Arthur Fadden
In October 1940, Fadden was elected acting leader of the Country Party as a compromise candidate, following a deadlocked leadership vote between Earle Page and John McEwen.Fadden enjoyed one of the most rapid rises in Australian political history, moving from private citizen to the prime ministership in just 11 years.[2] He later secured an indoor job as an office boy at the Pleystowe Sugar Mill, where his colleagues include two future Labor MPs – Maurice Hynes and George Martens.Morley eventually received a two-year jail term, and Fadden was promoted in his place, again defeating more than 50 other applicants; he was reputedly the "youngest town clerk in Australia".[5] However, he resigned as town clerk in September of that year and moved to Townsville (the largest settlement in North Queensland), where he established his own accountancy firm.He developed a feud with the city's chief engineer, Sidney Roberts, whom he publicly criticised for using coal from New South Wales instead of from the local Bowen Basin mines.[9] Fadden was the CPNP's lead speaker in the 1934 budget debates, effectively making him the chief financial spokesman for the opposition (which would be considered today as Shadow Treasurer).[16] In April 1939, Prime Minister Joseph Lyons died in office and was replaced by Country Party leader Earle Page on an interim basis.When Page was forced out of the leadership in September 1939, they attempted to re-join the party, but the remaining members opted – by a single vote – not to re-admit them.Fadden did not regard Cameron favourably, in one debate stating: "I take this opportunity to declare without the slightest degree of reservation that the honourable gentleman is not my leader".[20] In August 1940, Fadden narrowly escaped being killed in the Canberra air disaster, which claimed the lives of three government ministers and the Chief of the General Staff.According to his biographer Tracey Arklay, "Fadden was selected because the majority in the party room considered that he was the man most likely to be able to broker deals and negotiate with Menzies and the UAP".The independent MPs contemplated voting with the opposition to reject the budget, but after negotiations and some amendments it was able to be passed, allowing the government to continue in power.It was later reported that Fadden decided against moving into The Lodge, the official Prime Minister's residence in Canberra, after his predecessor as Country Party leader, Cameron, crudely told him that he would "scarcely have enough time to wear a track from the backdoor to the shithouse before you’ll be out".[30] Fadden's brief term as prime minister was marked by continued tension with the British government over the conduct of the war in Europe and the deployment of Australian military assets.[30] In a telegram shortly after his appointment, British prime minister Winston Churchill assured Fadden that "we shall never let you down if real danger comes".[32] Churchill and the British government attempted to stall against passing on the orders and they were not carried out until Curtin succeeded as prime minister and reaffirmed Fadden's stance.While continuing to govern in minority, he initially enjoyed the support of independents Arthur Coles and Alexander Wilson on the floor of the House.Winkler alleged that Attorney-General Billy Hughes, with Fadden's knowledge, had made illegal payments to trade union leaders to prevent industrial unrest during war.[34] Fadden addressed the allegations in an in camera session of parliament, during which he disclosed that the government had established a secret fund in 1916 to finance matters relating to national security, including payments to the anti-communist Australian Democratic Front.Novel features of the budget were the institution of a system of post-war credits – effectively compulsory loans to the government – and the planned introduction of a national mortgage bank.He was particularly proud of the post-war credits scheme, which was based on a suggestion by John Maynard Keynes, but it was ultimately one of the few inclusions dropped by incoming ALP treasurer Ben Chifley after the government's defeat.[39] Fadden returned his commission to the Governor-General Lord Gowrie, who swore in Curtin as prime minister on 7 October after receiving confirmations from Coles and Wilson that they would support an ALP government.[35] Following the fall of his ministry, a joint UAP-Country Party meeting endorsed Fadden as Leader of the Opposition, even though the UAP was nominally the senior coalition partner.[53] On a personal level Fadden felt greater affinity with Curtin and his successor Ben Chifley, each being the children of working-class Irish immigrants with limited academic training.Fadden refused to do so and subsequently moved a motion in the House of Representatives claiming a breach of parliamentary privilege, during which he compared the CIB to the Gestapo.[58] The Coalition won a massive victory in the 1949 election, and Fadden, who transferred to the newly created seat of the Division of McPherson on the Gold Coast, became Treasurer in the second Menzies government.Fadden, who had been sitting next to the driver, was pulled from the car unconscious and spent election day in hospital, unable to cast his vote.He visited Japan twice in 1959, and was appointed as the representative of a Japanese company hoping to acquire a licence to export iron ore from Western Australia.[71] Fadden suffered from ill health during his retirement, including a bout of hepatitis and a vision defect that left him blind in one eye and required an operation to correct.
The Right HonourablePrime Minister of AustraliaGeorge VILord GowrieRobert MenziesJohn CurtinLeader of the OppositionBilly HughesTreasurer of AustraliaPercy SpenderBen ChifleyHarold HoltActingArchie CameronJohn McEwenHarold ThorbyMember of ParliamentMcPhersonCharles BarnesDarling DownsLittleton GroomReginald SwartzMember of the Queensland Legislative AssemblyKennedyHarry BruceCecil JessonInghamQueensland ColonyBrisbaneQueenslandMount Thompson CrematoriumCountryWalkerston State SchoolCountry PartyIngham, QueenslandWalkerstonMackay1918 cycloneTownsvilleTownsville City Councilin 1932Queensland Legislative AssemblyCountry and Progressive National Partyin 1935a by-electionDivision of Darling Downsminister without portfolioUnited Australia Partya coalitionan air crashMinister for AirEarle Pagedeputy prime ministeracting prime ministerLabor Partymotion of no confidence1943 electionPeter CostelloCounty TyroneCounty GalwayTe Kowaicane beetlessound effectsPleystowePleystowe Sugar MillMaurice HynesGeorge Martenstown clerkMackay Town CouncilAustralian ArmyMackay cycloneNorth QueenslandMelbourneNew South WalesBowen Basin1932 Queensland state electionAustralian Labor Partymajority governmentThe Courier-Mail1935 state electionMiraniTed Walshpork-barreledQueensland Country PartyAustralian House of Representatives1937 federal electionJoseph LyonsBernard CorserOliver BadmanThomas Collinscoalitionassistant ministerMinister for Supply and DevelopmentFrederick StewartCanberra air disasterChief of the General StaffJames FairbairnMinister for Civil Aviation1940 Australian federal electionhung parliamentAlexander WilsonArthur ColesEdgar HoltAdvisory War CouncilWilliam DargieThe LodgeMenzies' final ministryBritish war cabinet in LondonWinston ChurchillSiege of TobrukRats of TobrukThomas BlameyEddie Wardin cameraroyal commissionPercival RogersAlan Reidfederal budgetexcess profits taxJohn Maynard Keynessupplyconfidence motionGreat Flood1943 Australian federal electionCurtin government1944 referendum