Stanley James Collard (born 25 March 1936) is a former Australian politician. He was a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

from 1975 to 1987, representing the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

. He was elected as the party's Senate leader in 1985, but failed to win National Party

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 presel ...

prior to the 1987 federal election owing to his opposition to the "

Joh for Canberra The Joh for Canberra campaign, initially known as the Joh for PM campaign, was an attempt by Queensland National Party of Australia, National Party premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen to become Prime Minister of Australia. The campaign was announc ...

" movement. He was a locomotive engine driver with

Queensland Railways Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both suburban and interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well as long-distance passenger t ...

and trade unionist before his election to the Senate.

Early life

Collard was born on 25 March 1936 in

Maleny, Queensland Maleny (pronounced ''muh-LAY-knee'') is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. Maleny was a timber town until the early 1920s and then was a centre of dairy production ...

. He was the oldest of three sons born to Edina (née Cooke) and William Alfred Collard. Collard was raised on the family dairy farm at Maleny which his paternal grandfather had acquired in 1918. He attended primary school in Maleny and then spent two years at

Nambour State High School Nambour State College is a co-educational, state high school located in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. Established on 2 February 1953. In 2006 the school had enrolment figures of 1,367, including adult students. Previously it was called the Nam ...

, before leaving school to help on the farm. He later moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

where he joined

as a trainee engineman. Collard briefly ran a student hostel in Herberton before rejoining Queensland Railways in

Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. It is informally known by local people as The Curry. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known as the ''Friendl ...

as a locomotive driver. He was secretary of the local branches of the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen and the

Australian Railways Union The Australian Railways Union (ARU) was an Australian trade union in existence from 1920 to 1993. The ARU was an industrial union, representing all types of workers employed in the rail industry, excluding locomotive enginedrivers and tradesm ...

, and helped organise strike action in 1966. Collard moved to

Sarina Sarina is a rural town and coastal Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Sarina had a population of 5,619 people. Geography Sarina lies just inland of the east coa ...

in 1971 where he drove "six-header" (six locomotive) coal trains from

Bowen Basin The Bowen Basin contains the largest coal reserves in Australia. This major coal-producing region contains one of the world's largest deposits of bituminous coal. The Basin contains much of the known Permian coal resources in Queensland includ ...

mines to the port terminal at Hay Point. He continued to work as an engine driver until his preselection for the Senate in 1975.

Politics

Early involvement

Collard joined the Country Party (later National Party) in 1959. He served as Bob Katter Sr.'s campaign director in the seat of

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * Kennedy (surname), including any of several people with that surname ** Kennedy family, a prominent American political family that includes: *** Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969), American businessman, investor, ...

for three federal elections beginning in 1966.

Senate

In 1975, Collard won National Party

for the Senate in Queensland. Following a

double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolutio ...

, he was placed in sixth position on the

Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

's joint ticket at the 1975 federal election, winning a three-year term. He was re-elected at the

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

and 1983 elections. Collard served as the Nationals'

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

and deputy leader in the Senate from 1981 to 1985. He replaced

Doug Scott Douglas Keith Scott (29 May 19417 December 2020) was an English Mountaineering, mountaineer and climbing author, noted for being on the team that made the 1975 British Mount Everest Southwest Face expedition, first ascent of the south-west fac ...

as the party's Senate leader in 1985 and was a shadow minister under

Andrew Peacock Andrew Sharp Peacock (13 February 193916 April 2021) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He served as a cabinet minister and went on to become leader of the Liberal Party on two occasions (1983–1985 and 1989–1990), leading the part ...

and

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

, holding the portfolios of veterans' affairs (1984–1985) and arts, heritage and the environment (1985–1987). During the "

" campaign, Collard supported the National Party maintaining its longstanding coalition with 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. For example, while the political systems ...

, thus coming into conflict with the Nationals' Queensland state executive. He resigned from the coalition shadow ministry in April 1987, in accordance with a directive from the state executive, but was publicly critical of the "Joh for Canberra" efforts. Following another double dissolution, he failed to win preselection on the Nationals' Senate ticket at the 1987 federal election, thus bringing an end to his term as the party's Senate leader.

Subsequent activities

In January 1990, Collard unsuccessful sought National Party preselection in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

seat of

. He was subsequently chosen as the party's candidate for Capricornia, but was defeated by incumbent

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

MP Keith Wright at the 1990 federal election.

Later life

After leaving the Senate, Collard returned to his family farm. He was the president of the organising committee for the Hinkler Bicentennial Air Race, a nine-day air race honouring

Bert Hinkler Herbert John Louis Hinkler (8 December 1892 – 7 January 1933), better known as Bert Hinkler, was a pioneer Australian aviator (dubbed "Australian Lone Eagle") and inventor. He designed and built early aircraft before being the first person ...

which concluded in Brisbane on the opening day of

World Expo 88 World Expo 88, also known as Expo 88, was a specialised Expo held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988, inclusive. The theme of the Expo w ...

. He was also involved with

Life Education Australia Life Education Australia (Life Ed) is the largest and most recognised health education provider in Australian schools. Life Ed reaches on average 700,000 children annually where qualified educators present evidence-based preventative health and w ...

, serving as state president for three years and on the national board for ten years, and was deputy chairman of the Library Board of Queensland from 1996 to 1999.

Personal life

In 1958, Collard married Gloria Auld, with whom he had three children. He was a

lay preacher A lay preacher is a preacher who is not ordained (i.e. a layperson) and who may not hold a formal university degree in theology. Lay preaching varies in importance between religions and their sects. Overview Some denominations specifically disco ...

in the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and later held administrative positions in the

Uniting Church The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost a ...

References

1936 births Living people People from Maleny, Queensland Australian train drivers National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-National-politician-stub