Mel Bungey | |
---|---|
Member of the Australian Parliament for Canning | |
In office 18 May 1974 –5 March 1983 | |
Preceded by | John Hallett |
Succeeded by | Wendy Fatin |
Personal details | |
Born | Gnowangerup,Western Australia | 30 August 1934
Political party | Liberal |
Alma mater | University of Western Australia |
Occupation | Farmer |
Melville Harold "Mel" Bungey (born 30 August 1934) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1974 to 1983,representing the seat of Canning for the Liberal Party.
Bungey was born on 30 August 1934 in Gnowangerup,Western Australia. [1] He was educated at Wesley College,Perth,[ citation needed ] and went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Western Australia,majoring in economics. [2]
Bungey served in the Citizen Military Forces from 1951 to 1958. [1] After graduating from university he worked for the Prime Minister's Department in Perth and Canberra. He later returned to Western Australia to work on the family property at Borden. [2]
Prior to his election to parliament,Bungey was active in the Farmers' Union of Western Australia and served as vice-president of its wool section. He was also a member of the Australian Wool Industry Conference and a delegate to the Australian Wool and Meat Producers' Federation. According to The Beverley Times he was "a vigorous advocate of wool marketing reform and played a prominent part in updating the Farmers' Union wool marketing policy". [2]
Bungey was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1974 federal election,winning the seat of Canning for the Liberal Party from the incumbent Country Party MP John Hallett. [1]
In parliament,Bungey served on a number of committees,notably as chair of the Joint Statutory Committee on Public Works from 1978 to 1983. [1] During the Fraser government he was known for his submission of large numbers of questions on notice,covering a wide range of topics but with a focus on Australian Public Service operations. In April 1981 he lodged 691 questions in a single submission. [3] Bungey crossed the floor fifteen times during his period in parliament. According to a study of parliamentary floor crossings from 1950 to 2019,Bill Wentworth was the only other member of the House of Representatives to cross the floor on more occasions. [4]
Bungey's seat became increasingly marginal during his time in parliament,following a series of redistributions that saw Canning lose rural areas and became increasingly urban,taking in Perth's southern suburbs of Armadale and Rockingham. [5] He was defeated by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) candidate Wendy Fatin at the 1983 federal election. [1] During the election campaign he publicly criticised Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser for what he viewed as Fraser's negative campaigning style. [6]
Bungey and his wife Leith bred prize-winning chihuahuas. [7] He served as president of the Canine Association of Western Australia and was a licensed dog show judge with the Australian National Kennel Council,judging shows in Australia and overseas. [8]
Sir Billy Mackie Snedden,was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party from 1972 to 1975. He was also a cabinet minister from 1964 to 1972,and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1976 to 1983.
John Douglas Anthony PC was an Australian politician. He served as leader of the National Party of Australia from 1971 to 1984 and was the second and longest-serving deputy prime minister,holding the position under John Gorton (1971),William McMahon (1971–1972) and Malcolm Fraser (1975–1983).
Robert Francis McMullan is a former Australian politician. A member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP),he was a cabinet minister in the Keating government as Minister for Arts and Administrative Services (1993–1994) and Minister for Trade (1994–1996). He was a member of federal parliament for over 22 years,initially as a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory from 1988 to 1996 and then as a member of the House of Representatives from 1996 to 2010. Prior to entering parliament he was state secretary of the ALP in Western Australia from 1975 to 1981 and national secretary from 1981 to 1988.
Kathryn Jean Martin Sullivan AM is an Australian former politician. A member of the Liberal Party,she was a Senator for Queensland from 1974 to 1984 and a member of the House of Representatives from 1984 to 2001,holding the seat of Moncrieff. She broke Dorothy Tangney's record for the longest period of service in federal parliament by a woman,which was later surpassed by Bronwyn Bishop. She was the first woman to have served in both houses of parliament.
Raymond James O'Connor 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 towns of Narrogin and York as well as 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 in the Western Australian National Football League. During World War II,he served in the Second Australian Imperial Force in New Britain and Bougainville.
Frederick Michael Chaney,AO is an Australian former politician who was deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 1989 to 1990 and served as a minister in the Fraser government. He was a Senator for Western Australia from 1974 to 1990,and then served a single term in the House of Representatives from 1990 to 1993.
Peter Drew Durack,QC was an Australian politician,representing the Liberal Party. He rose to become Attorney-General of Australia.
Sir Ransley Victor Garland KBE,usually known as Vic Garland,was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1969 to 1981,representing the Liberal Party,and served as a minister in the McMahon and Fraser governments. He later served as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1983.
Wendy Frances Fatin is a retired Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was the first woman from Western Australia elected to the House of Representatives,representing the division of Canning (1983–1984) and Brand (1984–96). She held ministerial office in the Hawke and Keating governments,serving as Minister for Local Government (1990–1991),Minister assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women (1990–1993),and Minister for the Arts and Territories (1991–1993).
George Gear is a former Australian politician. As of February 2022,he is the mayor of the City of Melville in Western Australia,and had previously served from 1983 to 1996 in Federal Parliament including as Assistant Treasurer under the Keating government.
John William Bourchier,CBE was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1972 to 1983,representing the Victorian seat of Bendigo. He served as government whip in the Fraser government from 1975 to 1983.
Peter David Falconer is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1975 to 1983,representing the seat of Casey for the Liberal Party.
John Mead Hallett was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Country Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1963 to 1974,representing the Western Australian seat of Canning. He also served as state president of the Country Party from 1962 to 1963.
Hugh Victor Halbert was an Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1958 to 1961,representing the Western Australian seat of Moore for the Liberal Party. He later served as the party's state president from 1965 to 1968.
Donald William Maisey was an Australian wheat farmer and politician. He was a member of the Country Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1963 to 1974,representing the Western Australian seat of Moore.
Richard Cleaver was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and represented the seat of Swan in the House of Representatives from 1955 to 1969.
William Gordon Young was an Australian politician who was a Country Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia between 1967 and 1974,representing the seat of Roe.
Charles Prangle Wansbrough was an Australian farmer and politician who was a Country Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1914 to 1917 and from 1924 to 1930,representing the seat of Beverley.
James Isaac Mann was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1930 to 1962. He represented two Wheatbelt electorates,holding the seat of Beverley from 1930 to 1950 and the seat of Avon Valley from 1950 to 1962,and at various times sat for the Country Party,the Nationalist Party,the Liberal Party,and as an independent.