Jack Rowland Hallam (born 10 September 1942), a former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n politician, was a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

from 1973 to 1991 representing the ALP. Hallam held several ministerial posts in the state governments led by

Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman of ...

and

Barrie Unsworth Barrie John Unsworth (born 16 April 1934) is a former Australian politician, representing the Labor Party in the Parliament of New South Wales from 1978 to 1991. He served as the 36th Premier from July 1986 to March 1988. Early years Unswo ...

Early years

Born in

Griffith, New South Wales Griffith is a major regional city in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area that is located in the north-western part of the Riverina region of New South Wales, known commonly as the food bowl of Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith ...

, Hallam worked as an apprentice plumber in 1956, a roustabout and wool classer from 1956 to 1959, a contract harvester and share farmer from 1959 to 1964, and a sheep farmer from 1967 to 1976. At various times he held membership of the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

and the

Federated Clerks' Union The Federated Clerks Union of Australia (FCU) was an Australian trade union representing clerical workers, in existence from 1911 to 1993, when it amalgamated with the Australian Services Union. History Between 1900 and 1907, attempts were made to ...

Political career

In 1973 Hallam was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council to represent the Australian Labor Party. Five years later, Neville Wran having by this stage become Premier, Hallam was appointed Minister for Decentralisation, moving to

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

in 1980. He remained Agriculture Minister until 1988; he was also minister for Fisheries (1981–86), Lands (1986–88), Forests (1986–88) and Vice-President of the Executive Council (1986–88). He was also Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council (1978–86), and Leader (1986–88). In 1984, as the NSW Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, Hallam instigated a commemorative award, called the ''McKell Medal'', in honour of the contribution that

Sir William McKell Sir William John McKell (26 September 1891 – 11 January 1985) was an Australian politician who served as the 12th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1947 to 1953. He had previously been Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 1947 ...

had made to the development of a soil and water conservation ethic within Australia. Hallam continued to lead the Opposition in the Legislative Council until he retired from politics in 1991.

Published writings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallam, Jack 1942 births Living people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council People from Griffith, New South Wales Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales