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Lionel Bowen, a minister in the Whitlam government and Deputy Prime Minister under Bob Hawke, has died, aged 89.
Bowen was Deputy Prime Minister for the first three terms of the Hawke government from 1983 to 1990. He was Minister for Trade in 1983-84 and Attorney-General from 1984-90.
Bowen was one of the original Whitlam government ministers, serving as Postmaster-General between 1972-74. He was Special Minister of State and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister between 1973-75. [Read more…]
High Court Justice Lionel Murphy died on October 21, 1986, following a short battle with cancer.
Murphy, a former Labor senator (1962-75), was Attorney-General in the Whitlam government (1972-75), until he was appointed to the High Court in February 1975. His appointment was controversial and resulted in the NSW government breaking the convention that Senate vacancies were filled by someone from the same political party.
In 1985, Murphy was convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice. It was charged that he had sought to influence a court case against a Sydney solicitor, Morgan Ryan. The NSW Court of Appeals overturned the conviction and ordered a second trial, which acquitted Murphy in April 1986. [Read more…]