View source for Ray O'Connor

{{Short description|Australian politician (1926–2013)}}
{{good article}}
{{About|the Australian politician||Raymond O'Connor (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Ray O'Connor
| image = Ray O'Connor 1965.jpg
| caption = O'Connor in 1965
| alt = Photo of Ray O'Connor
| order = 22nd
| office = Premier of Western Australia
| term_start = 25 January 1982
| term_end = 25 February 1983
| monarch = [[Elizabeth II]]
| governor = [[Richard Trowbridge|Sir Richard Trowbridge]]
| deputy = [[Cyril Rushton]]
| predecessor = [[Charles Court|Sir Charles Court]]
| successor = [[Brian Burke (Australian politician)|Brian Burke]]
| office2 = [[Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia)|Leader of the Opposition]]
| deputy2 = [[Bill Hassell]]
| premier2 = Brian Burke
| term_start2 = 25 February 1983
| term_end2 = 15 February 1984
| predecessor2 = Brian Burke
| successor2 = Bill Hassell
| office3 = Leader of the [[Western Australian Liberal Party]]
| term_start3 = 25 January 1982
| term_end3 = 15 February 1984
| deputy3 = Cyril Rushton{{br}}Bill Hassell
| predecessor3 = Sir Charles Court
| successor3 = Bill Hassell
| office4 = Member of the [[Western Australian Legislative Assembly]] for [[Electoral district of Mount Lawley|Mount Lawley]]
| term_start4 = 31 March 1962
| term_end4 = 24 August 1984
| predecessor4 = [[Edward Oldfield]]
| successor4 = [[George Cash]]
| office5 = Member of the [[Western Australian Legislative Assembly]] for [[Electoral district of North Perth|North Perth]]
| term_start5 = 21 March 1959
| term_end5 = 31 March 1962
| predecessor5 = [[Stan Lapham]]
| successor5 = Seat abolished
| birth_name = Raymond James O'Connor
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1926|03|06}}
| birth_place = [[Perth]], Western Australia
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2013|02|25|1926|03|06}}
| death_place = [[Scarborough, Western Australia]]
| spouse = {{Plainlist|
* {{Marriage|Beverley Vilma Lydiate|1950|end=divorce}}
* {{Marriage|Vesna Frances Stampalia ([[née]] Dragicevich)|1973}}
}}
| children = 8
| party = [[Western Australian Liberal Party|Liberal]] (1957–1995, 2001–)
| nickname = Rocky{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=86}}<ref name="The West Australian"/>
}}

'''Raymond James O'Connor''' (6 March 1926 – 25 February 2013) was an Australian politician who served as the [[premier of Western Australia]] from 25 January 1982 to 25 February 1983. He was a member of the [[Parliament of Western Australia]] from 1959 to 1984, and a minister in the governments of [[David Brand]] and [[Charles Court]]. O'Connor was born in [[Perth]] and attended schools in the [[Wheatbelt (Western Australia)|Wheatbelt]] towns of [[Narrogin, Western Australia|Narrogin]] and [[York, Western Australia|York]] as well as [[St Patrick's Boys' School, Perth|St Patrick's Boys' School]] in Perth, leaving school at the age of 14. He competed in athletics and played [[Australian rules football]] as a teenager and young adult, including playing 14 matches for [[East Perth Football Club|East Perth]] in the [[Western Australian National Football League]]. During [[World War II]], he served in the [[Second Australian Imperial Force]] in [[New Britain]] and [[Bougainville campaign|Bougainville]].

O'Connor joined the [[Western Australian Liberal Party|Liberal Party]] in 1957 and was elected to the [[Western Australian Legislative Assembly]] in [[1959 Western Australian state election|1959]]. From 1965 to 1971, he was a minister in the Brand government. During this time, he served as the [[Minister for Railways (Western Australia)|minister for railways]] and [[Minister for Transport (Western Australia)|minister for transport]], in which he oversaw the [[Rail gauge in Australia#Wentworth Committee|gauge standardisation project]] of the railway between Perth and [[Kalgoorlie]]. He became a minister again when Court was elected premier in [[1974 Western Australian state election|1974]]. He was [[Minister for Police (Western Australia)|police minister]] when the murder of [[Shirley Finn]] occurred in 1975, which remains unsolved but was likely done by a corrupt police officer.

O'Connor became [[Deputy Premier of Western Australia|deputy premier]] in 1980. When Court resigned as premier in January 1982, O'Connor was elected by his party to succeed him. The [[1983 Western Australian state election|1983 state election]] occurred 13 months later, in which the O'Connor government was defeated by [[Brian Burke (Australian politician)|Brian Burke]] and the [[Western Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]]. The election was mainly fought on economic issues, particularly unemployment. O'Connor became [[Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia)|opposition leader]] but was removed in a [[leadership spill]] in February 1984.

After resigning from Parliament in 1984, O'Connor started a consultancy business. He was made an [[Officer of the Order of Australia]] in [[1989 Australia Day Honours|1989]]. During the [[WA Inc]] royal commission, it was determined that O'Connor had misappropriated a [[A$]]25,000 [[Bond Corporation]] cheque for himself. In May 1993, he was charged with stealing the cheque, and in February 1995, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was released on parole six months later. As a result of his conviction, his appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia was terminated.

==Early life==
Raymond James O'Connor was born on 6 March 1926 in [[Perth]], Western Australia, as one of eight children of Annie [[née]] Moran and Alphonsus Maurice O'Connor, a police officer.<ref name="Parliament biography">{{cite web |title=Raymond James O'Connor |url=https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/(Lookup)/54F8A43273344FC1482577E50028A749 |work=Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia |publisher=[[Parliament of Western Australia]] |access-date=3 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930003734/https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/(Lookup)/54F8A43273344FC1482577E50028A749 |archive-date=30 September 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1p=103, 105|2a1=Kennedy|2y=2014|2p=87}} He was of Irish and English descent{{sfn|O'Connor|1996|p=1}} and was brought up as a [[Catholic]].<ref name="Parliament biography" />{{sfn|O'Connor|1996|pp=2, 15}} O'Connor's father had an interest in politics, founding a branch of the [[Western Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]] in [[Quairading, Western Australia|Quairading]]. He left the Labor Party in the 1950s because he thought that it was "becoming a bit communistic"{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=87}} and was disillusioned with the leadership of [[H. V. Evatt]].{{sfn|Reid|Oliver|1982|p=105}} Ray O'Connor attended school in the [[Wheatbelt (Western Australia)|Wheatbelt]] towns of [[Narrogin, Western Australia|Narrogin]] and [[York, Western Australia|York]] as well as [[St Patrick's Boys' School, Perth|St Patrick's Boys' School]] in Perth, leaving school at the age of 14.<ref name="Parliament biography" />{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1pp=103, 105|2a1=Kennedy|2y=2014|2p=84}}

O'Connor played sports as a teenager and young adult, winning state titles in athletics for [[hurdles]] and [[discus]] in 1943. He also played as a [[Ruck (Australian rules football)|ruckman]] for the [[East Perth Football Club]] from 1946 to 1950, including playing 14 games in the [[Western Australian National Football League]] (WANFL) and winning the Prendergast Medal for [[best and fairest]] in the WANFL reserves in 1950.<ref name="Parliament biography" />{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1p=105|2a1=Kennedy|2y=2014|2p=87}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47887735 |title=Seconds Award |newspaper=The West Australian |date=21 September 1950 |access-date=18 March 2023 |page=17 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

From 1942 to 1944, O'Connor worked for farming machinery company Southern Cross Windmills.<ref name="Parliament biography" />{{sfn|Reid|Oliver|1982|p=105}} In [[World War II]], he was involved with the [[Bougainville campaign]]. O'Connor enlisted with the [[Second Australian Imperial Force]] in April 1944. After doing jungle training in [[Canungra, Queensland]],{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1p=105|2a1=Kennedy|2y=2014|2p=87}} he embarked at [[Brisbane]] on 5 June 1945 and disembarked at [[Torokina]] on the island of [[Bougainville Island|Bougainville]] five days later, where he was transferred to the [[61st Battalion (Australia)|61st Battalion]].<ref name="NAA"/> Bougainville was where he first met [[Charles Court]], a senior officer and future [[premier of Western Australia]].{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1p=105|2a1=Kennedy|2y=2014|2p=87}} In September 1945, O'Connor was transferred to the [[26th Battalion (Australia)|26th Battalion]] and moved from Bougainville to [[Rabaul]], [[New Britain]]. In October 1945, he was transferred to the 13th Field Company, where he was promoted to [[corporal]] in February 1946. He embarked at Rabaul on 29 May 1946 and arrived back in Australia eight days later.<ref name="NAA">{{cite web |title=NAA: B884, W37952 |url=https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6489563 |website=National Archives of Australia |access-date=4 August 2023 |pages=8–10}}</ref> His boxing experience in the army and his initials "ROC" led him to later gain the nickname "Rocky".{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=86}} After being discharged in January 1947, he studied accounting but did not finish. In 1955, he bought the Beehive Tearooms, a café in [[Forrest Place]], Perth.<ref name="Parliament biography" />{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1p=105|2a1=Kennedy|2y=2014|2p=87}}

==Early political career==
After encouragement from his father, O'Connor contested the [[Metropolitan Province (Western Australia)|Metropolitan Province]] of the [[Western Australian Legislative Council]] at the [[1956 Western Australian Legislative Council election|1956 state election]] as an "[[Independent politician|independent]] Liberal" candidate, receiving 884 votes out of 15,159.<ref name="Parliament biography" />{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1pp=105–106|2a1=Kennedy|2y=2014|2p=87}} He campaigned against the abolition of the Legislative Council, saying that it needed to be rejuvenated and have more young people elected to it.{{sfn|O'Connor|1996|p=45}} From 1957 to 1960, he was a used car sales proprietor in [[Inglewood, Western Australia|Inglewood]], from 1957, he was a director of the Town and Country Terminating Building Society, and from 1964 to 1966, he was a director of the Town and Country Permanent Building Society.<ref name="Parliament biography" />{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1pp=105–106|2a1=Kennedy|2y=2014|2p=87}} This garnered him interest from the [[Western Australian Liberal Party|Liberal Party]], so Liberal MLC [[Keith Watson (politician)|Keith Watson]] asked him to join the party in 1957 and contest the seat of [[Electoral district of North Perth|North Perth]] in the [[Western Australian Legislative Assembly|Legislative Assembly]], which was held by Labor's [[Stan Lapham]]. O'Connor won the seat off a 8.2 percent [[Swing (Australian politics)|swing]] at the [[1959 Western Australian state election|1959 state election]] on 21 March, the same election in which [[David Brand]] became [[Premier of Western Australia|premier]].{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=88}}

The electoral district of North Perth was abolished at the [[1962 Western Australian state election|1962 state election]] due to a [[Redistribution (Australia)|redistribution]], so O'Connor transferred to the adjacent [[electoral district of Mount Lawley]].<ref name="Parliament biography" /> Before becoming a minister, O'Connor's interests were in police and housing. He often suggested changes to the Police Act to the party room,{{sfn|O'Connor|1996|p=50}} believing it was out of date.{{sfn|O'Connor|1996|p=54}} In March 1965, he became the honorary minister assisting the minister for [[Minister for Railways (Western Australia)|railways]] and [[Minister for Transport (Western Australia)|transport]], Charles Court.<ref name="Parliament biography" />{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1p=103, 106|2a1=Kennedy|2y=2014|2p=88|3a1=Black|3y=2021|3p=274}} Following the passage of the Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1965 in August that year, [[Brand–Nalder ministry|the ministry]] was expanded by two,<ref>{{cite web |title=Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1965 |url=https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/prod/filestore.nsf/FileURL/mrdoc_10287.pdf/$FILE/Constitution%20Acts%20Amendment%20Act%201965%20-%20%5B00-00-00%5D.pdf |website=Parliamentary Counsel's Office |access-date=14 March 2023 |date=1965 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314035827/https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/prod/filestore.nsf/FileURL/mrdoc_10287.pdf/$FILE/Constitution%20Acts%20Amendment%20Act%201965%20-%20%5B00-00-00%5D.pdf |archive-date=14 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> allowing O'Connor to take over from Court as the minister for transport, and from February 1967, as the minister for railways as well.<ref name="Parliament biography" />{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1p=103|2a1=Black|2y=2021|2p=274}}

As the minister for transport, O'Connor introduced compulsory seatbelts for passenger vehicles.{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=90}} He said that although he personally opposed compulsory seatbelts as an "infringement on individuals' rights", cabinet approved it so he had to introduce the legislation for it. In an interview in 1996, he said that compulsory seatbelts "turned out to be the right thing, no doubt about that".{{sfn|O'Connor|1996|p=89}} As the minister for railways, he oversaw the [[Rail gauge in Australia#Wentworth Committee|gauge standardisation project]] of the railway between Perth and [[Kalgoorlie]],{{efn|This consisted of the [[Eastern Railway (Western Australia)|Eastern Railway]] from Perth to [[Northam, Western Australia|Northam]] and the [[Eastern Goldfields Railway]] from Northam to [[Kalgoorlie]]}} which enabled people to travel to and from the eastern states by rail without changing trains. In February 1970, he travelled on the inaugural [[Indian Pacific]] train from [[Sydney]] to Perth, a journey only made possible by the gauge standardisation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hodgins |first1=Clyde |title=A hot and bumpy 62 hours on the Indian Pacific: Go West–the fast way, or the safe way? |work=[[The Sun-Herald]] |page=91 |date=1 March 1970}}</ref>

O'Connor had a reputation for being a successful gambler, having allegedly won [[A$]]100,000 betting on horse races once, although he denied this. He became involved in controversy when, during a debate on legislation to form the [[Totalisator Agency Board]] (TAB), he said that he had been offered a bribe to oppose the TAB. The chairman of [[Royal Commission into Allegations Referring to the Operation of the Totalisator Agency Board|the subsequent royal commission]] said he personally believed the bribe had been offered, but that could not be proven.{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|pp=88–89}}

The Liberals lost the [[1971 Western Australian state election|1971 state election]], and O'Connor moved with the rest of the party to the opposition benches.<ref>{{cite web |title=Government Gazette of Western Australia |url=https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/prod/gazettestore.nsf/FileURL/gg1971_015.pdf/$FILE/Gg1971_015.pdf?OpenElement |website=Parliamentary Counsel's Office |access-date=14 March 2023 |page=3 |date=5 March 1971 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314035826/https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/prod/gazettestore.nsf/FileURL/gg1971_015.pdf/$FILE/Gg1971_015.pdf |archive-date=14 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1p=103|2a1=Black|2y=2021|2p=274}} When Brand resigned from the Liberal Party's leadership in 1972, it was commonly accepted that Charles Court would succeed him. A group of [[Member of parliament|MP]]s put O'Connor forward as a token candidate to make sure that Court did not take the leadership for granted. O'Connor indicated he would accept the nomination, but declined during the party room meeting, so Court was elected unopposed.{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|pp=63–64}}<ref name="Political Chronicle middle 1972"/> O'Connor later said that he withdrew because his marriage had recently ended and he had claimed to be blackmailed.{{sfnm|O'Connor|1996|1p=84|Kennedy|2014|2p=89}} O'Connor contested the deputy leadership ballot but lost to [[Des O'Neil]].<ref name="Political Chronicle middle 1972">{{cite journal |title=Australian Political Chronicle May–August 1972 |journal=[[Australian Journal of Politics & History]] |date=1972 |volume=18 |issue=3 |page=440 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.1972.tb00604.x |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-8497.1972.tb00604.x |access-date=21 March 2023 |via=Wiley Online Library|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Two years later, the Liberals won the [[1974 Western Australian state election|1974 state election]], and formed a [[Coalition (Australia)|coalition]] with the [[National Party of Australia (WA)|National Country Party]], led by [[Ray McPharlin]]. The [[Court–McPharlin ministry]] was formed on 8 April 1974, with O'Connor becoming the minister for transport again and the position of minister for railways being abolished. He was also the [[Minister for Police (Western Australia)|minister for police]], the minister for traffic, and, from 1 May 1974, the minister for traffic safety.{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1p=103|2a1=Black|2y=2021|2p=276}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=Australian Political Chronicle January–April 1974 |journal=Australian Journal of Politics & History |date=1974 |volume=20 |issue=2 |page=259 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.1974.tb01116.x |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-8497.1974.tb01116.x |access-date=21 March 2023 |via=Wiley Online Library|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In May 1975, the National Country Party left the Coalition due to a policy dispute between McPharlin and Court. The National Country Party re-joined the Coalition later that month after McPharlin was replaced as leader by [[Dick Old]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Australian Political Chronicle January–June 1975 |journal=Australian Journal of Politics & History |date=1975 |volume=21 |issue=3 |page=122 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.1975.tb01154.x |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-8497.1975.tb01154.x |access-date=21 March 2023 |via=Wiley Online Library|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The ministry was reconstituted as the [[Court ministry]], which resulted in the Liberal Party gaining the position of [[Deputy Premier of Western Australia|Deputy Premier]] instead of the National Party. O'Connor retained all his ministries except traffic safety.{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1p=103|2a1=Black|2y=2021|2p=276}}

As police minister, O'Connor set the [[blood alcohol limit]] for drivers at 0.08. He also formed the Road Traffic Authority, making a single body responsible for traffic and enforcement of infringements.{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=90}} In response to a growing number of [[Strike action|labour strikes]] across the 1970s, he introduced an amendment to Section 54B of the Police Act in November 1976 so that a permit from the [[List of commissioners of the Western Australia Police Force|police commissioner]] was required for a gathering of more than three people in a public place. The amendment said that "reasonable grounds" were required for refusal but that there was no right to an appeal.{{sfn|Jamieson|2010|p=286}} This was heavily criticised as eroding civil liberties and was one of the most controversial actions of the Court government.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mayes |first1=Andrea |title=Court, Sir Charles Walter (1911–2007) |url=https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/court-sir-charles-walter-30008 |website=Obituaries Australia |publisher=National Centre of Biography, [[Australian National University]] |access-date=19 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319032518/https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/court-sir-charles-walter-30008 |archive-date=19 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Historical Notes: Court Family Dynasty |url=https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/intranet/libpages.nsf/WebFiles/Fact+Sheets+Court+Family+Dynasty/$FILE/Fact+Sheets+Family+Dynasties+Court.pdf |website=Parliament of Western Australia |access-date=19 March 2023 |page=1 |date=March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319032506/https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/intranet/libpages.nsf/WebFiles/Fact+Sheets+Court+Family+Dynasty/$FILE/Fact+Sheets+Family+Dynasties+Court.pdf |archive-date=19 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Although O'Connor was the relevant minister, Court took responsibility for the act himself.{{sfn|Jamieson|2010|p=286}}

O'Connor was the police minister when the murder of well known socialite and brothel keeper [[Shirley Finn]] occurred on 22 June 1975.{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=90}}<ref name="ABC News 25 November 2017">{{cite web |last1=Shepherd |first1=Briana |title=Shirley Finn inquest: Ray O'Connor, Don Hancock, Bernie Johnson and the murder of a madam |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-25/shirley-finn-inquest-don-hancock-ray-oconnor-bernie-johnson/9190326 |website=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |access-date=25 March 2023 |date=25 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325131433/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-25/shirley-finn-inquest-don-hancock-ray-oconnor-bernie-johnson/9190326 |archive-date=25 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> A [[coronial inquest]] was held between 2017 and 2019 which heard evidence that she was bribing the police to avoid having her brothel shut down, and that she threatened to [[Whistleblower|blow the whistle]] on the persons involved unless she had her large tax bill paid.<ref name="PerthNow 12 August 2020" /><ref name="ABC News 12 August 2020">{{cite web |last1=Shepherd |first1=Briana |title=Shirley Finn inquest unable to solve long-running mystery of who murdered brothel madam |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-12/murdered-brothel-madam-shirley-finn-inquest-findings-released/12549390 |website=ABC News |access-date=25 March 2023 |date=12 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325125933/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-12/murdered-brothel-madam-shirley-finn-inquest-findings-released/12549390 |archive-date=25 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> The inquest also heard evidence about O'Connor's relationship with Finn. There were longstanding rumours that O'Connor was in a secret relationship with Finn but O'Connor had long denied them.<ref name="Coroner's report"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Feller |first1=Jennifer |title=Shirley Finn murder: Brothel owner threatened to expose alleged lover former WA premier Ray O'Connor |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-06/shirley-finn-murder-brothel-owner-threatened-to-reveal-lover/8311826 |website=ABC News |access-date=25 March 2023 |date=6 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326051309/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-06/shirley-finn-murder-brothel-owner-threatened-to-reveal-lover/8311826 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> A witness alleged that Finn was murdered by policeman [[Don Hancock]] as a favour for O'Connor as he was supposedly one of the politicians Finn was going to expose.<ref name="ABC News 25 November 2017"/> Another witness alleged that O'Connor was the person who actually carried out the murder,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Grant |title=Cabbie 'saw former Premier Ray O'Connor shoot Shirley Finn' |url=https://thewest.com.au/news/crime/cabbie-saw-former-premier-ray-oconnor-shoot-shirley-finn-ng-b88605435z |website=The West Australian |access-date=25 March 2023 |date=20 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325125935/https://thewest.com.au/news/crime/cabbie-saw-former-premier-ray-oconnor-shoot-shirley-finn-ng-b88605435z |archive-date=25 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Perth brothel madam murder: Cop 'got into Shirley's Dodge at the golf club' |url=https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/perth-brothel-madam-murder-cop-got-into-shirleys-dodge-at-the-golf-club-20170920-gylgf2.html |website=[[WAtoday]] |agency=Australian Associated Press |access-date=25 March 2023 |date=20 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325125935/https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/perth-brothel-madam-murder-cop-got-into-shirleys-dodge-at-the-golf-club-20170920-gylgf2.html |archive-date=25 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> but the coroner ruled out his testimony due to several inconsistencies.<ref name="Coroner's report"/> The inquest ruled in 2020 that it was unable to determine who killed Finn.<ref name="PerthNow 12 August 2020" /> The Deputy State Coroner wrote:

{{blockquote|Mr O'Connor was clearly a colourful character. There is evidence indicating that he may have been involved with Ms Finn, and weak circumstantial evidence suggesting that he may have procured Ms Finn's death. However, none of that evidence comes close to establishing his involvement to the applicable standard of proof.<ref name="PerthNow 12 August 2020">{{cite web |last1=Ramsey |first1=Michael |title=Shirley Finn murder mystery: Coroner Barry King 'frustrated' as Perth brothel madam's killing remains unsolved |url=https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/court-justice/shirley-finn-murder-mystery-coroner-barry-king-frustrated-as-perth-brothel-madams-killing-remains-unsolved-ng-b881636835z |website=[[PerthNow]] |agency=[[Australian Associated Press]] |access-date=25 March 2023 |date=12 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325125929/https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/court-justice/shirley-finn-murder-mystery-coroner-barry-king-frustrated-as-perth-brothel-madams-killing-remains-unsolved-ng-b881636835z |archive-date=25 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Coroner's report">{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Barry Paul |author2=Deputy State Coroner |title=Inquest into the death of Shirley June Finn (1101/2015) |url=https://www.coronerscourt.wa.gov.au/_files/inquest-2020/Finn_finding.pdf |website=[[Coroner's Court of Western Australia]] |access-date=25 March 2023 |pages=32–33, 157–160 |date=4 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326080547/https://www.coronerscourt.wa.gov.au/_files/inquest-2020/Finn_finding.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

The ministry was reconstituted on 10 March 1977 following the [[1977 Western Australian state election|1977 state election]], which the Liberal Party won. O'Connor became the [[Minister for Works (Western Australia)|minister for works]], [[Minister for Water Supplies (Western Australia)|minister for water supplies]], and the [[Minister for Housing (Western Australia)|minister for housing]], all lower profile ministries than police.{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1p=103|2a1=Kennedy|2y=2014|2p=91|3a1=Black|3y=2021|3p=277}} Although Court gave no explanation for this, he was reportedly tired of O'Connor's controversies regarding law and order.{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=91}} On 24 July 1978, [[Bill Grayden]] resigned from the ministry. O'Connor received his portfolios of [[Minister for Labour (Western Australia)|labour and industry]], [[Minister for Consumer Affairs (Western Australia)|consumer affairs]], and [[Minister for Immigration (Western Australia)|immigration]], first as an acting minister, then from 7 August as the minister. The ministry was reconstituted on 25 August. O'Connor lost his former ministries, and added [[Minister for Fisheries (Western Australia)|fisheries and wildlife]], and [[Minister for the Environment (Western Australia)|conservation and the environment]], to those he had taken over from Grayden.{{sfnm|1a1=Reid|1a2=Oliver|1y=1982|1p=104|2a1=Black|2y=2021|2p=277}} O'Connor handled so many different ministries that he became known as the "minister for just about everything".{{sfn|Black|1991|p=213}} As immigration minister, O'Connor often criticised the amount of [[Vietnamese boat people|Vietnamese immigrants]] coming into Western Australia, which sparked debate with federal [[Minister for Immigration (Australia)|immigration minister]] [[Michael MacKellar]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Australian Political Chronicle January–June 1979 |journal=Australian Journal of Politics & History |date=7 April 2008 |volume=25 |issue=3 |page=405 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.1979.tb00296.x |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-8497.1979.tb00296.x |access-date=21 March 2023 |via=Wiley Online Library|url-access=subscription }}</ref> O'Connor objected to immigrants coming to Australia without any check for criminal records or their health, and said that "we should give them money, petrol, turn their boat round and send them home".{{sfn|O'Connor|1996|p=103}}

Throughout Court's premiership, O'Connor was generally considered second in line, behind Deputy Premier Des O'Neil, to replace Court if he were to stand down as Liberal leader. After O'Neil unexpectedly retired at the [[1980 Western Australian state election|1980 state election]], the Liberal MPs elected O'Connor as the party's deputy leader, thus making O'Connor the deputy premier, and Court's most likely successor.{{sfnm|Kennedy|2014|1p=91|Black|2021|2p=277}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Warhurst |first1=John |title=Political Review |journal=The Australian Quarterly |date=1980 |volume=52 |issue=2 |page=240 |doi=10.2307/20635066 |jstor=20635066 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20635066 |access-date=14 March 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref> O'Connor retained the labour and industry, consumer affairs, and immigration portfolios, and gained regional administration and the [[Minister for the North-West|north-west]], and [[Minister for Tourism (Western Australia)|tourism]]. In February 1981, he was relieved of the portfolios of regional administration and the north-west and tourism.{{sfnm|Kennedy|2014|1p=91|Black|2021|2p=277}} In anticipation of Court retiring soon, O'Connor would take Liberal MPs out to dinner, sometimes offering them ministries if they voted for him in a leadership election. According to upper house member [[Phil Lockyer]], O'Connor "was a difficult bloke not to be friends with".{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|pp=92–93}}

==Premier==
Court announced on 18 December 1981 that he planned to resign on 25 January 1982.<ref name="The Canberra Times 19 December 1981">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126866459 |title=Court to retire as WA's Premier |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=19 December 1981 |access-date=14 March 2023 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> According to fellow MP [[Jim Clarko]], speaking in an interview in 2012, O'Connor was the only option, with [[Bill Hassell]], who only joined the ministry in 1980, the next best option. According to Tony Warton, Court's media advisor, his preferred successor was [[Peter Jones (Australian politician)|Peter Jones]], a National Country Party minister. Court was concerned that O'Connor had promised too many MPs cabinet positions and that O'Connor was not able to handle portfolios with large budgets, although Court believed he did "reasonably well with railways" and thought that his personality would help him deal with people.{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|pp=92–93}} Nevertheless, O'Connor won the leadership ballot unopposed, and [[Cyril Rushton]] was elected deputy leader.{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=94}}<ref name="The Canberra Times 19 December 1981"/><ref>{{cite journal |title=Australian Political Chronicle |journal=Australian Journal of Politics & History |date=April 1982 |volume=28 |issue=1 |page=121 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.1982.tb00172.x |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-8497.1982.tb00172.x |access-date=17 March 2023 |via=Wiley Online Library|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

O'Connor and [[O'Connor ministry|his ministry]] were sworn in by Governor [[Richard Trowbridge]] on 25 January 1982.<ref name="Gazette 25 January 1982">{{cite web |title=Government Gazette of Western Australia |website=Parliamentary Counsel's Office |date=25 January 1982 |url=https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/prod/gazettestore.nsf/FileURL/gg1982_005.pdf/$FILE/Gg1982_005.pdf |access-date=12 March 2023 |pages=1–2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312023419/https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/prod/gazettestore.nsf/FileURL/gg1982_005.pdf/$FILE/Gg1982_005.pdf |archive-date=12 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1982">{{cite journal |title=Political Chronicle-Australia January–June 1982, and Papua New Guinea, 1980, 1981, and January–June 1982 |journal=Australian Journal of Politics & History |date=December 1982 |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=449–459 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.1982.tb00119.x |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-8497.1982.tb00119.x |access-date=17 March 2023 |via=Wiley Online Library|url-access=subscription }}</ref> O'Connor chose to make himself [[Treasurer of Western Australia|treasurer]],{{sfn|Black|2021|p=279}} saying that it was a portfolio best handled by the premier.<ref name="The Canberra Times 19 December 1981"/> Out of the thirteen ministers in the previous Court ministry, ten were in the O'Connor ministry. The ministers who left were Court, Grayden, who was opposed to O'Connor becoming premier, and [[David Wordsworth]].<ref name="Gazette 25 January 1982"/>{{sfnm|Kennedy|2014|1p=94|Black|2021|2pp=277, 279}}<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1982"/> The new ministers were [[Ian Laurance]], [[Barry MacKinnon]] and [[Bob Pike (politician)|Bob Pike]]. Clarko and [[Richard Shalders]] were appointed assistant ministers<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1982"/>{{sfn|Black|2021|pp=279–280}} before later being made ministers on 14 May 1982.{{sfn|Black|2021|p=280}}

Soon after becoming premier, O'Connor sacked more than 200 workers at the Hospital Laundry Linen Service for striking and threatened to deregister their [[Trade union|union]]. The workers were demanding a pay rise of $25 per week whereas the government was offering them an $11 per week pay rise. They were then told they could keep their jobs if they returned to work on 5 February.<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1982"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article259562034 |first=Joyce |last=Slater |title=O'Connor hits laundry workers |newspaper=[[Tribune (Australian newspaper)|Tribune]] |date=3 February 1982 |access-date=15 March 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> That day, they voted overwhelmingly against returning to work and they fought with police and picketed outside their workplace. By 3{{nbsp}}pm that day, they accepted the $11 per week pay rise and returned to work.<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1982"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article259562086 |first=Joyce |last=Slater |title=Strike smashed hut Laundry workers still fighting |newspaper=Tribune |date=10 February 1982 |access-date=15 March 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Later in February, the government approved a pay rise for nurses, who had been part of a prominent campaign against depressed wages a year previously. O'Connor was described in the [[Australian Journal of Politics and History]] as "anxious to assert that his administration would be compassionate and people-oriented".<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1982"/>

Three [[List of Western Australian state by-elections|by-elections]] occurred on 13 March 1982: the [[1982 Nedlands state by-election|Nedlands by-election]] to replace Court, the [[1982 Swan state by-election|Swan by-election]] to replace retiring Labor MLA [[Jack Skidmore]], and the [[South Metropolitan Province|South Metropolitan]] by-election to replace retiring Labor MLC [[Howard Olney]]. The Nedlands by-election had around a 10 percent swing towards the Labor Party, but nevertheless, Court's son [[Richard Court]] was elected. In the Swan by-election, [[Gordon Hill (politician)|Gordon Hill]] retained the seat for Labor with a 3.6 percent swing to Labor, and in the South Metropolitan by-election, [[Garry Kelly]] retained the seat for Labor with a 4.3 percent swing to Labor. O'Connor blamed the poor results for the Liberals on the unpopular federal [[Fraser government]].<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1982"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Willis |first1=Sabine |title=Political Review |journal=The Australian Quarterly |date=1982 |volume=54 |issue=2 |page=207 |doi=10.2307/20635170 |jstor=20635170 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20635170 |access-date=14 March 2023 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> On 31 July, another by-election occurred for the [[North Province (Western Australia)|North Province]] following the resignation of Liberal turned independent MLC [[Bill Withers (politician)|Bill Withers]]. [[Tom Stephens]] of the Labor Party won with a 14 percent swing towards Labor.<ref name="Political Review Summer 1982"/><ref name="Tribune 11 August 1982">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article259560936 |first=Vic |last=Slater |title=WA Libs "leap" to defeat in by-election |newspaper=Tribune |date=11 August 1982 |access-date=15 March 2023 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

By August, unemployment in Western Australia was rising faster than the other states.<ref name="Tribune 11 August 1982"/> The state budget was released at the end of September 1982. It came with a freeze on all state taxes.<ref name="Political Review Summer 1982">{{cite journal |last1=Willis |first1=Sabine |title=Political Review |journal=The Australian Quarterly |date=1982 |volume=54 |issue=4 |page=455 |doi=10.2307/20635198 |jstor=20635198 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/20635198.pdf |access-date=14 March 2023 }}</ref> On 30 December, O'Connor launched a [[job bank]] scheme,  and appointed Hassell to the newly created ministry of employment in anticipation of the upcoming election being centred around job creation.{{sfn|Black|2021|p=279}}<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1983"/>

In January 1983, O'Connor announced the date of the [[1983 Western Australian state election|1983 state election]] would be 19 February. With the federal government unpopular, he asked for Prime Minister [[Malcolm Fraser]] to stay out of the campaign, saying "'we can run our own show and don't need any help or hindrance from Canberra".<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1983"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Willis |first1=Sabine |title=Political Review |journal=The Australian Quarterly |date=1983 |volume=55 |issue=1 |page=130 |doi=10.2307/20635212 |jstor=20635212 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20635212 |access-date=14 March 2023 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> To O'Connor's dismay, Fraser set the date of the [[1983 Australian federal election|1983 federal election]] for 4 March, two weeks after the state election.<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1983">{{cite journal |title=Political Chronicle: Australia and Papua New Guinea |journal=Australian Journal of Politics & History |date=December 1983 |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=506, 518–523 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.1983.tb00214.x |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-8497.1983.tb00214.x |access-date=17 March 2023 |via=Wiley Online Library|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116449225 |title=Snap Federal election overshadows WA's impending State poll |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=11 February 1983 |access-date=15 March 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> ''[[The Australian]]'' reported that O'Connor was "stunned and infuriated" at the announcement and that Fraser had not consulted with O'Connor. [[Bob Hawke]], who grew up in Western Australia and was popular within the state, was elected leader of the Labor Party at the federal level, which helped the Labor Party in the state election. The Labor Party countered the O'Connor government's job bank by announcing its own plans for job creation, which involved the establishment of a jobs taskforce to create 25,000 new jobs over the next three years. The election resulted in a swing of between five and six percent away from the Liberal Party on a [[two-party-preferred]] basis, enough for the Labor Party to win 32 out of the 57 Legislative Assembly seats and win the election. Labor leader [[Brian Burke (Australian politician)|Brian Burke]] succeeded O'Connor as premier on 25 February 1983.<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1983"/>{{sfn|Black|2021|p=260}}

==Later life==
O'Connor continued on as Liberal leader and [[Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia)|leader of the opposition]] following his government's defeat.<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1983"/>{{sfnm|Kennedy|2014|1p=96|Black|2021|2p=261}} The Liberal and National parties decided to form a joint [[shadow ministry]], and so the [[O'Connor shadow ministry]] was formed in mid-March with Liberal and National members. It consisted of all the ministers of the O'Connor government who were still in Parliament plus Grayden and [[Ian Thompson (politician)|Ian Thompson]].<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1983"/>

By early 1984, O'Connor was encountering pressure to resign as his media and parliamentary skills were no match for Burke's,<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1984"/><ref name="The Canberra Times 12 February 1984"/> and he had taken a six week family holiday to Europe at the end of 1983.<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1984">{{cite journal |title=Political Chronicle: Western Australia |journal=Australian Journal of Politics & History |date=7 April 2008 |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=427, 429 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.1984.tb00232.x |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-8497.1984.tb00232.x |access-date=17 March 2023 |via=Wiley Online Library|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=96}} On 10 February, Thompson, a formerly staunch supporter of O'Connor, resigned from the shadow ministry and called for him to resign as leader. A meeting of the 39 Liberal MPs was called for 15 February,<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1984"/><ref name="The Canberra Times 12 February 1984">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116389565 |title=WA Liberal chief fights for job |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=12 February 1984 |access-date=12 March 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> at which Thompson proposed a motion that the leader and deputy leader positions be declared vacant. The motion was passed, and so a leadership spill occurred among the MPs. O'Connor, along with Hassell, MacKinnon, and Rushton contested the spill. Hassell was elected leader and MacKinnon was elected deputy leader. Afterwards, O'Connor stated that he would resign from politics by the end of the year.<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1984"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article116390363 |title=Former WA Premier loses job as leader |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=16 February 1984 |access-date=12 March 2023 |page=13 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The ballot was the first [[leadership spill]] in the state Liberal Party's history.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article259490329 |first=Joyce |last=Slater |title=Ultra-rightwing leader for WA Liberals |newspaper=Tribune |date=22 February 1984 |access-date=12 March 2023 |page=16 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

O'Connor resigned from Parliament on 24 August 1984.{{sfn|Black|2021|p=224}} He was succeeded as the member for Mount Lawley by [[George Cash]].{{sfn|Black|2021|p=207}} Following that, O'Connor formed a consultancy called Ray O'Connor Consultancy with [[Laurie Connell]]. O'Connor owned one third of the company and Connell owned two thirds. The company received a yearly $25,000 retainer each from Connell, [[Bond Corporation]], [[Multiplex (company)|Multiplex]] and another company, and O'Connor was additionally paid $500 per week.<ref name="Australian Financial Review 29 January 1992"/><ref name="The Canberra Times 29 January 1992"/> The company did work for the Burke government and for Connell, including lobbying local governments to approve developments.<ref name="Australian Financial Review 29 January 1992"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Tate |first1=Lee |title=O'Connor 'Took Payments' While Still In Parliament |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/oconnor-took-payments-while-still-in-parliament-19920204-k4swt |website=Australian Financial Review |access-date=12 March 2023 |date=4 February 1992 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312154241/https://www.afr.com/politics/oconnor-took-payments-while-still-in-parliament-19920204-k4swt |archive-date=12 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the [[1989 Australia Day Honours]], O'Connor was appointed an [[Officer of the Order of Australia]] for "service to the government and politics and to the Western Australian Parliament".<ref>{{cite web |title=Commonwealth of Australia Gazette: 1989 Australia Day Honours |url=https://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/AD89.pdf |website=The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224716/https://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/AD89.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |date=26 January 1989}}</ref><ref name="Australian Honours Search Facility">{{cite web |title=1665132 |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1665132 |website=Australian Honours Search Facility |access-date=20 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320012817/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1665132 |archive-date=20 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===WA Inc===
Burke resigned as premier in February 1988 and was replaced by [[Peter Dowding]],<ref>{{cite journal |title=Political Chronicle: Australia and Papua New Guinea January–June 1988 |journal=Australian Journal of Politics & History |date=December 1988 |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=430–437 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.1988.tb01188.x |issn=0004-9522 |via=Wiley Online Library}}</ref> who himself resigned in February 1990 amid unpopularity due to the [[WA Inc]] scandal,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Australia January–June, 1990 |journal=Australian Journal of Politics & History |date=December 1990 |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=446–452 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.1990.tb00667.x |via=Wiley Online Library}}</ref> a series of controversial government investments and deals with private enterprise dating back to the Burke government.<ref name="WA Inc summary"/> The Labor Party replaced him with [[Carmen Lawrence]], who initially resisted calls for a royal commission into WA Inc. After months of pressure, she announced in November 1990 that the royal commission would go ahead.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kaye |first1=Tony |title=WA Govt Agrees To Hold Royal Commission |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/wa-govt-agrees-to-hold-royal-commission-19901120-k45ql |website=Australian Financial Review |access-date=12 March 2023 |date=20 November 1990 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312104534/https://www.afr.com/politics/wa-govt-agrees-to-hold-royal-commission-19901120-k45ql |archive-date=12 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Humphries |first1=David |title=A Royal Commission Prepares To Open A Can Of Old Worms |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=21 November 1990 |page=15}}</ref> To take the heat off Labor, Lawrence included investigating the Court and O'Connor governments in the commission's terms of reference as well as the Burke and Dowding governments.{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=185}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122348746 |title=WA commission begins at last |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=12 March 1991 |access-date=3 August 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

[[File:The Esplanade - Scarborough Beach, WA.JPG|thumb|The [[Observation City]] hotel in [[Scarborough, Western Australia|Scarborough]]|alt=A high rise hotel building photographed from the ground]]

While giving evidence to the commission, [[Terry Burke]], a former member of parliament and the brother of Brian Burke, said that O'Connor had told him in 1987 that he was the middleman between Bond Corporation and [[City of Stirling]] councillors in a bribery scandal. It was alleged that Bond Corporation was bribing Stirling councillors in 1984 to approve the [[Observation City]] hotel development in [[Scarborough, Western Australia|Scarborough]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118163051 |title=WA inquiry names former Lib premier |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=9 January 1992 |access-date=12 March 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Neil |first1=Lisa Jane |title=Secret Tapes of O'Connor Talk Gone, Says Burke |work=Australian Financial Review |date=9 January 1992 |page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Meertens |first1=Grace |title='Bribe' tape linked to Liberal premier |work=The West Australian |date=9 January 1992 |page=1}}</ref> The commission was played a recording of the conversation secretly taped by Terry Burke where O'Connor said he was given a $30,000 bribe by former Bond Corporation managing director Peter Beckwith on behalf of subsidiary Austmark International. O'Connor said he then passed the bribe to Stirling councillor George Cash. O'Connor gave evidence on 28 February 1992, where he admitted to having the conversation with Burke but said that he was lying so that he could find out information from the Burke government that would be useful to the Liberal Party. He admitted to lobbying Stirling councillors on behalf of Austmark but said that no bribes took place.<ref name="Australian Financial Review 29 January 1992">{{cite web |last1=Tate |first1=Lee |title=Former Premier Denies Being a Bond "Bag Man" |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/former-premier-denies-being-a-bond-bag-man-19920129-k4qfd |website=[[Australian Financial Review]] |access-date=12 March 2023 |date=29 January 1992 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312071047/https://www.afr.com/politics/former-premier-denies-being-a-bond-bag-man-19920129-k4qfd |archive-date=12 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Canberra Times 29 January 1992">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118166929 |title=Tape tells of Bond bribe |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=29 January 1992 |access-date=12 March 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Humphries |first1=David |title=I Lied On Bribe, Says Top Liberal – WA Inc |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=29 January 1992 |page=1}}</ref> On 30 January 1992, Brian Burke testified that O'Connor had originally told him the story, but thought that O'Connor was trying to set him up, so he got O'Connor to retell the story to Terry Burke, who used a tape recorder to record the conversation. Neither of the Burke's told the police as they said they had no evidence.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118167306 |title=Bribery assertion 'cock and bull' |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=31 January 1992 |access-date=12 March 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Humphries |first1=David |title=WA Labor ignored bribery allegations |work=[[The Age]] |date=31 January 1992 |page=6}}</ref>

Cash, by now a senior opposition MP, commenced [[Defamation in Australia|defamation]] action against O'Connor soon after his appearance at the commission.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118167106 |title=MP 'angry' about bribe allegation |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=30 January 1992 |access-date=12 March 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In February 1992, O'Connor resigned from the Liberal Party amid speculation that the party would kick him out.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133929653 |title=WA Inc shame: O'Connor quits party |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=8 February 1992 |access-date=12 March 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Humphries |first1=David |title=Ex-Premier quits party after WA Inc. evidence |work=The Age |date=8 February 1992 |page=12}}</ref> In the same month, the commission began investigating O'Connor's finances, suspecting him of having stolen a $25,000 cheque from Bond Corporation in April 1984. The cheque was made out to a "Mt Lawley campaign fund" and recorded by Bond Corporation as a political donation.<ref name="The Canberra Times 12 February 1992">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133930406 |title=Commission probes O'Connor's finances |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=12 February 1992 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The investigation found a $25,000 deposit into O'Connor's bank account at the same time, which O'Connor was unable to explain.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122405974 |title=Bond 'threat' for removal of MacKinnon |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=26 March 1992 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> By that point, the record of the transaction had been destroyed which prevented investigators from determining where the money came from just based on the bank's records.<ref name="The Canberra Times 20 August 1995"/> Unrelated to the cheque, the investigation found that O'Connor had not paid tax on the $500 per week he received from Connell for his consultancy business.<ref name="The Canberra Times 12 February 1992"/>

The commission handed down its first report on 20 October 1992, which made adverse findings against O'Connor. The commission found that the Bond Corporation cheque was given to O'Connor with the intention of using the money to bribe the Stirling council, but O'Connor kept the money for himself and that no bribery took place.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126950415 |title=Extent of deviousness 'may never be known' |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=21 October 1992 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Ross |last=Peake |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126950821 |title=Leader again predicts early fed poll |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=23 October 1992 |access-date=12 March 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The report stated that "O'Connor was given every opportunity to explain the source of the sum deposited to the credit of his account on 19 April 1984, but was unable to do so in any believable way. Mr O'Connor misappropriated for his own purposes the monies which were the proceeds of the Bond Corporation cheque."<ref name="WA Inc summary">{{cite journal |last1=Small |first1=Michael W. |title=Business Ethics and Commercial Morality: Report of the Royal Commission into Commercial Activities |journal=[[Journal of Business Ethics]] |date=1995 |volume=14 |issue=8 |pages=626–627 |doi=10.1007/BF00871343 |jstor=25072680 |s2cid=153426345 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25072680 |access-date=14 March 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

O'Connor was charged on 11 May 1993 with one count of stealing{{efn|O'Connor was initially charged with stealing the $25,000 cheque from the Liberal Party. Prosecutors amended the charge at a November 1993 preliminary hearing to stealing from Bond Corporation, as there was insufficient evidence the cheque had ever reached the Liberal Party.<ref name="The Canberra Times 3 November 1993"/>}} and two counts of criminal defamation relating to his statements saying that George Cash accepted a bribe.<ref>{{cite web |title=Former WA Lib Premier Charged |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/former-wa-lib-premier-charged-19930512-k5fmm |website=Australian Financial Review |agency=Australian Associated Press |access-date=12 March 2023 |date=12 May 1993 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312154242/https://www.afr.com/politics/former-wa-lib-premier-charged-19930512-k5fmm |archive-date=12 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> He pleaded not guilty to all charges<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126988957 |title=O'Connor pleads not guilty |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=15 May 1993 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=18 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> and was released on bail.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127238080 |title=O'Connor opts for hearing on charges |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=9 July 1993 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> In November 1993, he had a preliminary hearing<ref name="The Canberra Times 3 November 1993">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127521910 |title=Witnesses recalled in O'Connor case |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=3 November 1993 |access-date=3 August 2023 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Former Premier Faces Court |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/former-premier-faces-court-19931102-k5prf |website=Australian Financial Review |access-date=12 March 2023 |date=2 November 1993 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312154237/https://www.afr.com/politics/former-premier-faces-court-19931102-k5prf |archive-date=12 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> which determined there was enough evidence for O'Connor to go on trial.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127524088 |title=O'Connor to stand trial for stealing, defamation |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=13 November 1993 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=11 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The trial for the stealing charge began on 13 February 1995 in the [[District Court of Western Australia|District Court]].<ref name="The Canberra Times 20 August 1995"/><ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1995">{{cite journal |title=Western Australia |journal=Australian Journal of Politics & History |date=28 June 2008 |volume=41 |issue=3 |page=484 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8497.1995.tb01279.x |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1467-8497.1995.tb01279.x |access-date=17 March 2023 |via=Wiley Online Library|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Evidence was given that O'Connor had a $98,000 [[overdraft]] and a $27,000 tax bill, which prosecutors alleged was O'Connor's motive for stealing the cheque.<ref name="The Canberra Times 20 August 1995"/> The jury gave a unanimous verdict that O'Connor was guilty on 17 February.<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1995"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133336254 |title=Former premier guilty of stealing Bond cheque |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=18 February 1995 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> This made him the first conservative MP to be convicted of offences relating to WA Inc, after Brian Burke and [[David Parker (Australian politician)|David Parker]] from the Labor Party had been convicted earlier.<ref name="The Canberra Times 20 August 1995"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133336992 |title=Judge to sentence former premier today |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=20 February 1995 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> On 21 February, O'Connor was sentenced to 18 months in prison.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133337133 |title=Premier moves to quash DPP suggestion |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=21 February 1995 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He served his sentence at the minimum-security [[Wooroloo Prison Farm]].<ref name="The Canberra Times 21 August 1995"/> In June 1995, his trial for the defamation charges occurred,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130544871 |title=In Brief: Defamation case |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=21 April 1995 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> in which he was found guilty of both counts. He was given an 18-month [[good behaviour bond]].<ref name="Political Chronicle first half 1995"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article127532631 |title=In Brief: O'Connor on bond |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=24 June 1995 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He was released on parole on 20 August 1995 after serving six months of his sentence.<ref name="The Canberra Times 20 August 1995">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130558752 |title=Ex-premier's release closes another chapter in sordid WA Inc saga |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=20 August 1995 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref name="The Canberra Times 21 August 1995">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130558914 |title=Freed former WA premier hits out at jury system |newspaper=The Canberra Times |date=21 August 1995 |access-date=13 March 2023 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> As a result of his conviction, his appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia was terminated on 18 October 1995.<ref name="Australian Honours Search Facility"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Mickelburough |first1=Peter |title=Social leaders stripped of honours after falling from grace |url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/social-leaders-stripped-of-honours-after-falling-from-grace/news-story/486c6a67cf039ec6c34f6758c0640582 |website=[[Herald Sun]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729125221/https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/social-leaders-stripped-of-honours-after-falling-from-grace/news-story/486c6a67cf039ec6c34f6758c0640582 |archive-date=29 July 2021 |date=6 June 2013}}</ref>

After 2001, O'Connor was reinstated as a member of the Liberal Party when party leader [[Colin Barnett]] put forward a motion that his membership be restored. Barnett said "as leader I moved at a state council meeting that Ray's membership be restored on the grounds that he had made a great contribution to the party, he had made an error and done his time, that we should put that behind us, move on, and readmit him."{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|pp=98–99}}

==Personal life and death==
O'Connor married his first wife Beverley Vilma Lydiate, with whom he had four daughters and four sons, at St Francis Xavier's Church in [[East Perth, Western Australia|East Perth]] on 17 June 1950.<ref name="Parliament biography" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47869114 |title=Popular Wedding Date For Players |newspaper=The West Australian |date=16 June 1950 |access-date=18 March 2023 |page=21 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> They divorced around 1972.{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=89}} His second marriage, to Vesna Frances Stampalia ([[née]] Dragicevich), occurred on 14 March 1973.<ref name="Parliament biography" /> O'Connor was the uncle of [[West Coast Eagles]] coach [[Ron Alexander]]<ref name="The West Australian 8 March 2013">{{cite web |last1=Acott |first1=Kent |title=Only praise for maligned WA leader |url=https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/only-praise-for-maligned-wa-leader-ng-ya-346202 |website=The West Australian |access-date=30 September 2022 |date=8 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003062455/https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/only-praise-for-maligned-wa-leader-ng-ya-346202 |archive-date=3 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the grandfather of [[Adelaide Crows]] player [[Ronin O'Connor]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Quartermaine |first1=Braden |title=WA product Ronin O'Connor to make AFL debut for Adelaide Crows against West Coast Eagles |url=https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/wa-product-ronin-oconnor-to-make-afl-debut-for-adelaide-crows-against-west-coast-eagles-ng-b881873350z |website=The West Australian |access-date=30 September 2022 |date=16 May 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

O'Connor died on 25 February 2013 in a nursing home in Scarborough, aged 86.<ref name="Parliament biography" /><ref name="The West Australian">{{cite web |last1=Adshead |first1=Gary |title=Former premier Ray O'Connor dies |url=https://thewest.com.au/news/australia/former-premier-ray-oconnor-dies-ng-ya-281262 |website=[[The West Australian]] |access-date=30 September 2022 |date=26 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003123401/https://thewest.com.au/news/australia/former-premier-ray-oconnor-dies-ng-ya-281262 |archive-date=3 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Former WA premier Ray O'Connor dies, aged 86 |url=https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/former-wa-premier-ray-oconnor-dies-aged-86-20130226-2f374.html |website=WAtoday |agency=Australian Associated Press |access-date=30 September 2022 |date=26 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004021929/https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/former-wa-premier-ray-oconnor-dies-aged-86-20130226-2f374.html |archive-date=4 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> His funeral occurred on 7 March 2013<ref>{{cite web |title=Former WA Premier Ray O'Connor farewelled today |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-07/funeral-for-former-wa-premier/4558126 |website=ABC News |access-date=14 March 2023 |date=7 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314035827/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-07/funeral-for-former-wa-premier/4558126 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> at the Our Lady of the Rosary Church in [[Woodlands, Western Australia|Woodlands]] and he was cremated at [[Karrakatta Cemetery]].<ref name="The West Australian 8 March 2013"/>{{sfn|Kennedy|2014|p=99}}

==See also==
* [[Electoral results for the district of North Perth]]
* [[Electoral results for the district of Mount Lawley]]
* [[List of heads of government who were later imprisoned]]
* [[List of Australian politicians convicted of crimes]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |last1=Black |first1=David |author1-link=David Black (historian) |title=The House on the Hill: A History of the Parliament of Western Australia, 1832–1990 |date=1991 |publisher=Western Australian Parliamentary History Project |isbn=978-0-7309-3983-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Black |first1=David |author-link=David Black (historian) |title=The Western Australian Parliamentary Handbook |date=2021 |publisher=[[Parliament of Western Australia]] |isbn=978-1-925580-43-3 |edition=25th |url=https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/WebCMS/webcms.nsf/resources/file-parliamentary-handbook/$file/Handbook%202021.pdf |access-date=17 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313163648/https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/WebCMS/webcms.nsf/resources/file-parliamentary-handbook/$file/Handbook%202021.pdf |archive-date=13 March 2023 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Jamieson |first1=Ronda |title=Charles Court: I love this place |date=2010 |publisher=St George Books |isbn=978-0-86778-293-6}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kennedy |first1=Peter |author-link=Peter Kennedy (journalist) |title=Tales from Boom Town: Western Australian premiers from Brand to Barnett |url=https://archive.org/details/talesfromboomtow0000kenn/ |url-access=registration |date=2014 |publisher=[[UWA Publishing]] |pages=84–99 |isbn=978-1-74258-533-8 |via=Archive.org}}
* {{cite interview |last=O'Connor |first=Ray |interviewer=Stuart Reid |title=Interview with Raymond James O'Connor, politician |website=[[State Library of Western Australia]] |date=August 1996 |url=https://purl.slwa.wa.gov.au/slwa_b1791521_17.pdf |access-date=18 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318064346/https://purl.slwa.wa.gov.au/slwa_b1791521_17.pdf |archive-date=18 March 2023 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last1=Reid |first1=G. S. |author-link1=Gordon Reid (governor) |last2=Oliver |first2=M. R. |title=The Premiers of Western Australia, 1890–1982 |date=1982 |publisher=[[University of Western Australia Press]] |isbn=978-0-85564-214-3 |pages=102–106}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |title=Valedictory Speech |url=https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/0/54f8a43273344fc1482577e50028a749/$FILE/ATT7OHOQ.pdf |website=Parliament of Western Australia |date=23 August 1984}}
* {{cite web |title=Condolence Motion |url=https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Hansard%5Chansard.nsf/0/29e25fa9fbf1f9a748257b59002ce9e8/$FILE/A39%20S1%2020130416%20p23b-26a.pdf |website=Parliament of Western Australia |date=16 April 2013}}
* {{cite report |title=Report of the Royal Commission into Commercial Activities of Government and Other Matters: Part 1 |url=https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/intranet/libpages.nsf/WebFiles/Royal+Commission+commercial+activities+of+government+vol.+6/$FILE/vol+6.pdf |website=Parliament of Western Australia |pages=105–153 |volume=6 |chapter=Bribery Allegations – Observation City |date=1992}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|au-wa}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Stan Lapham]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Electoral district of North Perth|North Perth]]|years=21 March 1959 – 31 March 1962}}
{{s-non|reason=Abolished}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Edward Oldfield]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Electoral district of Mount Lawley|Mount Lawley]]|years=31 March 1962 – 24 August 1984}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George Cash]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Sir [[Charles Court]]|rows=2}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for Transport (Western Australia)|Minister for Transport]]|years=17 August 1965 – 3 March 1971}}
{{s-aft|after= [[Jerry Dolan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for Railways (Western Australia)|Minister for Railways]]|years=16 February 1967 – 3 March 1971}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ron Bertram]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Ron Bertram]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for Transport (Western Australia)|Minister for Transport]]|years=8 April 1974 – 10 March 1977}}
{{s-aft|after=[[David Wordsworth]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Ron Thompson (Australian politician)|Ron Thompson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for Police (Western Australia)|Minister for Police]]|years=8 April 1974 – 10 March 1977}}
{{s-aft|after=Sir [[Des O'Neil]]{{br}}{{small|as the [[Minister for Police (Western Australia)|Minister for Police and Traffic]]}}|rows=2}}
{{s-new}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister for Traffic|years=8 April 1974 – 10 March 1977}}
{{s-bef|before=Sir [[Des O'Neil]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Deputy Premier of Western Australia]]|years=5 March 1980 – 25 January 1982}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Cyril Rushton]]}}
{{s-bef|before=Sir [[Charles Court]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Premier of Western Australia]]|years=25 January 1982 – 25 February 1983}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Brian Burke (Australian politician)|Brian Burke]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Brian Burke (Australian politician)|Brian Burke]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia)|Leader of the Opposition]]|years=25 February 1983 – 15 February 1984}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Bill Hassell]]}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=Sir [[Des O'Neil]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Deputy Leader of the [[Western Australian Liberal Party]] |years=5 March 1980 – 25 January 1982}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Cyril Rushton]]}}
{{s-bef|before=Sir [[Charles Court]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Leader of the [[Western Australian Liberal Party]] |years=25 January 1982 – 15 February 1984}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Bill Hassell]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{WesternAustraliaPremiers}}
{{Liberal Party (WA)}}
{{WA Inc}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Politics|Western Australia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Ray}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:Australian politicians convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Western Australia]]
[[Category:Australian sportsperson-politicians]]
[[Category:Criminals from Western Australia]]
[[Category:Deputy premiers of Western Australia]]
[[Category:East Perth Football Club players]]
[[Category:Leaders of the opposition in Western Australia]]
[[Category:Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:Former officers of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:Politicians from Perth, Western Australia]]
[[Category:Premiers of Western Australia]]
[[Category:South Fremantle Football Club players]]
[[Category:Treasurers of Western Australia]]
[[Category:Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia]]
[[Category:Heads of government who were later imprisoned]]
[[Category:Australian Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Australian people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Australian people of English descent]]