Doug Anthony

John Douglas Anthony, AC, CH (born 31 December 1929), is a former Australian politician. He was Deputy Prime Minister from 1971 to 1972 and from 1975 to 1983 and leader of the National Party from 1971 to 1984.

Early life

Anthony was born in Murwillumbah in northern New South Wales. He was the son of Hubert Lawrence "Larry" Anthony, a well-known Country Party politician. Doug Anthony was educated at The King's School in Sydney and at an agricultural college in Queensland. After graduating he took up dairy-farming near Murwillumbah. In 1957 he married Margot Budd, with whom he had three children: Dougald, Jane and Larry.

Political career

In 1957 Larry Anthony sr., who was Postmaster-General in the Liberal-Country Party coalition government led by Robert Menzies, died suddenly, and Doug was elected to succeed his father in the Division of Richmond in the House of Representatives, aged 27. He was appointed Minister for the Interior in 1964 (in Australia this is a minor position with none of the security and policing functions it has in other countries). In 1967 he became Minister for Primary Industries. It was obvious that the Country Party leader, John McEwen, was grooming Anthony to succeed him.

When McEwen retired in 1971 Anthony was duly chosen as his successor, becoming Minister for Trade and Industry and Deputy Prime Minister in the governments of John Gorton and William McMahon. He was an attractive figure and many people would have preferred him as Prime Minister rather than the bumbling McMahon. He showed his tough streak when he forced McMahon to back down on petrol prices and other issues which affected country voters.

After the coalition's defeat in 1972, he was said to favour a policy of absolute opposition to the Labor government of Gough Whitlam. Despite this, the Country Party voted with the Labor Government on some bills, for example the 1973 expansion of state aid to under-privileged schools. He urged the Liberals to take a hard line against Whitlam throughout the next three years and welcomed his dismissal by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, in 1975. To broaden the appeal of his party beyond its declining rural base, he led its name change to the National Country Party, and began contesting urban seats in Queensland and Western Australia.

When the coalition parties returned to power after the 1975 elections, Anthony again became Deputy Prime Minister, with the portfolios of Overseas Trade and National Resources (Trade and Resources from 1977). But with the dominating Malcolm Fraser as Prime Minister, and the Liberals having a majority in their own right between 1975 and 1980, Anthony found that he did not have the same power he had had in the coalition governments before 1972.

Anthony remained as leader party (now named the National Party) for less than a year.He resigned from Parliament in early 1984. By then, although still only 55, he was the Father of the House of Representatives. He returned to his farm near Murwillumbah and generally stayed out of politics. In 1996 his son, Larry Anthony, won his father's old seat, creating the first three-generation dynasty in the House of Representatives.

References in popular culture

Doug Anthony's name was used by the anarchic Australian comedy trio the Doug Anthony All Stars, who rose to fame with celebrated appearances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the 1980s and came to national prominence in Australia in 1990 with their popular performances on the TV comedy series The Big Gig.

See also

• Anthony family

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