Sydney Ambrose Negus (12 March 1912 – 1 August 1986) was an Australian politician who was 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 ...

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

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

until

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. He was previously a carpenter and building contractor. Negus was president of the West Australian Sporting Car Club and competed in the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

on several occasions. Negus was elected largely on an anti-

inheritance tax An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...

platform, following the death of his brother,

Oscar Negus Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

a Justice of the

Supreme Court of Western Australia The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving sums of A$750,00 ...

, which led to Syd Negus' realisation of the impost of the tax on widows. His campaign established a groundswell of public support and Queensland was the first state to abolish inheritance taxes in 1977; the Commonwealth of Australia and other states followed soon after by abolishing their respective inheritance and gift taxes. Negus was defeated in the 1974 election. He later contested the

1975 Bass by-election A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Division of Bass, Bass on 28 June 1975. This was triggered by the resignation of Australian Labor Party, Labor Party MP and former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Deputy ...

as an independent and, at the 1980 federal election, was a candidate for the far-right, anti-immigration Progressive Conservative Party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Negus, Sydney 1912 births 1986 deaths Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Australian carpenters 20th-century Australian politicians Australian racing drivers