Daniel Thomas McVeigh (born 7 May 1930) is a former Australian politician. He served in the

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

from 1972 to 1988, representing the National Party (previously the National Country Party). He held ministerial office in the Fraser Government, serving as

Minister for Housing and Construction Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

(1980–1982) and Minister for Home Affairs and the Environment (1982–1983).

Early life

McVeigh was born on 7 May 1930 in

Allora, Queensland Allora is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Allora had a population of 1,223 people. Geography Allora is on the Darling Downs in south-e ...

. In 1941, aged 11, he was tasked with welcoming Prime Minister

Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden, (13 April 189421 April 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Australia from 29 August to 7 October 1941. He was the leader of the Country Party from 1940 to 1958 and also served ...

to his school and promised to succeed him in the seat of

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generall ...

. McVeigh later attended boarding school in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. He became a "third-generation

primary producer and a prize-winning wheat farmer", on a property of . He also played in the A-grade of the Darling Downs Rugby Union as a half-back. He served on the council of the Queensland Graingrowers' Association (1963–1966), as a Queensland delegate to the Australian Wheatgrowers' Federation (1964–1966), and on the Queensland State Wheat Board (1965–1974).

Politics

McVeigh won the seat of

for the

National Country Party The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a fede ...

at the 1972 election. He was appointed

in the Fraser government in November 1980. In May 1982, he was moved to the portfolio of Minister for

Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

and

the Environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses t ...

and held that position to the defeat of the government at the 1983 election. In 1984, with the abolition of the seat of Darling Downs, McVeigh followed most of his constituents into the new

Division of Groom The Division of Groom is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. Groom is an agricultural electorate located on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland. It includes the regional city of Toowoomba and rural communities to the west and ...

, which he held until his resignation in February 1988. McVeigh aligned himself with Queensland premier

Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005), known as Joh Bjelke-Petersen, was a conservative Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, during ...

's "

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 announced ...

" campaign in 1987, which sparked a fracture in the Nationals between Queensland MPs seeking an independent National Party and supporters of federal leader

Ian Sinclair Ian McCahon Sinclair (born 10 June 1929) is a former Australian politician who served as leader of the National Party from 1984 to 1989. He was a government minister under six prime ministers, and later Speaker of the House of Representative ...

and the existing coalition with the Liberals. He was the first Nationals MP to withdraw from the Coalition, doing so at a party meeting on 17 March. McVeigh nonetheless remained a Nationals

frontbencher In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kno ...

during this time, serving as the party's spokesman on Aboriginal affairs. He eventually rejoined the Coalition on 11 August. In December 1987, it was reported that the Queensland state government had nominated McVeigh to serve as agent-general in London. He formally resigned from parliament on 29 February 1988, sparking a by-election in Groom.

Family

His son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, served in the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

for Toowoomba South from 2012 to 2016 before winning Tom's old federal seat of Groom in 2016.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:McVeigh, Tom National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Darling Downs Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Groom Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1930 births Living people People from Toowoomba 20th-century Australian politicians