal Fife | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Manager of Opposition Business | |
| In office 14 August 1987 – 23 May 1992 | |
| Preceded by | John Spender |
| Succeeded by | Warwick Smith |
| Minister for Aviation | |
| In office 7 May 1982 – 11 March 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Jones |
| Succeeded by | Kim Beazley |
| Minister for Education | |
| In office 8 December 1979 – 7 May 1982 | |
| Preceded by | John Carrick |
| Succeeded by | Peter Baume |
| Minister for Consumer Affairs | |
| In office 17 July 1977 – 8 December 1979 | |
| Preceded by | John Howard |
| Succeeded by | Victor Garland |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Farrer (1975-1984) & Hume (1984-1993) | |
| In office 13 December 1975 – 8 February 1993 | |
| Preceded by | David Fairbairn (Farrer) Stephen Lusher (Hume) |
| Succeeded by | Tim Fischer (Farrer) John Sharp (Hume) |
| Minister for Mines & Transport | |
| In office 22 June 1967 – 10 October 1975 | |
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Wagga Wagga | |
| In office 14 December 1957 – 15 October 1975 | |
| Preceded by | Edgar Graham |
| Succeeded by | Joe Schipp |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wallace Clyde Fife 2 October 1929 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales |
| Died | 16 November 2017 (aged 88) Canberra, Australian Capital Territory[1] |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Spouse | Marcia Hargreaves Stanley |
| Children | Two daughters; two sons. |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Early life
editFife was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, and was educated at Wagga Wagga Public School, Wagga Wagga and Canberra Grammar School. In 1948 he started working in the federal secretariat of the Liberal Party and in 1949 he joined his family business, Fifes Produce Pty Ltd, in Wagga Wagga. He married Marcia Hargreaves Stanley in May 1952 and they had two daughters and two sons.[2]
Political career
editFife was elected as the member for Wagga Wagga in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1957. He was Minister for Mines from June 1967 to January 1975, Minister for Conservation from March 1971 to June 1972, Minister for Power from June 1972 to January 1975 and Minister for Transport and Minister for Highways from January 1975 until his retirement from the New South Wales Parliament in October 1975.[2] Under his ministership many rural railway stations were closed. The member for the federal seat of Farrer David Fairbairn had announced his resignation and Fife was pre-selected as the Liberal candidate for the next federal election.[3][4]
Fife was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the member for Farrer at the election on 13 December 1975. He was Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs from July 1977 to December 1979, Minister for Education from December 1979 to May 1982 and Minister for Aviation from May 1982 until the defeat of the Fraser government at the March 1983 election. Following an electoral distribution that moved Wagga Wagga into the Division of Hume, he stood for and won that seat at the 1984 election. His role in Opposition included a stint as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives between May 1989 and April 1990, since Liberal deputy leader Fred Chaney was still a Senator. He retired from parliament prior to the 1993 election.[5] Fife departure came as a result of seat redistribution that the National Party benefitted from and Fife was resentful to Liberal Leader John Hewson for not saving his career Fife and others came to see Hewson's leadership as ineffective and Fife's departure was seen as Hewson not having much influence in the Liberal Party.https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/133338929
Honours
edit- Honorary Doctor of Letters (HonDLitt) from Charles Sturt University.[2]
- Centenary Medal (1 January 2001), "For service to Australian society through the Commonwealth and state parliaments and government".[6]
Notes
edit- ^ Lindbeck, Jody (16 November 2017). "Former minister Wal Fife has died". The Daily Advertiser.
- ^ a b c "The Hon. Wallace Clyde Fife (1929–2017)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
- ^ "Minister for pre-selection". The Canberra Times. 13 August 1975. p. 3. Retrieved 10 October 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ "Endorsed". The Canberra Times. 11 September 1975. p. 3. Retrieved 10 October 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ "Biography for Fife, the Hon. Wallace Clyde". ParlInfo Web. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ^ "Centenary Medal entry for The Hon Wallace Clyde Fife". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 1 January 2001. Retrieved 28 November 2019.