Trevor Thomas Kaine (17 February 1928 – 3 June 2008), was an Australian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who served as Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 1989 to 1991. Kaine was elected into a multi-member single electorate in the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, from 1989 to 2001, initially as a member of 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 ...

and later as an

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Early career

Kaine was born in the town of Penguin in

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, and was educated in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. He moved to Canberra in the 1950s whilst stationed with the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

.McLennan, David
Political stalwart dead at 80
''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'', 4 June 2008.

Political career

Kaine was a member of the ACT House of Assembly as a member for

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal e ...

from 1975 to 1977, and again from 1985 until that House was dissolved. He was elected to the first Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly at the 1989 general election and, at the first sitting of the Assembly, became the first Leader of the Opposition of the ACT, leading the

. The life of the first Assembly was characterised by a

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisla ...

and significant political instability. Confidence was waning in the minority Follett

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

government. On 5 December 1989,

Bernard Collaery Bernard Joseph Edward Collaery (born 12 October 1944) is an Australian barrister, lawyer and former politician. Collaery was a member of the Australian Capital Territory's first Legislative Assembly for the Residents Rally party, from 1989 t ...

, leader of the Residents Rally group (with four members in the Assembly) moved the following motion in the Assembly: :''That this Assembly no longer has confidence in the Chief Minister of the ACT and the minority Labor Government and has confidence in the ability of Mr Kaine to form a government.'' The vote was resolved in the affirmative (10 votes to 7), and Kaine was elected as the second

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

as leader of an Alliance Government, comprising members of both the Liberal Party and some (but not all) members of the Residents Rally in the Assembly. On 29 May 1991, Kaine announced to the Assembly that members of Residents Rally had met the previous evening and decided to dissolve the Alliance, due to an internal split in the Rally party, where two of the four members chose to align themselves with the Kaine government. The remaining two members chose to not align themselves with the Kaine government. On 6 June 1991, a motion of no confidence in Kaine, as Chief Minister, was passed. The Follett Labor government resumed power, and Kaine again became Leader of the Opposition. The ACT Liberal Party lost the 1992 election, again, with a hung parliament. Kaine continued as Leader of the Opposition. In 1993,

Kate Carnell Anne Katherine Carnell (née Knowlman; born 30 May 1955) is an Australian businesswoman and former Liberal Party politician, who served as the third Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) from 1995 to 2000. Early life and p ...

took over leadership of the Liberal Party. Kaine stayed on with the Liberal Party after losing the leadership, and was appointed Urban Services Minister when the party won the 1995 election under Carnell. At the 1995 election, three multi-member electorates were created, and Kaine was one of the five representatives of the

Brindabella electorate Brindabella may refer to: * Brindabella Airlines * Brindabella Business Park, part of Canberra Airport * Brindabella College in O'Connor, Australian Capital Territory * Brindabella electorate * The Brindabella Ranges * Brindabella National Park ...

. Kaine was re-elected at the 1998 election. However, on 13 May 1998, he resigned from the Liberal Party and on 28 May 1998, announced his intention to form a party called ''Canberra Liberals''. On 30 July 1998, the United Canberra Party was registered. The party was deregistered on 30 June 2001, and Kaine unsuccessfully contested the 2001 ACT election as an independent candidate.

Life after politics

Trevor Kaine died on 3 June 2008, aged 80, after a long illness following a stroke he had suffered four years earlier. He was the first ACT Chief Minister to die.

References

External links

Early career

Political career

Life after politics

See also

References

External links