Guy Arkins

James Guy Dalley Arkins (14 October 1888 – 2 August 1980) was an Australian politician. He was a Senator for New South Wales from 1935 to 1937, representing the United Australia Party (UAP). He began his career in the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1915, but was expelled during the 1916 party split and joined the Nationalist Party. He lost his seat in 1930, but after his Senate tenure returned to state parliament from 1938 to 1941.

Early life Arkins was born on 14 October 1888 in Millthorpe, New South Wales. He was the son of Isabella and William James Arkin, his father being a storekeeper.

Arkins was educated at the local public school in Millthorpe. After leaving school he was employed as a flour miller for the Great Western Milling Company. He later worked as a journalist and building contractor.

Due to his age, Arkins was accused by political opponents of disloyalty for his failure to immediately enlist in the Australian Imperial Force after the outbreak of World War I. He eventually enlisted in the AIF in March 1916. He also issued legal threats against the Sydney Morning Herald and Daily Telegraph for articles in which they alleged he had made "unpatriotic" statements at political meetings, leading to public apologies from both newspapers.

Arkins arrived in England in January 1917 and saw active service with the Australian Army Service Corps and the 1st Australian Mechanical Transport Company. During his military service he was re-elected against Clark at the 1917 state election. He returned to Australia in September 1919 and was formally discharged from the AIF the following month. He ultimately withdrew from the ticket after the UAP reached an agreement to form a joint ticket with the Country Party, with Macartney Abbott taking his place. He faced five other candidates in the ballot, an unusually large number for a casual vacancy. Under the constitutional provisions at the time, Arkins' term expired at the 1937 federal election and an additional vacancy was contested to fill the remainder of Courtenay's original term. He stood for re-election but was defeated along with the other members of the UAP–Country joint ticket.

In the Senate, Arkins spoke on a range of topics including defence, immigration, primary industry and broadcasting. In 1936 he publicly criticised the management of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) and called for a royal commission into wireless broadcasting. He was also an early proponent of Australian television. Arkins favoured the expansion of the parliamentary committee system and called on the Lyons government to re-establish the joint committees on public accounts and public works, which had lapsed for cost reasons during the Great Depression.

Final years in politics Arkins was re-elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly at the 1938 state election, running for the UAP in the seat of Dulwich Hill. He was defeated at the 1941 state election after a single term. Arkins was subsequently a partner in several ventures with Sydney businessman Richard Thompson and was involved in the raising of war loans. His final candidacy for parliament came at the 1943 federal election, where he stood unsuccessfully on the UAP Senate ticket in New South Wales.

Personal life In 1921, Arkins married Marguerite Edwards, a concert pianist, with whom he had one son. He died on 2 August 1980 in Port Hacking, New South Wales, aged 91.