James Luke Cavanagh (21 June 1913 – 19 August 1990) was an Australian politician and government minister.
Cavanagh was born in
Rosewater, South Australia
Rosewater is one of the western suburbs of Adelaide and is located 10 km north-west of Adelaide's central business district. Although mainly residential, there are many shops along Grand Junction Road and the closed Rosewater Loop railwa ...
and educated at the Dominican School in North Adelaide. He left school at 14 to work as a plasterer. He became an active member of the pacifist League against War and Fascism and continued to work as a plasterer during World War II. He was the Secretary of the Plasterers Society of South Australia from 1945 to 1962.
Cavanagh was elected to the
Senate
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 ...
at the
1961 election. He was
Minister for Works from 1972 to 1973,
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs from 1973 to 1975 and
Minister for Police and Customs in 1975. He did not stand for re-election at the
1980 election and retired from the Senate in June 1981.
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavanagh, Jim
1913 births
1990 deaths
1975 Australian constitutional crisis
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia
Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia
Members of the Australian Senate
Members of the Cabinet of Australia
Australian plasterers
20th-century Australian politicians