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education and the implementation of far-reaching social welfare and
Aboriginal Affairs legislation, although many of these changes were spearheaded by his deputy and Attorney-General, Dunstan, by far the youngest member of the cabinet (he was the only minister under 50, and one of only three under 60). The socially conservative Walsh may well have personally opposed some of these reforms. Indeed, it was no secret that he resented and distrusted Dunstan; his closest confidant was Irrigation Minister
584:. He followed O'Halloran's lead of preferring co-operation with the LCL to criticizing them and maintained friendly relations with Playford, who treated him in a somewhat avuncular manner. However, Walsh made a concerted effort to end the LCL's three-decade grip on power. Knowing that the Playmander made a traditional statewide campaign impossible, he decided to focus on targeting the LCL's marginal seats.
591:. Labor won decisively on the two-party vote, taking 54 percent of the vote. In nearly every other area of Australia, this would have been enough for a comprehensive Labor victory. However, due to the Playmander, Labor won 19 seats, two short of a majority. The balance of power rested with two independents, who threw their support behind Playford a week after the election. Walsh lobbied the
648:, Labor suffered an 11.8 percent swing against it in South Australia. Had this been repeated at a state election, Labor could have been reduced to as few as 10 seats. Knowing that they had, at most, two years before the next election, SA Labor heavyweights concluded they had to move fast in order to change their fortunes.
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Walsh died less than two months after he left parliament at the 1968 election, and was given a state funeral. Considered "kindly, generous and unpretentious" by friend and foe, Walsh was praised for his long parliamentary service and his support for unionism and working-class families, but he would
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publicly thanked Walsh for making the noble decision to retire to make way for a younger person. This was news to Walsh, who had made no such decision. After initially digging in his heels, Walsh eventually announced his retirement two weeks later, but not before attempting to manoeuvre
Corcoran
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took his place. Hall's youth stood in sharp contrast to Walsh, and he was far more progressive than
Playford had been. Combined with a sagging economy and poor polling figures, local ALP heavyweights concluded that Labor could not be reelected with Walsh as Premier. In any event, Walsh would not
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reporters, and political ally and foe alike bewildered by his statements. To give but one example, Walsh once said in parliament "In this manner, Mr
Speaker, the government has acted as if this were a diseased estate. It's not sufficiently elasticated... The government is suffering from a complete
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Walsh was never comfortable dealing with the media, particularly television, and his ascension as
Premier only exacerbated these problems. Even before 1965, he was notorious for using complex words in the wrong context, and his speeches were often peppered with malapropisms. Walsh regularly had
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Walsh found himself the head of an inexperienced government, as no current ALP parliamentarian had previously served as a minister. This left him no choice but to entrust sensitive portfolios to men more used to criticizing the LCL. His term as
Premier was marked by increased spending on public
518:. After an education at Christian Brothers College, Walsh left school at fifteen to work as a stonemason, which sparked his interest in the trade union movement. Walsh would serve as President of the South Australian Stonemason's Society and the national stonemason body and as a member of the
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562:, in which rural areas were significantly overrepresented in the legislature. By this time, many South Australian Labor politicians had despaired of ever winning power, and considered the Deputy Opposition Leader's post to be a thankless, low-paying job.
599:, to appoint him Premier instead, arguing that he had won a clear majority of the popular vote. It was to no avail. Nonetheless, the election showed just how distorted the Playmander had become. Even though
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lack of apathy in the case." His unease with the media was seen in stark contrast to
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Walsh's awkwardness with the media was further highlighted after 1966, the year
Playford retired as leader of the LCL and the 37-year-old
558:, ruled South Australia through a time of strong economic development and held power thanks to an electoral malapportionment known as the
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frequently infuriate fellow party members by habitually becoming obsessed with trivial issues to the detriment of major policy concerns.
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This article is about the Australian politician. For other uses, see
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Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of South Australia
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Walsh fought his first election as state Labor leader in
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South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party
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from 10 March 1965 to 1 June 1967, representing the
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United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia
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627:. Nonetheless, he felt compelled to go along.
510:One of eight children, Walsh was born into an
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164:Leader of the South Australian Labor Party
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711:at the Australian Dictionary of Biography
494:(6 July 1897 – 18 May 1968) was the 34th
234:27 October 1949 – 5 October 1960
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220:Deputy Leader of the South Australian
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326:10 March 1965 – 1 June 1967
284:1 June 1967 – 26 March 1968
179:Acting:22 September – 5 October 1960
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72:6 March 1965 – 1 June 1967
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516:O'Halloran Hill, South Australia
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202:
199:
193:
190:
187:
183:
173:
168:
165:
161:
158:
155:
149:
146:
143:
137:
131:
126:
123:
119:
116:
113:
107:
104:
101:
95:
92:
89:
85:
82:
79:
75:
69:
64:
61:
57:
53:
49:Walsh in 1963
46:
41:
34:
29:
26:
22:
1565:Malinauskas
1474:
1408:
1212:
1203:R. L. Butler
1188:R. L. Butler
890:
857:
853:New creation
852:
845:
835:
809:
790:
763:
743:
733:. Retrieved
726:
688:. Retrieved
681:
672:
658:
650:
638:
632:
629:
625:Des Corcoran
621:
610:
586:
579:
564:
529:
509:
491:
490:
457:(1968-05-18)
401:Succeeded by
378:
344:Succeeded by
321:
302:Succeeded by
279:
262:Succeeded by
229:
208:Succeeded by
171:
152:Succeeded by
129:
110:Succeeded by
81:Elizabeth II
67:
25:
1602:1968 deaths
1597:1897 births
1444:Malinauskas
1374:Kirkpatrick
1283:Malinauskas
1208:Playford IV
1103:Playford II
1093:Playford II
903:Don Dunstan
870:Geoff Virgo
860:Edwardstown
858:Member for
836:Member for
802:Don Dunstan
641:Steele Hall
582:Don Dunstan
544:Edwardstown
455:18 May 1968
435:6 July 1897
406:Geoff Virgo
389:Preceded by
371:(1941–1956)
364:Edwardstown
349:Don Dunstan
332:Preceded by
307:Hugh Hudson
295:Don Dunstan
290:Preceded by
250:Preceded by
222:Labor Party
213:Don Dunstan
196:Preceded by
140:Preceded by
115:Don Dunstan
98:Preceded by
37:Frank Walsh
1591:Categories
1470:O'Halloran
1439:Weatherill
1404:O'Halloran
1273:Weatherill
1033:Strangways
978:Waterhouse
897:1960–1967
864:1956–1968
842:1941–1956
815:1965–1967
796:1965–1967
769:1960–1965
703:References
575:Queensland
560:Playmander
526:Parliament
514:family in
506:Early life
431:1897-07-06
1354:Batchelor
1349:McPherson
1138:R. Butler
735:19 August
690:23 August
617:Treasurer
470:Australia
446:Australia
379:In office
322:In office
280:In office
230:In office
172:In office
130:In office
68:In office
1574:ministry
1485:Corcoran
1480:Hutchens
1460:Richards
1419:Corcoran
1399:Richards
1278:Marshall
1233:Corcoran
1198:Richards
1118:Kingston
1098:Cockburn
973:Reynolds
838:Goodwood
601:Adelaide
593:Governor
571:Victoria
540:Goodwood
462:Parkside
369:Goodwood
87:Governor
1544:Related
1505:Blevins
1500:Hopgood
1414:Dunstan
1369:Vaughan
1342:Leaders
1228:Dunstan
1218:Dunstan
1173:Barwell
1163:Vaughan
1133:Jenkins
1123:Solomon
1068:Boucaut
1058:Boucaut
1013:Boucaut
963:Torrens
953:Finniss
744:
633:Hansard
607:Premier
77:Monarch
1520:Hurley
1515:Clarke
1495:Wright
1490:Hudson
1429:Arnold
1424:Bannon
1364:Verran
1248:Arnold
1243:Bannon
1238:Tonkin
1153:Verran
1128:Holder
1113:Downer
1108:Holder
1088:Downer
1083:Colton
1073:Morgan
1063:Colton
998:Dutton
983:Dutton
968:Hanson
595:, Sir
239:Leader
185:Deputy
1535:Close
1525:Foley
1475:Walsh
1465:Lacey
1409:Walsh
1394:Lacey
1389:Dawes
1359:Price
1263:Kerin
1258:Olsen
1253:Brown
1213:Walsh
1168:Peake
1158:Peake
1148:Peake
1143:Price
1053:Blyth
1048:Ayers
1043:Blyth
1028:Ayers
1018:Ayers
1003:Ayers
993:Blyth
988:Ayers
958:Baker
664:Notes
1510:Rann
1434:Rann
1384:Hill
1379:Gunn
1268:Rann
1223:Hall
1193:Hill
1183:Hill
1178:Gunn
1078:Bray
1038:Hart
1023:Hart
1008:Hart
737:2022
692:2022
589:1962
573:and
452:Died
421:Born
362:for
1530:Rau
1593::
725:.
680:.
577:.
502:.
468:,
464:,
444:,
440:,
1326:e
1319:t
1312:v
934:e
927:t
920:v
739:.
694:.
433:)
429:(
23:.
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