The Money Men by Chris Bowen (superbooks4u .txt) 📕

Hughes’ continuation as prime minister in 1922, but this time he would be less successful, with the UAP electing Menzies. Fadden showed considerable courage and fortitude in standing up for his beliefs during this crisis. He announced that he could not support Page’s veto of Menzies, as he had no objection to Menzies assuming the prime ministership. As he could not support his leader on this important question, he resigned from the parliamentary Country Party, and two fellow MPs followed him from the party room. Fadden’s resignation in defence of Menzies was the first high-profile interaction between the two men who would dominate conservative politics over the next twenty years.

Menzies formed a government without Country Party membership, and soon after Page resigned the leadership, to be replaced by South Australian Archie Cameron. But following the loss of the Corio by-election, Menzies invited the Country Party to rejoin his government. Menzies still did not need Country Party support to form a majority in the House, but bringing the party back into the fold was an insurance policy for the tough times that the by-election loss presaged.

Fadden’s courage in resigning as the Country Party whip did him no harm when the government was reconstructed with Country Party involvement. Cameron nominated Fadden to Menzies to join the ministry and he was accordingly made minister assisting the treasurer, in keeping with his experience and relative success in the Queensland Parliament in dealing with financial matters, and his accounting experience. Fadden later said this was to his ‘utter surprise’, which, it is fair to conclude, was an honest reaction. Cameron would have been keen to reward genuine talent, which Fadden clearly had, and Menzies would have been happy to reward the loyalty and courage that Fadden had shown. Both men also would have realised it engendered further loyalty and stability to bring into the fold the disaffected Country Party faction that Fadden led.

The biggest human tragedy ever to befall an Australian government then struck. In August 1940, three Cabinet ministers were returning to Canberra from a meeting in Melbourne when their Air Force plane went down during its approach to Canberra Airport. Civil aviation minister James Fairbairn, minster for the army Geoffrey Street and minister for science and industrial research Joe Gullett were all killed, as was the chief of general staff (the equivalent to the chief of Army in today’s parlance), Sir Brudenell White. The Royal Australian Air Force base in Canberra was renamed Fairbairn in honour of the deceased aviation minister.

Fadden had very nearly been among the victims. Fairbairn had offered Fadden a seat on the plane, and Fadden had gratefully accepted. But Fairbairn had to sheepishly withdraw the offer when he realised his personal secretary had changed his plans and would now join the flight. Fadden then made arrangements to take the train from Melbourne to Canberra instead, not realising that Fairbairn had unknowingly saved his life by retracting his offer.

Menzies sadly but urgently reconstructed his Cabinet after the tragedy. The irony of Fadden living because he did not get a seat on the plane was magnified by Menzies appointing him minister for civil aviation in Fairbairn’s stead, as well as allowing him to retain the assistant treasurer portfolio.

In the brutal realpolitik that always claims such situations, Menzies soon had to decide whether to risk three by-elections or call a general election. After the bruising loss in the Corio by-election, he decided to call an early federal election, rather than risk a ‘slow death’ of setbacks or defeats in the by-elections. The election did not go well for Menzies. Despite the fact the country was at war, Australia punished its government rather than rallying around it. Menzies lost his majority in the House and, as Labor could not muster a majority in its own right either, he was subjected to a hung parliament, relying on the independents Sir Arthur Coles and Alex Wilson for a continued majority.

The Country Party suffered its fair share of losses too, going from sixteen seats to thirteen. This was a catalyst for dissidents to challenge the leadership of Cameron, who had proved an emotionally ill-suited leader. When Cameron learnt that he was going to be challenged for the leadership by the former leader (and effective founder) of the Country Party, Sir Earle Page, as well as by the young member for Indi, John McEwen, he decided to withdraw from the ballot; he would later resign from the Country Party, join the Liberal Party and become speaker of the House. The first ballot between Page and McEwen was a draw. The Country Party caucus voted twice more in an attempt to break the deadlock, but each resulted in another draw. (I once voted in an ALP federal parliamentary ballot that was also initially a draw, but when a new ballot was held, there was a different result. So holding a ballot again and allowing people to change their vote can be a way of resolving such impasses, even if it did not work in the situation described here.)

During a break in proceedings, Fadden was approached by colleagues to see if he would break the impasse by nominating for the leadership. He agreed and was nominated by both Page and McEwen to be acting leader while the deadlock was resolved. He was such a successful interim leader that, a short while later, the parliamentary party simply decided to install him as the permanent leader of the party. Page would serve under him in apparent equanimity, and McEwen would eventually succeed him as leader eighteen years later.

A Rapid Ascension

Fadden had been in federal parliament for just four years and had been a minister for about a year when he found himself holding the prime ministership. He was to gain the office with less parliamentary experience than any of his successors until Bob Hawke in 1983.

Menzies made Fadden federal treasurer after he ascended to the Country Party leadership, a decision around which there was much controversy. Percy Spender, the UAP