Albert Gardiner

Albert "Jupp" Gardiner (30 July 1867 – 14 August 1952) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for New South Wales from 1910 to 1926 and again briefly in 1928. A member of the Labor Party, he served in cabinet as Vice-President of the Executive Council under Andrew Fisher and Billy Hughes, and from 1916 to 1926 was his party's Senate leader; he was its only senator from 1920 to 1922. Before entering federal politics he had served in the Parliament of New South Wales from 1891 to 1895 and from 1904 to 1907.

Early life Gardiner was born on 30 July 1867 in Orange, New South Wales.

Gardiner played rugby union as a forward and represented New South Wales against New Zealand and Queensland in 1897 and against England in 1899. He was elected member for Orange in 1904, but lost the seat in 1907. He was one of the parliamentary representatives of Australia at the coronation of King George V in 1911. In the Senate, Gardiner spoke on a wide range of topics and was known for his "forceful delivery, 'rapid in utterance, fiery in tone'", In 1924, Gardiner was the only member of parliament to make "sustained objections" to the introduction of compulsory voting for federal elections, despite its inclusion in the ALP platform. He stated his opposition to "anything in democracy which savours of compulsion" and described the bill as "a further infringement on the liberty of the individual".

Final years

Gardiner lost his Senate seat at the 1925 election, with his term as a senator and ALP Senate leader expiring on 30 June 1926.

In 1902, Gardiner re-married to Theresa Alice Clayton, with whom he had two children. He died on 14 August 1952 at his home in Bondi Junction, Sydney, aged 85.