Corcoran was a key figure in the modernisation of the state branch of the Labor Party, which had been in opposition since 1933. When the party gained power in 1965, Corcoran was allocated the portfolios of irrigation, lands and repatriation in the government of Frank Walsh. Upon Walsh's retirement in 1968, Corcoran contested the party leadership but was defeated by Dunstan. In the Dunstan cabinet, Corcoran retained responsibility for irrigation and lands, and replaced repatriation with immigration. In March 1968, he became the first formally appointed deputy premier of the state, and gained the tourism portfolio. Two months later, Labor lost government and Corcoran nearly lost his seat, but retained his role as Dunstan's deputy.
At the 1970 state election, Labor returned to the government benches, and Corcoran regained his position as deputy premier, and took up the marine and works ministries. Dunstan and Corcoran had very different styles, but they formed a strong and respectful partnership. From 1975, unfavourable redistributions caused Corcoran to shift to metropolitan seats, first Coles, then from 1977, Hartley, which he held until 1982. Following the 1977 state election, he gained the environment portfolio, retaining marine and works. After Dunstan's resignation, Corcoran became premier and decided to call an early election to gain a personal mandate, buoyed by polling. This proved unwise, as the campaign went badly, business groups and media openly supported the opposition Liberal Party, and Labor lost office. Having retained Hartley, Corcoran resigned as Labor leader and did not contest the 1982 election. Dunstan was angry with Corcoran for wasting a full year of the term of government they had won in 1977, and because he had not continued to pursue Dunstan's policies on industrial democracy and Aboriginal land rights.
Made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1982 in recognition of his service to politics and government, Corcoran was also awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001. He died in 2004 following a long illness, and was granted a state funeral. Described as a larger than life character who was respected on both sides of politics, Corcoran's long and successful partnership with Dunstan was a hallmark of his political life.
By early December 1952,[2] Des was a corporal and temporary sergeant in D Company[14][15] when a four-man patrol was negotiating an enemy minefield. One of the men initiated a mine and was killed by the resulting explosion, which wounded two others. The unwounded soldier ran back to friendly lines for assistance, and Corcoran came forward under enemy mortar fire, dragged and carried the wounded men in, and then brought in the body of the dead soldier.[16] For his "courage and skill in evacuating casualties through minefield gaps", and as a patrol commander in 1 RAR, Corcoran was mentioned in despatches.[14] While Des was still serving in Korea, his father Jim was again elected to the district of Victoria in the March 1953 state election.[17] Des returned to Australia in March 1954, and after several weeks of leave, was posted to New Guinea.[18]
Des Corcoran left the Army in 1961 and in the 3 March 1962 state election was elected to the House of Assembly for the ALP, succeeding his father as the member for Millicent. He received 53.1 per cent of the two-party-preferred votes (TPP), defeating Ren DeGaris of the Liberal and Country League (LCL).[5][24] In his first speech in the house, on 24 July 1962, his father was present in the gallery, and he attributed his successful election to James Corcoran's "able and honest representation"[25] of the people of the seat of Millicent. His speech emphasised policy areas that would remain central to his political interests throughout his career. These included: ensuring that country South Australians had the same access to services as those who lived in Adelaide, especially in areas such as utilities and education; and the promotion of the agriculture, fishing and forestry industries in the southeast of the state. He was a strong proponent of the paper industry and water controls for the irrigation scheme in the southeast.[25] Labor had been in opposition in the state since 1933, and Corcoran, along with his colleagues Don Dunstan, Mick Young and Clyde Cameron, was a key player in the modernisation of the state Labor Party as a political force.[26] This saw the ALP develop policy and campaign hard on education, health and working conditions, and against racial discrimination and the malapportionment of electoral districts in the state, known as the Playmander.[27] When the ALP won government in South Australia for the first time since 1930 in the 6 March 1965 state election,[28] Corcoran became Minister of Irrigation, Minister of Lands, and Minister of Repatriation.[5] In the election, Corcoran increased his share of the TPP to 61.8 per cent.[29] Corcoran served on the parliamentary committee on land settlement from March to November 1965.[5] The new Premier, Frank Walsh, was a Catholic like Corcoran, when the Labor caucus was dominated by Protestants,[30] and the ALP federally was still reeling from the 1955 split of the party and the creation of the socially conservative and Catholic-dominated Democratic Labour Party (DLP).[31] Corcoran's father Jim had died in May 1965.[32]
Walsh was already 67 years old when he became premier, and the ALP rules applying at the time required him to retire from parliament at the next election. He was reluctant to do so, and made moves to have the rules modified to allow him to serve on. His party colleagues resisted this, and ultimately the ALP state council passed a congratulatory motion that included thanking him for "selflessly stepping down so that a new leader could establish himself before the next election".[30] In the face of this, Walsh reluctantly resigned effective from 1 June 1967.[30] Coinciding with Walsh's retirement, there was an ALP leadership ballot which included Corcoran, Dunstan, Gabe Bywaters and Cyril Hutchens. Walsh strongly supported Corcoran, perhaps partly because he wrongly believed that Dunstan had been involved in some way with the congratulatory motion that Cameron had moved to push Walsh out.[33] In the first round Corcoran received ten votes and Dunstan nine from the caucus of twenty-five, but in the second round Dunstan was the clear winner with fourteen votes and a majority, with Corcoran receiving eleven votes.[34][35] In Dunstan's 1967–1968 cabinet, Corcoran dropped the repatriation portfolio and took up immigration, retaining lands and irrigation.[5] Walsh remained in cabinet–with the social welfare portfolio–until March 1968.[30] On 26 March 1968, Corcoran became the first officially-appointed deputy premier–the position having been informal up to that point–and gained the tourism portfolio, which was combined with immigration.[5] Corcoran was a loyal deputy, and the working relationship between the two was "smooth and cooperative",[36] employing an internal consensus style within the party that had been carefully developed by Cameron and the Labor senator Jim Toohey since the late 1940s, and contrasted with the conflict-riven nature of the party in other states, largely due to the influence of the DLP.[36]
Labor lost government at the 2 March 1968 state election, mainly due to losing two marginal rural seats. Corcoran was nearly defeated in his own seat, winning by a single vote over his LCL rival Martin Cameron. Cameron disputed the result and a by-election was held on 22 June, with Corcoran receiving 52.5 per cent of the TPP. This left the ALP and LCL on nineteen seats each, so that the leader of the LCL, Steele Hall, had to rely on the independent Tom Stott, who was elected as Speaker and therefore had a casting vote.[37] The Playmander had enabled the LCL to form a minority government despite only receiving 43 per cent of the state-wide votes.[38] During the term in opposition, Corcoran was Dunstan's deputy,[5] and the pair worked together well despite any rift that may have been caused by the struggle to succeed Walsh.[39]
In Labor's victory at the 30 May 1970 state election,[40] Corcoran retained the seat of Millicent with 54 per cent of the TPP.[40] He resumed his role as deputy premier, and held the works and marine portfolios.[5] Corcoran handled the interaction between the Dunstan ministry and the Labor caucus, using his strong personality to settle disputes.[41] Over the next nine years, Dunstan and Corcoran made an unconventional but strong team.[42] A devout Catholic and man of high personal morals, Corcoran privately opposed many of the social reforms Dunstan was implementing, such as liberalised abortion and homosexuality laws. In addition, Corcoran disliked Dunstan's glamorous image and fondness for the arts. A conservative dresser, Corcoran did not at all share Dunstan's enthusiasm for wearing casual clothes on public occasions.[26] Nevertheless, the two men felt a wary respect for one another and managed to maintain a working relationship. Behind the scenes, Dunstan sometimes found Corcoran's plain-speaking style useful to control others within the ALP.[43]
Corcoran held Millicent with 56.5 per cent of the TPP in the 10 March 1973 state election, defeating the LCL's Murray Vandepeer.[44] When Millicent was subjected to a redistribution following that election, Corcoran's majority was theoretically eliminated, and Corcoran transferred to the eastern Adelaide district of Coles, previously held by Labor by the retiring Len King, for the 12 July 1975 state election. Corcoran won the seat with 52.4 per cent of the TPP,[45] and Vandepeer received 59.9 per cent of the TPP in Millicent.[46] When Coles was in turn subjected to a redistribution that undermined his margin, Corcoran transferred to the newly created and nearby northeastern Adelaide district of Hartley, receiving 58.8 per cent of the TPP at the 17 September 1977 state election, with Coles falling to Jennifer Cashmore of the Liberal Party (the renamed LCL).[47] Corcoran gained the environment portfolio in the new government, while retaining his other portfolios.[5]
By early 1979, Dunstan's health had deteriorated to the point that he could not continue in office,[42] and he resigned in February.[48] Dunstan had wanted Hugh Hudson to replace him, but Hudson lacked the numbers in the caucus despite Dunstan's support,[49] and on 15 February, Corcoran was elected his successor, thus finally achieving his ambition of becoming premier. He also served as state treasurer along with adding the ethnic affairs portfolio to immigration.[5]Mike Rann, who later became premier, served as Corcoran's press secretary during his short premiership.[42][50] Despite its popularity in the state at the time, Corcoran sidelined Dunstan's push for industrial democracy, where workers would have a say in decision-making within companies.[51] Spurred by positive opinion polls in mid-1979, Corcoran called a snap election after less than a year in the hope that he would gain a mandate of his own.[26] The election campaign was plagued by problems; business groups and the state's main afternoon tabloid newspaper, The News, openly sided with the Liberal Party.[5]
At the 15 September 1979 state election,[52] the Liberals under David Tonkin achieved an eleven per cent swing towards them and won.[5] Corcoran held Hartley with 50.7 per cent of the TPP.[53] Corcoran resigned his commissions as premier and treasurer on 18 September, and resigned from the Labor leadership on 2 October.[5] He was succeeded by the much younger John Bannon, whose urbane style and academic background meant he was much closer in style to Dunstan than to Corcoran. At the 6 November 1982 state election, Bannon easily defeated Tonkin and led Labor back into government, but Corcoran did not contest his seat of Hartley, which was retained for Labor by Terry Groom.[54] Dunstan was angry with Corcoran, feeling that he had wasted a full year of the term they had won in 1977, and had not continued to pursue Aboriginal land rights and industrial democracy.[55]
Corcoran died in Adelaide on 3 January 2004, aged 75, after a long illness.[5][42] Upon his death, Rann, by then premier himself, described the strong and historic political partnership between Dunstan and Corcoran as "very successful", despite the two being "chalk and cheese". Rann went on to say that Corcoran would be "sorely missed" as someone who was larger than life and respected across the political spectrum in South Australia.[50] He also noted that Corcoran would be remembered "for his gregarious personality and how he so often used humour to heal differences". Don Hopgood, who served as education minister alongside Corcoran, observed that he brought strength to the Dunstan administration. Then opposition leader Dean Brown, who had himself served as premier between 1993 and 1996, stated that Corcoran was "approachable and enjoyed a good yarn and joke", and recalled that "his word could always be trusted and all members of the Parliament held him in very high esteem".[42] Corcoran was farewelled with a state funeral held at St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide, on 8 January,[60] and was buried at North Brighton Cemetery.[61]
Donald Allan Dunstan was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for the division of Norwood from 1953 to 1979, and leader of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party from 1967 to 1979. Before becoming premier, Dunstan served as the 38th attorney-general of South Australia and the treasurer of South Australia. He is the fourth longest serving premier in South Australian history.
David Oliver Tonkin was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of South Australia from 18 September 1979 to 10 November 1982. He was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Bragg at the 1970 election, serving until 1983. He became the leader of the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia in 1975, replacing Bruce Eastick. Initially leading the party to defeat at the 1977 election against the Don Dunstan Labor government, his party won the 1979 election against the Des Corcoran Labor government. Following the 1980 Norwood by-election the Tonkin government was reduced to a one-seat majority. His government's policy approach combined economic conservatism with social progressivism. The Tonkin Liberal government was defeated after one term at the 1982 election by Labor led by John Bannon.
The Liberal Movement (LM) was a South Australian political party which existed from 1973 to 1976, and was a forerunner to the Australian Democrats.
Francis Henry Walsh was the 34th Premier of South Australia from 10 March 1965 to 1 June 1967, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party.
Michael Raphael O'Halloran was an Australian politician, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of South Australia and also in the Australian Senate.
Sir Richard Layton Butler KCMG was the 31st Premier of South Australia, serving two disjunct terms in office: from 1927 to 1930, and again from 1933 to 1938.
Martin Bruce Cameron is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian Senate from May to October 1969. He was later a member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 1971 to 1990, sitting as a Liberal except during 1973–1976, when he represented the splinter Liberal Movement.
The Playmander was a pro-rural electoral malapportionment in the Australian state of South Australia, which was introduced by the incumbent Liberal and Country League (LCL) government in 1936, and remained in place for 32 years until 1968.
Sir Thomas Playford was an Australian politician from the state of South Australia. He served as Premier of South Australia and leader of the Liberal and Country League (LCL) from 5 November 1938 to 10 March 1965. Though controversial, it was the longest term of any elected government leader in Australian history. His tenure as premier was marked by a period of population and economic growth unmatched by any other Australian state. He was known for his parochial style in pushing South Australia's interests, and was known for his ability to secure a disproportionate share of federal funding for the state as well as his shameless haranguing of federal leaders. His string of election wins was supported by a system of malapportionment later dubbed erroneously, the "Playmander".
State elections were held in South Australia on 10 March 1973. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Premier of South Australia Don Dunstan won a second term in government, defeating the Liberal and Country League led by Leader of the Opposition Bruce Eastick.
State elections were held in South Australia on 30 May 1970. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal and Country League led by Premier of South Australia Steele Hall was defeated by the Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the Opposition Don Dunstan.
The 1968South AustralianState election was held in South Australia on 2 March 1968. All 39 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election; 38 of the 39 contests were won by candidates from Australia's two major political parties. The incumbent Labor Party South Australia led by Premier of South Australia Don Dunstan and the Liberal and Country League led by Leader of the Opposition Steele Hall) both won 19 seats. The sole independent candidate to win a race, Tom Stott of the Ridley electorate, joined with the LCL's 19 seats to form a coalition government that held a 20 to 19 majority, thus defeating the Dunstan Labor government.
State elections were held in South Australia on 6 March 1965. All 39 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal and Country League led by Premier of South Australia Thomas Playford IV, in power since 1938, was defeated by the Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the Opposition Frank Walsh.
Ernest Alfred Roberts was an Australian politician and soldier who was a Labor member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1896 to 1902 and 1905 to 1908 and then the Australian House of Representatives from 1908 to 1913. Roberts also served as an officer in South Africa during the Second Boer War, with South Australian colonial forces in 1900 and Commonwealth forces in 1902. From 1904 to 1908 he was the editor of The Herald, a left-wing newspaper published by the United Labor Party (ULP).
John Owen Critchley was an Australian politician who served as a Labor member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1930 to 1933 and then the Australian Senate from 1947 to 1959. Born at Callington in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, and schooled in and around Petersburg, Critchley completed an apprenticeship as a wheelwright, but was then sacked for forming a branch of his union. He was a founding member and also served twelve years on the executive of the Amalgamated Coach Rolling Stock Makers' and Wheelwrights' Society – later the Australian Coachmakers Employees' Federation then the Vehicle Builders Employees' Federation. He briefly served with the 10th Battalion on the Western Front in France and Belgium during World War I, but was repatriated as medically unfit, suffering from a neck condition.
State elections were held in South Australia on 3 March 1962. All 39 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal and Country League led by Premier of South Australia Thomas Playford IV defeated the Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the Opposition Frank Walsh.
James Corcoran was a South Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Victoria in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1945 until his defeat in 1947, and again from 1953 until 1956, when he transferred to the nearby seat of Millicent. He retired in 1962, and was succeeded by his son, future Premier Des Corcoran.
Glen Raymond Broomhill was an Australian politician who represented the South Australian House of Assembly seats of West Torrens from 1965 to 1970 and Henley Beach from 1970 to 1979 for the Labor Party. Glen Broomhill's most enduring achievement was as the architect of South Australia's visionary container-deposit legislation. That initiative, one of the first of its kind in the world, continues to stand as a landmark to environmental awareness.
William Joseph Denny was an Australian journalist, lawyer, politician and decorated soldier who held the South Australian House of Assembly seats of West Adelaide from 1900 to 1902 and then Adelaide from 1902 to 1905 and again from 1906 to 1933. After an unsuccessful candidacy as a United Labor Party (ULP) member in 1899, he was elected as an "independent liberal" in a by-election in 1900. He was re-elected in 1902, but defeated in 1905. The following year, he was elected as a ULP candidate, and retained his seat for that party until 1931. Along with the rest of the cabinet, he was ejected from the Australian Labor Party in 1931, and was a member of the Parliamentary Labor Party until his electoral defeat at the hands of a Lang Labor Party candidate in 1933.
The South Australian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division), and often shortened to SA Liberals, is the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia. It was formed as the Liberal and Country League (LCL) in 1932 and became the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party when the Liberal Party was formed in 1945. It retained its Liberal and Country League name before changing to its current name in 1974. It is one of two major parties in the bicameral Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Australian Labor Party (SA Branch). The party is led by Vincent Tarzia since 12 August 2024.
Kefford, Glenn; Murphy-Gregory, Hannah; Ward, Ian; Jackson, Stewart; Cox, Lloyd; Carson, Andrea (2018). Australian Politics in the Twenty-First Century: Old Institutions, New Challenges. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-1-108-57756-4.
Moss, Jim (1985). Sound of Trumpets: History of the Labour Movement in South Australia. Adelaide: Wakefield Press. ISBN978-0-949268-06-8.
Parkin, Andrew (1981). "The Dunstan Governments: a Political Synopsis". In Parkin, Andrew; Patience, Allan (eds.). The Dunstan Decade: Social Democracy at the State Level. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire. pp.1–21. ISBN0-582-71466-4.
Plowman, Peter (2003). Across the sea to war: Australian and New Zealand troop convoys from 1865 through two World Wars to Korea and Vietnam. Dural, New South Wales: Rosenberg. ISBN978-1-877058-06-6.
Stokes, Geoff; Cox, Richard (1981). "The ALP and the Politics of Consensus". In Parkin, Andrew; Patience, Allan (eds.). The Dunstan Decade: Social Democracy at the State Level. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire. pp.256–280. ISBN0-582-71466-4.
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