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Former Member Details

The Hon. (Johno) John Richard JOHNSON (1930 - 2017)

Member Photo
Date of Birth: 26/07/1930
Place of Birth: Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia
Date of Death: 09/08/2017
Place of Death: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Parliamentary Service
Position Start End Period Notes
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 25 Mar 1995 04 Sep 2001 6 years 5 months 11 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 30 Apr 1984 03 Mar 1995 10 years 10 months 3 days
President of the Legislative Council 01 Mar 1984 03 Jul 1991 7 years 4 months 4 days
President of the Legislative Council 07 Nov 1978 05 Mar 1984 5 years 3 months 28 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 23 Apr 1976 05 Mar 1984 7 years 10 months 12 days A Member of the indirectly elected Council 1934 - 1978. Date of Election 27 November 1975. A Member before reconstitution. A Member of the directly elected Legislative Council. Date of Election 24 March 1984 and 25 March 1995.
Political Party Activity
Australian Labor Party (ALP). Former President ALP Youth Council. Former member of central executive. Honorary Finance Officer and President Finance Committee, Administrative Committee and Centenary Committee. Former President ALP Maroubra Branch. Returning Officer Maroubra State Electoral Council and Kingsford-Smith Federal Electoral Council. Treasurer of ALP (New South Wales Branch). Life member of ALP. Honorary finance officer of ALP, New South Wales branch.
Community Activity
Board member Randwick Labor Club. Former director Prince Henry and Prince of Wales Hospital Group. Former Guildmaster Catholic Evidence Guild. Chair of the Advisory Committee, Foodbank New South Wales. Director of Randwick Labor Club.
Qualifications, occupations and interests
Grocer. Trade union official. Educated at Mt St Patrick's Catholic School, Murwillumbah. Retail industry and railway officer, post office, credit union manager. Director of Prince of Wales hospital, Sydney. Chair of Catholic Newspaper Company Pty Ltd. Publishers of Catholic Weekly. Member of Board of Lotteries of New South Wales. Member of Cancer Australia Advisory Council (federal). Recreational interests include reading, Irish affairs and fishing.
Military Service
Honours Received
Awarded a papal knight of St Gregory the Great (KCSG)
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Personal
Married Pauline Christina Russell and had issue, 2 sons and 2 daughters.
Additional Information
First speech Text from the book "The Presiding Officers of Parliament of New South Wales" Sydney 1995 John Johnson was born on 26 July 1930 at Murwillumbah in New South Wales. He left school at the age of fifteen, and commenced work in the retail industry. He married Pauline Russell on 6 January, 1962 and they had two sons and two daughters. He became a delegate to the Shop Assistant's Union and worked his way up to become the Union's Assistant Secretary. After many years in the Labor Party Johnson became Honorary Finance Officer in the New South Wales Branch of the ALP and he remains heavily involved in fundraising at a State and Federal level. Johnson was also a State President of the Young Labor Association of New South Wales. Johnson was first elected to the Legislative Council in November 1975, taking his seat in April 1976 and in his maiden speech in November 1976 he spoke out against abortion and for government funded election campaigns. On Melbourne Cup Day 1978 he was elected President of the Legislative Council, which made him the youngest Member ever elected President. Johnson abandoned the use of ceremonial attire, preferring to preside in a suit without wig or gown. During his Presidency the new Parliament House buildings were constructed, and the original buildings restored. With the support of the cross benches, Johnson was able to survive an attempt to have him replaced by a Coalition Member as President in 1988. However in July 1991 the Coalition, with the support of the Call to Australia Group, succeeded in replacing Johnson as President. Consequently he was the first elected President of the Legislative Council to be voted out of Office.