Ian Sinclair - Party Leader

Party Leader

In January 1984 Anthony resigned the leadership of the National Country Party (as the Country Party had been renamed in 1975), and Sinclair succeeded him. Under his leadership the party was renamed the National Party of Australia (NPA), reflecting the need to broaden the party's base beyond its declining rural constituency. The party aggressively challenged the Liberals in urban seats, but had little success except sometimes in Queensland.

Sinclair tried to position the NPA as the party of social conservatism. During the 1984 election he created a controversy by blaming the appearance of AIDS on what he claimed was the Hawke Labor government's policy of "condoning" homosexuality. He also wanted to reduce the number of Asian people immigrating to Australia. In August 1988, he said:

"What we are saying is that if there is any risk of an undue build-up of Asians as against others in the community, then you need to control it ... I certainly believe, that at the moment we need ... to reduce the number of Asians ... We don't want the divisions of South Africa, we don't want the divisions of London. We really don't want the colour divisions of the United States."

Sinclair had a poor relationship with Liberal leader Andrew Peacock, and supported his more conservative rival, John Howard. When Howard became Liberal leader in 1985, the two formed a close partnership.

This alliance was disrupted by the determination of the extremely conservative Queensland branch of the NPA and its leader, Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, to seize the national political agenda. The 76-year-old Bjelke-Petersen launched a campaign to make himself Prime Minister at the 1987 election. As leader of the NPA's most powerful branch, he forced Sinclair to break off the coalition agreement and support his bid. The "Joh for Canberra" campaign was a complete failure. Due to numerous three-cornered contests and swing voters' alarm at the prospect of Bjelke-Petersen being kingmaker in a hung parliament, the NPA lost several seats, particularly in Queensland, and the Hawke government was elected to a third term.

Following the 1987 debacle, Sinclair and Howard both found their leaderships under pressure. In May 1989, there were simultaneous, co-ordinated leadership coups in both parties, with Peacock displacing Howard as Liberal leader and Charles Blunt replacing Sinclair. When Blunt lost his seat at the 1990 election, Sinclair made a determined attempt to regain the NPA leadership, but was defeated by Tim Fischer, and retired to the back-bench. By this time he was the Father of the House of Representatives. He was also the last serving Australian politician to be a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, entitling him to the prefix "The Right Honourable".

Aged nearly 70 and having had heart problems for some time, Sinclair announced his intention to retire from parliament at the 1998 election. In February 1998 Howard appointed Sinclair as Chairman of the Constitutional Convention which debated the possibility of Australia becoming a republic, a role in which he won praise from all sides. When the Speaker of the House, Bob Halverson, suddenly resigned in March, Sinclair was elected to replace him.

Sinclair tried to persuade the NPA to allow him to stand again in New England, but they had already chosen another candidate and Sinclair had no choice but to retire, which he did at the October 1998 election.

In January 2001, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).

Sinclair is now the President of AUSTCARE, an international, non-profit, independent aid organisation.