John Spender
KC
Spender circa 1988
Manager of Opposition Business
In office
29 April 1987 – 14 August 1987
LeaderJohn Howard
Preceded byIan Sinclair
Succeeded byWal Fife
Member of the Australian Parliament
for North Sydney
In office
18 October 1980 – 24 March 1990
Preceded byBill Graham
Succeeded byTed Mack
Personal details
Born(1935-12-02)2 December 1935
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died13 October 2022(2022-10-13) (aged 86)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyLiberal
Spouse(s)Carla Zampatti (m. 1975–2010)
Catherine Spender
ChildrenBianca Spender
Allegra Spender
Parent(s)Percy Spender
Jean Spender
Alma materYale University
ProfessionBarrister

John Michael Spender KC (2 December 1935 – 13 October 2022) was an Australian politician, diplomat and barrister. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1980 to 1990, representing the Liberal Party, and was a shadow minister under Andrew Peacock and John Howard. He later served as Ambassador to France from 1996 to 2000.

Early life

Spender was born in Sydney on 2 December 1935.[1] He was the son of Jean (née Henderson) and Percy Spender. His mother was a novelist and his father was a politician, diplomat and judge who served as Ambassador to the United States in the 1950s.[2]

Spender was educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney, Yale University and Gray's Inn. He returned to Australia and practised as a barrister in Sydney from 1961 to 1980. He was appointed Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1974.[3] In 1978, he represented the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) in a lawsuit against the Australian Workers' Union (AWU).[4]

Spender was commissioned by the Government of New South Wales to report on the collapse of Gollin Holdings Limited. He found that the company's managing director Keith Gale had falsified accounts to cover a $10.8 million loss in 1975,[5] and had also misappropriated company funds.[6] His final report was tabled in state parliament in March 1979, and recommended changes to company laws and practices.[7]

Politics

Spender served as treasurer and metropolitan vice-president of the Liberal Party of Australia (New South Wales Division). In 1979, he and state president David Patten conducted an inquiry into Lyenko Urbanchich, a Liberal Party official who had been accused of collaboration with the Nazis in war-time Slovenia. They found no clear evidence to verify the allegations but recommended he be barred from holding party office with the permission of the state executive. However, the state executive subsequently voted that Urbanchich be expelled from the party.[8][9]

Spender unsuccessfully sought Liberal preselection at the 1969 federal election (in Warringah) and the 1973 Parramatta by-election.[10][11] He was eventually elected to the House of Representatives at the 1980 federal election, succeeding Bill Graham in North Sydney. After the Coalition's defeat in 1983, he was appointed to Andrew Peacock's shadow ministry with responsibility for aviation and defence support.[12] He was later removed for opposing the Costigan Commission.[13]

Following the 1985 leadership spill, the new opposition leader John Howard appointed Spender as shadow attorney-general.[14] In June 1986, he strongly criticised proposals for a bill of rights.[15] In April 1987, he succeeded Peter Baume as the Coalition's spokesman on the status of women, in the absence of any women in the shadow ministry.[16] After the 1987 federal election Spender was given the foreign affairs portfolio.[17] In August 1988, he called for all Australian sanctions against South Africa to be removed, stating they had slowed reform.[18]

Spender held the seat until his defeat by prominent independent Ted Mack at the 1990 election. He lost over 18 percent of his primary vote from 1987, allowing Mack to win when Democrat and Labor preferences flowed overwhelmingly to him.[19]

Ambassador

In 1996, Spender was appointed Australian Ambassador to France, a position he held until 2000.[20] He was also non-resident ambassador to Portugal (1996–1998) and special envoy to Cyprus (1996–2000).[21] He was awarded a Legion D'honneur by the French government for the work he did to build French and Australian relations.[22]

Personal life and death

Spender was married to fashion designer Carla Zampatti and had two children. They married in 1975, but separated in 2008 and divorced in 2010. He then married Catherine Spender.[23] His daughters are Bianca Spender, a fashion designer[2] and Allegra, who was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2022 federal election, standing as a teal independent against an incumbent Liberal MP. He publicly endorsed his daughter's candidacy.[24]

Spender died in Sydney on 13 October 2022, at the age of 86.[25]

References

  1. ^ Who's who in Asian and Australasian Politics. Bowker-Saur. 1991. p. 293. ISBN 978-0-86291-593-3.
  2. ^ a b Crowe, David (14 October 2022). "Allegra Spender pays tribute to father John Spender after his death". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  3. ^ Downer, Alexander (19 July 1996). "Diplomatic appointment: Ambassador to France". Department of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  4. ^ "'$100,000 bill' for unionist". The Canberra Times. 28 June 1978.
  5. ^ "$10.8m Gollin loss hidden, QC says". The Canberra Times. 1 June 1977.
  6. ^ "Gollin executive 'misused funds'". The Canberra Times. 1 March 1978.
  7. ^ "Gollin report tabled by QC". The Canberra Times. 22 March 1979.
  8. ^ "'Nazi' accusation being investigated". The Canberra Times. 27 August 1979.
  9. ^ "Liberals told to expel Urbanchich". The Canberra Times. 2 February 1980.
  10. ^ "21 seek Liberal Party backing for seat". The Canberra Times. 8 May 1969.
  11. ^ "Nominations for preselection". The Canberra Times. 27 July 1973.
  12. ^ "Opposition team". The Canberra Times. 17 March 1983.
  13. ^ "New team". The Canberra Times. 18 December 1984.
  14. ^ "Seven new front benchers". The Canberra Times. 10 September 1985.
  15. ^ "Bill of Rights: a view from the Opposition". The Canberra Times. 25 June 1986.
  16. ^ "Spender backs women's rights". The Canberra Times. 27 April 1987.
  17. ^ "Opposition team". The Canberra Times. 15 August 1987.
  18. ^ "Drop sanctions against South Africa: Spender". The Canberra Times. 14 August 1988.
  19. ^ Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 17 July 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2008.
  20. ^ Downer, Alexander (19 July 1996). "Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador to France" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014.
  21. ^ Blok, Margie (4 February 2012). "Seeking a real big Spender". Domain. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013.
  22. ^ "130130_Speech_Decoration_John_Spender_ENG" (PDF). Ambassade de France en Australie. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  23. ^ Hornery, Andrew (29 April 2010). "Designer puts her best foot forward despite separation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  24. ^ Varga, Remy (8 April 2022). "Liberal's blessing for daughter's bid to unseat Sharma". The Australian. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  25. ^ Jack Mahony (14 October 2022). "Independent MP Allegra Spender pays tribute to her late father John Spender remembering him as 'warm and generous'". Sky News.Com.AU. Australian News Channel Pty Ltd. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
Parliament of Australia Preceded byBill Graham Member for North Sydney 1980–1990 Succeeded byTed Mack Diplomatic posts Preceded byAlan Brown Australian Ambassador to France 1996–2000 Succeeded byWilliam Fisher Australian Ambassador to Portugal 1996–1998 Succeeded by
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