George Richards Laffer (14 September 1866 – 7 December 1933) was an Australian politician. He was member of the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the South Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament House in the st ...

from 1913 until 1933, representing the electorate of Alexandra for the Liberal Union, and its successors the

Liberal Federation The Liberal Federation was a South Australian political party from 16 October 1923 to 1932. It came into existence as a merger between the rival Liberal Union and National Party, to oppose Labor. Encouraged by the overwhelming success of the ...

and

Liberal and Country League Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...

. He was a minister in the Barwell government, and was

Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly The Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly is the presiding officer of the South Australian House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of South Australia. The other presiding officer is the President of the South Australian Le ...

from 1927 until 1930. Laffer was born at Coromandel Valley into a fruit-growing family, his father having emigrated from

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

in 1840. He continued in the family business, and was actively involved in agricultural organisations, serving as a founder of the South Australian Fruitgrowers' Association, life member of the Agricultural Bureau, and as chairman of the Advisory Board of Agriculture. He served nine years on the Mitcham District Council, including four years as chairman. Laffer was elected to the House of Assembly for Alexandra on his third attempt in 1913. He was chairman of committees from 1918 to 1920, and was promoted to the ministry when

Henry Barwell Sir Henry Newman Barwell KCMG (26 February 187730 September 1959) was the 28th premier of South Australia. Early life Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Barwell was educated at St Peter's College and Adelaide University, graduating in law. A ...

became Premier, serving as Commissioner of Crown Lands and Immigration and Minister for Repatriation until the government's defeat in 1924. Laffer was appointed Speaker after the Liberal Federation, in coalition with the Country Party, won the election of 1927 under

Richard Layton Butler Sir Richard Layton Butler KCMG (31 March 1885 – 21 January 1966) was the 31st Premier of South Australia, serving two disjunct terms in office: from 1927 to 1930, and again from 1933 to 1938. Early life Born on a farm near Gawler, South Austr ...

, serving until their defeat in 1930. He was a member of a Royal Commission into illegal betting and the licensing of bookmakers from 1932 until 1933. He died suddenly in office in 1933, and received a state funeral before being buried at Mitcham Anglican Cemetery.

References

Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Speakers of the South Australian House of Assembly Australian people of Cornish descent 1866 births 1933 deaths Liberal and Country League politicians {{Australia-politician-stub