Douglas McClelland (born 5 August 1926) is an Australian former politician who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

from 1962 to 1987, representing the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

(ALP). He was Minister for the Media (1972–1975) and

Special Minister of State The Special Minister of State (SMOS) in the Government of Australia is a position currently held by Don Farrell since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022. The minister is responsible for various parliamentary, electo ...

(1975) in the Whitlam Government, and ended his political career as

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

(1983–1987). He resigned from the Senate to become

High Commissioner to the United Kingdom The following is the list of ambassadors and high commissioners to the United Kingdom, or more formally, to the Court of St James's. High commissioners represent member states of the Commonwealth of Nations and ambassadors represent other sta ...

(1987–1991). McClelland is the earliest surviving Senator - and along with

Bill Hayden William George Hayden (born 23 January 1933) is an Australian politician who served as the 21st governor-general of Australia from 1989 to 1996. He was Leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1977 to 1983, and served as ...

and

Manfred Cross Manfred Douglas Cross (born 12 August 1929) is a retired Australian politician. He was educated at various state schools in Brisbane in Queensland before joining the Queensland public service and later, in 1961, becoming a member of the Austra ...

, is the earliest elected Labor MP still alive.

Early life

Born on 5 August 1926 in the western

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburb of

Wentworthville Wentworthville is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wentworthville is located 27 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Wentworthville is split ...

, Doug McClelland was the son of Gertrude Amy (née Cooksley) and

Alfred McClelland Alfred McClelland (18 April 1886 – 29 January 1969) was an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1920 until 1927, representing Northern Tablelands, and from 1930 to 1932, representi ...

. His father was a farmer, union organiser, and ALP politician who served two terms in the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Eac ...

(1920–1927 and 1930–1932). He attended Wentworthville Public School before going on to

Parramatta High School , motto_translation = The torch of the mind lights the path to glory , logo = Parramatta logo.gif , established = , type = Government-funded co-educational dual modality partially aca ...

and the Metropolitan Business College in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

. After leaving school he found work as a clerk in the state Agriculture Department. In 1944, five days after his 18th birthday, McClelland enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). He was stationed for periods in New South Wales, Queensland, and the Northern Territory before being discharged in January 1947 with the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

. From 1949 he worked as a

court reporter A court reporter, court stenographer, or shorthand reporter is a person whose occupation is to capture the live testimony in proceedings using a stenographic machine, thereby transforming the proceedings into an official certified transcript b ...

, employed by the state and federal governments. During this time he was an active member of the

Australian Journalists Association The Australian Journalists Association (AJA) was an Australian trade union for journalists from 1910–1992. In 1913 the Australian Journalists' Association merged with the Australian Writers' and Artists' Union. This union had been formed in 1 ...

Politics

McClelland joined the ALP in 1947 and was elected to the state executive in 1956. He served as the campaign secretary for his father's close friend

H. V. Evatt Herbert Vere Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a judge of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs from 1941 to 1949, and l ...

, who was the member for Barton and served as federal leader of the ALP from 1951 to 1960. Evatt transferred to a different electorate in 1958, and McClelland lost the Barton

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

ballot to

Len Reynolds Leonard "Len" Reynolds is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Peter Martin. Development In May 2007, Martin's character Len is killed off, as Martin had accepted a role in a stage production of ' ...

by just two votes. He was elected to the Senate at the 1961 federal election, aged 35, to a term starting on 1 July 1962. McClelland was Minister for the Media from 19 December 1972 to 6 June 1975,

Manager of Government Business in the Senate In the Parliament of Australia, the Manager of Government Business in the Senate is a government member, usually a minister, whose responsibilities include negotiating with the Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate regarding proceedings ...

from 9 July 1974, and then

. He also served as

from 21 April 1983 until his resignation on 23 January 1987. (He was no relation to fellow ALP cabinet minister

Jim McClelland James Robert McClelland (3 June 1915 – 16 January 1999) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as a Senator for New South Wales from 1971 to 1978. He briefly held minis ...

.) From 1981 until his resignation he was the Father of the Senate. In August 1981, McClelland was elected Chairman of Committees in the Senate, adding the title Deputy President in October. He defeated

National Country Party The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a fe ...

senator Douglas Scott by one vote with the aid of the Democrats, marking the start of the convention that the position is held by the opposition. When the ALP won the 1983 federal election, McClelland was elected

in place of Harold Young. In 1985 and 1986, he was represented by lawyers at the trials of

Lionel Murphy Lionel Keith Murphy QC (30 August 1922 – 21 October 1986) was an Australian politician, barrister, and judge. He was a Senator for New South Wales from 1962 to 1975, serving as Attorney-General in the Whitlam Government, and then sat on the ...

, a judge of the High Court and former ALP senator, where concerns had arisen over whether parliamentarian witnesses could be examined on their conduct in parliament. McClelland subsequently introduced what became the ''Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987'', which defined and codified certain aspects of

parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. ...

. It was "the first bill introduced by a presiding officer in the history of the Australian Parliament". McClelland retired from the Senate in January 1987, the year before the opening of the new Parliament House. He had served as chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on the New Parliament House from 1983.

Later life

McClelland served as Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1987 to 1991.

Personal life

McClelland married Lorna McNeill and they have one son— Robert McClelland, the former member for Barton—and two daughters. He was made a Companion of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in June 1987. McClelland was awarded the Douglas Wilkie Medal for services to non-football in 1973 by the

Anti-Football League The Anti-Football League is an Australian organisation that pokes fun at the obsession with Australian rules football. It was founded by Melbourne journalist Keith Dunstan in 1967. Origins The Anti-Football League was created in response to a ...

. The accolade was presented after McClelland introduced a points system for television programming.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClelland, Doug 1926 births Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Presidents of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Members of the Cabinet of Australia 1975 Australian constitutional crisis Companions of the Order of Australia Douglas Wilkie Medal winners Living people High Commissioners of Australia to the United Kingdom Permanent Representatives of Australia to the International Maritime Organization 20th-century Australian politicians Court reporters Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers