Michael Joseph Connington (1873 – 3 December 1930) was an Irish-born trade unionist, industrial advocate and politician. He was an

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 ...

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 1917 until his death. Connington was born in

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and migrated to

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 ...

with his family at a young age, where he was educated at Marist Brothers' College at Darlinghurst. He was a commercial traveller and then lived in New Zealand for several years. He later returned to New South Wales and was secretary of the Trolley, Draymen and Carters' Union of Sydney and Suburbs from 1901 to 1916 under

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

, who would become a close friend. Connington resigned from the union in 1916 when it came out against Hughes' support for conscription, but unlike Hughes did not leave the party in the 1916 Labor split. After his departure from the union, he began a prominent career as an industrial advocate. He was a member of the state executive of the Labor Party from 1910 to 1911, a justice of the peace, member of the State Necessary Commodities Commission in 1916, a member of the Commonwealth Shipbuilding Tribunal from 1918 to 1923, and the first life member of 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 ...

. Connington was well-known and well-respected as an industrial advocate and represented many different unions. The

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

wrote that "he figured as industrial advocate in all the big cost of living and basic wage inquiries for many years". President of the Industrial Commission Albert Piddington described him as "the leading industrial advocate in that jurisdiction", stating that he "had set a standard of advocacy high enough for any Court in any country" and was "a master of the case-law of arbitration". He was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1917 by the Nationalist Party government, receiving what was then a life appointment.

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

David Hall later wrote that Connington was appointed as the "best Labour man" that could be selected. In 1923, when questioned over his low attendance rate by

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

, Connington cited the demands of his ongoing industrial practice. He personally opposed the Lang government's unsuccessful attempts to abolish the Legislative Council, but voted to support abolition in parliament in line with his party. He died at his home at Putney in 1930 and was buried at Rookwood Cemetery.

References

1873 births 1930 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Irish emigrants to Australia {{Australia-Labor-NewSouthWales-MP-stub