Ken Booth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Treasurer of New South Wales | |
| In office 2 October 1981 – 25 March 1988 | |
| Premier | Neville Wran Barrie Unsworth |
| Preceded by | Neville Wran |
| Succeeded by | Nick Greiner |
| Minister for Sport and Recreation andMinister for Tourism | |
| In office 14 May 1976 – 2 October 1981 | |
| Premier | Neville Wran |
| Preceded by | David Arblaster |
| Succeeded by | Michael Cleary |
| Member of theNew South Wales Parliament forWallsend | |
| In office 24 February 1968 – 1 November 1988 | |
| Preceded by | New district |
| Succeeded by | John Mills |
| Member of theNew South Wales Parliament forKurri Kurri | |
| In office 8 October 1960 – 23 January 1968 | |
| Preceded by | George Booth |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1926-02-23)23 February 1926 |
| Died | 1 November 1988(1988-11-01) (aged 62) |
| Political party | Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Irene Marshall (1954–79) Gail Mathieson (1982–88) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent |
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Kenneth George Booth (23 February 1926 – 1 November 1988) was a New South Wales politician, Treasurer, and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets ofNeville Wran andBarrie Unsworth. From 1981 to 1988 he was the Treasurer of New South Wales. He was a member of theNew South Wales Legislative Assembly for 28 years from 8 October 1960 until his death on 1 November 1988 for theLabor Party, representing the seats ofKurri Kurri andWallsend.[1]
Ken Booth was born in 1926 inKurri Kurri, New South Wales, the son of Labor Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 1925,George Booth, and Annie Elizabeth Booth (née Payne). Booth was educated at Kurri Kurri Public School andMaitland Boys' High School. He later credited his experiences during theGreat Depression as formulaic for his left-wing ideas. At age 17, he joined theLabor Party. Booth trained to be a physical education teacher at the Armidale andSydney Teachers College, gaining a Diploma in Physical Education (DipPhysEd) in 1946.[2]
After teaching at Cessnock High School from 1947 to 1949, he worked in physical education at the Murrumbidgee area office inWagga Wagga. In 1951 he lectured at Sydney Teachers College and at Newcastle Technical andNewcastle University colleges until 1960. On 23 January 1954 he married Irene Marshall, also a teacher, atChrist Church Cathedral in Newcastle. Together they had a daughter, Christine. An avid sportsman, Booth enjoyed swimming, walking rugby league, basketball, was Secretary of the Newcastle Cricket Association from 1958 to 1960 and a delegate to theNew South Wales Cricket Association.[1]
When his father died, Booth won ALP pre-selection for his father's then-vacant seat ofKurri Kurri. At the resultingby-election on 8 October 1960, Booth was elected with 92.53% of the vote against a singleCommunist candidate.[3] He was elected a further two times, in 1962 and 1965, but was elected uncontested as a candidate.[4] He retained this seat until it was abolished in a redistribution prior to the1968 election. Booth subsequently contested and won the recreated seat ofWallsend, gaining 75.83% of the vote.[5] He would hold this seat through seven more elections in 1971, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1984 and 1988.[6]
Originally serving in the backbenches, with the election ofNeville Wran as Leader of the party he was given the post of Shadow Minister for Education from 13 December 1973 to 14 May 1976.[7] Following the Labor victory at the1976 election, Booth, a prominent member of theSocialist Left faction of the New South Wales Labor, was sworn in as Minister of the Crown, serving as theMinister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Tourism. He served on the Councils of theUniversity of New South Wales from 1962 to 1965, Newcastle University College and its successor,Newcastle University from 1963 to 1974.[1]
As Minister for sports, he implemented a capital grants program and became popular among sporting organisations throughout NSW. On 13 August 1979, over a year after their 25th wedding anniversary, his wife Irene died from cancer, aged 47.[1] On 29 February 1980 he was appointed Assistant Treasurer whilst retaining his other portfolios. Held these offices until 2 October 1981 when he was appointed as theTreasurer of New South Wales. As Treasurer, Booth introduced significant reforms, including program budgeting and reorganisation of the parliamentary public accounts committee, embodied in thePublic Finance and Audit Act 1983 (NSW).[2]
On 21 February 1982 Booth remarried to Gail Mathieson, an office executive, in Redfern.[1] When his good friend and fellow left-faction member,Jack Ferguson, retired as Deputy Premier and Leader, Ferguson recommended Booth as his preferred successor, however, following some opposition from within the left faction, Booth lost the ballot toRon Mulock.[8] He remained as Treasurer until the defeat of theUnsworth Labor government at the state election in March 1988. In opposition Booth was appointed by the new Leader,Bob Carr, as Shadow Minister for Energy and Shadow Minister for Mineral Resources from 11 April 1988.[7] He was accused by the new Minister for Administrative Services,Matt Singleton, of interfering, as Treasurer, with a Government office accommodation deal that resulted in $350,000 in dead rent. The unsubstantiated allegations infuriated the ALP Opposition and Booth was supported by Opposition Leader,Bob Carr. A subsequent Police inquiry cleared Booth of any wrongdoing. Booth however, did not live to see his name cleared.[9] He died in office, survived by his daughter and his second wife, of a myocardial infarction on 1 November 1988 at his home and was cremated.[2]
| New South Wales Legislative Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member for Kurri Kurri 1960–1968 | District abolished |
| New district | Member for Wallsend 1968–1988 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byas Minister for Culture, Sport and Recreation and Minister for Tourism | Minister for Sport and Recreation 1976–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Minister for Tourism 1976–1981 | ||
| Vacant Title last held by Max Ruddock | Assistant Treasurer of New South Wales 1980–1981 | Vacant Title next held by Phillip Smiles |
| Preceded by | Treasurer of New South Wales 1981–1988 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| People | |
