Malcolm Fox Scott (11 May 1911 – 31 May 1989) was an Australian 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

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 1950 to 1971, representing 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 ...

. He served as a minister in the Gorton government from 1968 to 1969. Scott was a farmer before entering politics.

Early life

Scott was born in

Bridgetown, Western Australia Bridgetown is a town in the South West (Western Australia), South West region of Western Australia, approximately south of Perth on the Blackwood River at the intersection of South Western Highway with Brockman Highway to Nannup, Western Austra ...

, to Ada Margaretta (née Fox) and Thomas Scott. His father was an immigrant from Scotland. Scott was raised on his father's farm and began his education at the local state school. He went on to Bunbury High School for one year, and then boarded at

Scotch College, Perth , motto_translation = May God be with us, as He was with our forefathers , established = , founders = , type = Independent single-sex early learning, primary, and secondary day ...

. After finishing school, Scott returned to Bridgetown to help run the family farm, and eventually took it over completely. He also had a share in a

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Australia Pastoral lease ...

in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

, as well as interests in a pearling company that operated six luggers out of Broome. Scott was elected to the Bridgetown Road Board in 1939, and served as chairman from 1946 to 1950.

Politics

Scott was briefly a member of the Labor Party in the 1940s. He left the party after Ben Chifley announced his intention to

nationalise Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

the banking sector, and subsequently joined the Liberal Party. Scott contested the

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 ...

process for the

Division of Forrest The Division of Forrest is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. Geography Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the ...

prior to the 1949 federal election, but lost to

Gordon Freeth Sir Gordon Freeth, KBE (6 August 191427 November 2001) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1969, including as a minister in the Coalition governments from 1958 to 1969. He late ...

. He was instead endorsed as a senate candidate, and was elected in the fourth position on a combined Liberal–

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

ticket. As a backbencher, Scott had a keen interest in national development, particularly in

North-West Australia The North West, North West Coast, North Western Australia and North West Australia, are usually informal names for the northern regions of the State of Western Australia. However, some conceptions of "North West Australia" have included adjoi ...

. He toured the region in 1958 with

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

and

Bill Spooner William "Sputnik" Spooner (born August 16, 1949) is a musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter, and the founder of The Tubes, a theatrical rock band. His songwriting is known for its use of humor and satire. He has released three solo albums ...

, and was an advocate of the

Ord River Scheme The Ord River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river's catchment covers . The lower Ord River and the conjunction with Cambridge Gulf create the most northern estuarine environment in Western Australia. The Ord ...

. Scott was a proponent of centralisation (an unpopular view amongst many of his constituents) and suggested that the

should be transferred from Western Australia to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

so it could be under federal control. In March 1966, Scott was made Government Whip in the Senate. He had shared offices with

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...

early in his career, and supported his bid for the Liberal leadership after the death of

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in S ...

. In February 1968, a month after Gorton became prime minister, Scott was made

Minister for Customs and Excise The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs is a ministerial post of the Australian Government and is currently held by Andrew Giles, pending the swearing in of the full Albanese ministry on 1 June 2022, following the ...

in the new ministry. Among his duties was the censorship of imported literature and film, where he gained a reputation for puritanism. At one point, Scott had a scene cut from a Czechoslovak film, ''

I Love, You Love I Love, You Love may refer to: * I Love, You Love (1961 film), a documentary film * I Love, You Love (1989 film), a Czechoslovak film {{dab ...

'', which depicted "a couple lying side-by-side with the husband stroking his wife's face and her pregnant belly". He said that these actions were of "a distinctly sexual nature". Scott's career as a minister ended in November 1969, when he was replaced by

Don Chipp Donald Leslie Chipp, AO (21 August 192528 August 2006) was an Australian politician who was the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats, leading the party from 1977 to 1986. He began his career as a member of the Liberal Party, winning el ...

in a reshuffle. He had been involved in two controversies the previous year, the first was over his shareholdings in mining companies. Because those companies were often involved in leasing government land, it was suggested that a conflict of interest might exist. The second controversy concerned the resignation of an officer of the

Department of Customs and Excise The Department of Customs and Excise was an Government of Australia, Australian government Government department, department that existed between January 1956 and March 1975. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or go ...

(for which Scott was responsible). The officer had resigned after being found guilty of improper conduct, but subsequently received assistance in finding private-sector employment, which was said to be an abuse of power (and contradicted Scott's own statements on the "gravity" of the officer's offence).

Later life

Scott lost Liberal preselection prior to the 1970 half-senate election, with his term ending in June 1971. He had considered running as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, but decided against doing so due to a pledge he had made not to oppose endorsed Liberal candidates. Scott had moved his family to Perth soon after entering the senate, and lived there in retirement (while still owning property in the country). He died at his home Booragoon in May 1989, aged 78. He had married Nancy Elizabeth Ozanne in 1936, with whom he had five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Malcolm Fox 1911 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Australian farmers Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Pearlers People from Bridgetown, Western Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Australian people of Scottish descent People educated at Scotch College, Perth Western Australian local councillors