Preceded by New seat Nationality Australian Succeeded by Robert Tickner | Preceded by Don Dobie Succeeded by Don Dobie Name Les Johnson | |
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Born 22 November 1924
Enfield, Sydney ( 1924-11-22 ) Died 26 May 2015(2015-05-26) (aged 90) | ||
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Leslie Royston "Les" Johnson AM (22 November 1924 – 26 May 2015) was an Australian politician and minister.
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Johnson was elected for the Australian Labor Party as the first member for the House of Representatives seat of Hughes at the 1955 election and held it until his defeat at the 1966 election by Liberal Don Dobie. However, after a redistribution ahead of the 1969 election reconfigured Hughes with a notional Labor majority of eight percent, making it a safe Labor seat on paper. Believing this made Hughes impossible to hold, Dobie transferred to the newly created seat of Cook. Johnson retook the seat on a large swing, and would hold it without serious difficulty until 1983.
Following Labor's win at the December 1972 election, he was appointed to the Whitlam ministry as Minister for Housing. In October 1973, he was appointed to the additional portfolio of Works. In November the two portfolios were combined as Housing and Construction. In June 1975 he was moved to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. He lost this position as a result of the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in November 1975. He subsequently became the Opposition Whip. Labor returned to government at the March 1983 election, but Johnson did not stand for a place in the ministry. However, he was appointed Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Chairman of Committees. He resigned from parliament in December 1983 so that he could become Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand. His position as High Commissioner was cut short following the serious illness of his daughter, Sally Anne Penman, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, and subsequently died in February 1988.
Les Johnson married Gladys (Peg) Jones in 1947, and she died in 2002. They had three children, Grant, Sally (deceased) and Jenny. In 2003 Les Johnson married Marion Sharkey, and they lived at Shoal Bay, NSW.
Johnson was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in June 1990. He died on 26 May 2015, aged 90.