Victor Garland | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Garland in 1974 | |
| Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs | |
| In office 8 December 1979 – 3 November 1980 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | Wal Fife |
| Succeeded by | John Moore |
| Minister for Special Trade Representations | |
| In office 20 December 1977 – 8 December 1979 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | John Howard |
| Succeeded by | Douglas Scott |
| Minister for Veterans' Affairs | |
| In office 6 September 1977 – 4 July 1978 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | Peter Durack |
| Succeeded by | Evan Adermann |
| Minister for Post and Telecommunications | |
| In office 22 December 1975 – 6 December 1976 | |
| Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
| Preceded by | Peter Nixon |
| Succeeded by | Eric Robinson |
| Minister for Supply | |
| In office 2 August 1971 – 5 December 1972 | |
| Prime Minister | William McMahon |
| Preceded by | Ken Anderson |
| Succeeded by | Lance Barnard |
| High Commissioner to the United Kingdom | |
| In office April 1981 – 21 December 1983 | |
| Preceded by | James Plimsoll |
| Succeeded by | Alfred Parsons |
| Member of theAustralian Parliament forCurtin | |
| In office 19 April 1969 – 22 January 1981 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Hasluck |
| Succeeded by | Allan Rocher |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1934-05-05)5 May 1934 Perth,Western Australia |
| Died | 1 January 2022(2022-01-01) (aged 87) |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | University of Western Australia |
Sir Ransley Victor GarlandKBE (5 May 1934 – 1 January 2022), usually known asVic Garland, was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was a member of theHouse of Representatives from 1969 to 1981, representing theLiberal Party, and served as a minister in theMcMahon andFraser governments. He later served asHigh Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1983.
Garland was born in 1934 and grew up inPerth, Western Australia. He was educated atHale School and theUniversity of Western Australia, obtaining aBachelor of Arts with a major in Economics. He followed his father into the accounting profession, practising as achartered accountant from 1958 to 1969. He served as a councillor for the South Ward of theTown of Claremont from 1963 to 1970, finishing as deputy mayor.[1]
He joined theLiberal Party in 1957, and served in several branch and administrative roles. He was the Curtin division president in 1960–1961 and president of the Claremont branch from 1965. At the time of his preselection in 1969, he was senior vice-president of the Liberal Party's Western Australian Division.[2][3]
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WhenPaul Hasluck resigned from Parliament in 1969 to becomeGovernor-General of Australia, Garland succeeded him as the member for Curtin, a comfortably safe Liberal seat inPerth's wealthy beachside suburbs.
Following a cabinet reshuffle in August 1971, Garland was appointedMinister for Supply in theMcMahon government. Aged 37, he became the second-youngest member of the ministry afterAndrew Peacock.[4] In March 1972, he was also appointed Minister assisting the Treasurer, in place of Peacock.[5] He retained his positions until the defeat of the government at the1972 federal election. Notably, as supply minister he authorised the purchase of ten newWestland Sea King helicopters to replace theWestland Wessex as Australia'santi-submarine warfare helicopters.[6] He also unsuccessfully attempted to convince cabinet to purchaseDassault Mirage F1 fighter jets from France, which would have been manufactured in Australia.[7]
Garland was named inBilly Snedden's interim opposition executive after the election, but failed to win election to the shadow ministry when a vote was held in January 1973.[8] However, in June 1974 he succeededMax Fox asChief Opposition Whip.[2]
After the Coalition's victory at the1975 federal election, Garland was appointedMinister for Post and Telecommunications in theFraser government. He was the first person to hold the title, which replaced the earlier position ofPostmaster-General.
Garland resigned from the ministry on 6 February 1976, when theCommonwealth Police began an investigation into allegations that he had violated theelectoral act. He and former senatorGeorge Branson were alleged to have paid $500 to cover the electoral expenses of Michael Cavanough, an independent Senate candidate in theAustralian Capital Territory (ACT), on the condition that he direct his preferences to the Liberal candidateJohn Knight. The allegations were first publicised byThe Canberra Times in the lead-up to the election.[9] Garland and Branson denied that they had engaged in bribery, as they were of the belief that Cavanough had already agreed to give his preferences to Knight.[10]
The charges were dismissed at acommittal hearing in theMagistrates Court of the Australian Capital Territory on 8 March, with the chief magistrate stating that there was aprima facie case against the pair but that "a jury properly directed would not convict the defendants".[11]The Canberra Times was critical of the decision to discharge the defendants without a trial, stating that it left doubt as to the legality of their conduct and also deprived them of the vindication of an acquittal.[12]
For several months Garland remained a backbencher before being appointed the first Chairman of the House of Representatives Expenditure Committee (1976–1977),Minister for Veterans' Affairs (1977–1978),[13]Minister for Special Trade Representations (1978–1979) andMinister for Business and Consumer Affairs (1979–1980).
Following theNovember 1980 federal election, Garland resigned from Parliament on 22 January 1981 to accept appointment as Australian High Commissioner in the United Kingdom, a post he held from 1981 to 1983. In 1982, he became a Knight Commander of theOrder of the British Empire (KBE).
Following his departure from the High Commissioner's post, he stayed on in London, serving as non-executive director or executive director of over 30 companies in the UK and the US. The most notable were the Prudential Assurance plc for nearly 10 years, the South Bank Board (Royal Festival Hall Complex) as vice-chairman for 15 years, The Throgmorton Trust plc, Classic ITC Threadneedle AMC (India), Nelson Hurst plc, Signet Group plc, The Ark Funds Inc. (US), Mitchell Cotts plc, Fidelity Asian Values plc and many finance companies, some of which he chaired.[14]
In July 2007 he returned to Perth, Western Australia.
In 1960 he married Lynette Jamieson, and they had three children. Lady Garland is an active professional classical pianist who performs as Lyn Garland.[15] Victor Garland died on 1 January 2022, at the age of 87.[16] His death leavesTom Hughes as the last surviving Liberal member of theMcMahon Ministry.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister for Supply 1971–1972 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Peter Nixon Postmaster-General | Minister for Post and Telecommunications 1975–1976 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Veterans' Affairs 1977–1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Special Trade Representations 1978–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs 1979–1980 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by | Member for Curtin 1969–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom 1981–1983 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
