Arthur Raymond Tonkin (21 January 1930 – 5 May 2022) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1971 to 1987. He was a minister in the government of Brian Burke.

Biography

Arthur Tonkin was born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

to Florence May (née Cole) and Norman Sedrick Tonkin. He studied at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

and

Claremont Teachers College Claremont Teachers College was Western Australia’s first post-secondary teaching institution. It opened in 1902 and closed in 1981, when it became a College of Advanced Education and later a campus of Edith Cowan University. The building is on ...

, and subsequently worked as a teacher (both in the metropolitan area and in the country).Arthur Raymond Tonkin
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 8 July 2016. A member of the State School Teachers Union, Tonkin was elected to parliament at the 1971 state election, winning the seat of Mirrabooka from the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

's Doug Cash. His seat was abolished at the 1974 election, and he successfully transferred to the new seat of Morley. Tonkin was elevated to shadow cabinet after the 1977 election, and would serve under three leaders of the opposition (

Colin Jamieson Colin John Jamieson, AO JP (26 May 1923 – 27 March 1990), was a politician in Western Australia. A member of the Labor Party, he served as a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1953 until 1986, as the Minister for Wo ...

, Ron Davies, and Brian Burke). At a redistribution prior to the 1983 state election, Tonkin's seat was abolished and replaced with the new seat of Morley-Swan. After the election, which Labor won, he was made Minister for Water Resources, Minister for Consumer Affairs, and Minister for Parliamentary and Electoral Reform, as well as Leader of the House. He lost the consumer affairs portfolio to

Peter Dowding Peter McCallum Dowding SC (born 6 October 1943) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who served as the 24th Premier of Western Australia, from 25 February 1988 until his forced resignation on 12 February 1990. He was a member of parli ...

in December 1983, having presented "too hardline an image" in his dealings with business. In a reshuffle after the 1986 election, Tonkin lost the electoral reform portfolio to

Mal Bryce Malcolm John Bryce (10 April 19433 March 2018) was an Australian politician, who served as a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1971 to 1988, representing the seat of Ascot. He was deputy leader of the L ...

, but replaced Jeff Carr as

Minister for Police and Emergency Services The Victorian Minister for Police, the Minister for Emergency Services, and the Minister for Ambulance Services, are ministers in the Government of Victoria who have responsibilities which includes conduct and regulation of all police and s ...

. However, he resigned from the ministry less than three months later, and resigned from parliament altogether in March 1987.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tonkin, Arthur 1930 births 2022 deaths Australian schoolteachers Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Politicians from Perth, Western Australia University of Western Australia alumni