Leslie Royston Johnson AM (22 November 1924 – 26 May 2015) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

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 ...

(ALP) and held ministerial office in the Whitlam Government, serving as Minister for Housing (1972–1973),

Works Works may refer to: People * Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach * Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician Albums * '' ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album)'', a Pink Floyd album from 1983 * ''Works'', a Gary Burton album ...

(1973), Housing and Construction (1973–1975), and Aboriginal Affairs (1975). He represented the

Division of Hughes The Division of Hughes is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. History The division was created in 1955 and is named for Billy Hughes, who was Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923. Originally a marginal L ...

in New South Wales from 1955 to 1966 and from 1969 to 1983. He later served as

High Commissioner to New Zealand The High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to New Zealand is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in New Zealand, and head of the UK's diplomatic mission in New Zealand. As the United Kingdom and New Zealand are fellow mem ...

from 1984 to 1985, cutting short his term due to his daughter's ill health.

Early life

Johnson was born at

Enfield, New South Wales Enfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 11 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government area of Municipality of ...

on 22 November 1924. He initially worked as a boilermaker's mate before becoming an apprentice

fitter and turner A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

. He became active in the

Amalgamated Engineering Union The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major United Kingdom, British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992. History ...

, serving as chair of its New South Wales Youth Committee. He later worked as an organiser for 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 ...

and ran a general store and newsagency at Gymea.

Politics

Johnson was elected for the

as the first member for the newly created

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 ...

seat of

Hughes Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...

at the 1955 election. He held it until his defeat at the 1966 election by

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Don Dobie. However, a redistribution ahead of the 1969 election shifted most of the wealthier portions of Hughes to the newly created seat of

Division of Cook The Division of Cook is an Australian electoral division in the State of New South Wales. History Cook was created in 1969, mostly out of the Liberal-leaning areas of neighbouring Hughes. It was thus a natural choice for that seat's one-ter ...

. The reconfigured Hughes now had a notional Labor majority of eight percent, making it a fairly safe Labor seat on paper. Believing this made Hughes impossible to hold, especially with Johnson priming for a rematch, Dobie transferred to Cook. This proved prescient, as Johnson retook the seat on a large swing while Dobie narrowly won Cook. Johnson would hold Hughes without serious difficulty until 1983. Following Labor's win at the December 1972 election, he was appointed to the Whitlam ministry as Minister for Housing. In October 1973, he was appointed to the additional portfolio of

. In November the two portfolios were combined as Housing and Construction. In June 1975 he was moved to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. He lost this position as a result of the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in November 1975. He subsequently became the Opposition Whip. Labor returned to government at the March 1983 election, but Johnson did not stand for a place in the ministry. However, he was elected chairman of committees. He resigned from parliament in December 1983 so that he could become Australian High Commissioner to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. His position as High Commissioner was cut short following the serious illness of his daughter, Sally Anne Penman, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, and subsequently died in February 1988.

Personal life

Les Johnson married Gladys (Peg) Jones in 1947, and she died in 2002. They had three children, Grant, Sally (deceased) and Jenny. In 2003 Les Johnson married Marion Sharkey, and they lived at Shoal Bay, NSW. Johnson was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) in June 1990. He died on 26 May 2015, aged 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Leslie Royston 1924 births 1975 Australian constitutional crisis 2015 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia High Commissioners of Australia to New Zealand Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Hughes Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Cabinet of Australia Members of the Order of Australia People from the Sutherland Shire