State Politics
In 1940, when the NSW ALP was split into three factions, he contested the federal seat of Werriwa for the so-called "Hughes-Evans Labor Party", the left-wing faction which had split from the recently reunified ALP in NSW, led by William (Bill) McKell. Subsequently, some members of the State Labor Party joined the Communist Party of Australia, and some have been shown to have held "dual tickets" throughout the period. Nevertheless, when most of the Hughes-Evans faction were expelled in 1941, Connor remained in the ALP.
In 1950 Connor was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the seat of Wollongong-Kembla, where he served for 13 years. He was partly responsible for the introduction of the state's Clean Air Act 1961. Since he was not a supporter of the dominant Catholic right-wing of the NSW ALP, he remained a backbencher.
Read more about this topic: Rex Connor
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