John Tonkin

Hawke government (1953–1959) After six years in opposition, Labor won the 1953 state election. As Tonkin was the deputy leader, Hawke allowed him to choose his own portfolios, and Tonkin made himself the minister for works and the minister for water supplies. He was attracted to those positions as they were "big spending departments", saying those positions were "the greatest opportunity... where one can achieve most". He had been in the role unofficially since the 1953 state election, and had been acting premier from May to July 1953 whilst Hawke was attending the coronation of Elizabeth II.

In July 1953, as acting premier and minister for works, Tonkin announced plans to build a controlled-access highway between Perth and Kwinana to the south, which became known as the Kwinana Freeway. He was involved in planning and beginning the construction of the Narrows Bridge and interchange, which crossed the Swan River to link South Perth with the central business district, and the first stage of the Kwinana Freeway from the bridge to Canning Highway. The Narrows Bridge was controversial because it required large amounts of land reclamation within Mounts Bay. Tonkin said that although he regretted it, the increase in car traffic required "some encroachment upon natural conditions". Tonkin announced a different name for the bridge in February 1959: the "Golden West Bridge". This name was controversial for copying the name of the Golden Gate Bridge and the name of a popular local soft drink, "Golden West". The name was reverted to the Narrows Bridge after Labor was defeated in the 1959 state election. The bridge was opened by the Brand government in November 1959.

As the minister for water supplies, Tonkin managed the extension of the Comprehensive Agricultural Water Supplies Scheme to the Great Southern region and initiated planning for the Serpentine Dam. In 1958, he led a trade mission to Europe and the United States to attract investors to Western Australia. The concessions Tonkin offered to potential companies were criticised by the opposition as being too generous.

In opposition (1959–1971)

Hawke and the Labor Party lost the 1959 state election to David Brand and the Coalition, but Hawke continued as party leader. Labor narrowly lost the 1962 state election, falling one seat short of victory. In the 1965 state election, the party lost several seats. Hawke resigned in December 1966 and Tonkin was elected party leader, thus becoming the leader of the opposition. Herb Graham was elected deputy leader.

Tonkin gained national attention when he emerged as a strong advocate for the Labor Party to drop its opposition to state aid for private schools, joining deputy federal Labor leader Gough Whitlam and many others who believed that the Labor Party could not be elected as long as it opposed it. Tonkin said that in Western Australia, funding for private schools, particularly Catholic schools, had eased the burden on the public school system and offered parents more choice in schools. At the Labor Party's 1966 national conference at Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Tonkin successfully persuaded the party to reverse its opposition to state aid for private schools. Tonkin also persistently criticised the Coalition government for being too secretive. Tonkin's wife Rosalie died of cancer in January 1969, making him seriously consider retirement. Nevertheless, he continued as opposition leader and contested the 1971 state election.

Governor Sir Douglas Kendrew swore Tonkin and his ministry in on 3 March 1971. The twelve-man ministry was chosen by the Labor caucus and Tonkin had the responsibility of allocating the specific ministerial positions. Tonkin himself was sworn in as the premier, minister for education, minister for environmental protection, and minister for cultural affairs, a new position. Only two members of the ministry had previous ministerial experience: Tonkin and Deputy Premier Graham. As of 2021, Tonkin, who was 69 when he was sworn in, is the oldest person to have become premier of Western Australia and was the first Labor premier to be born in Western Australia.

With just a one-seat majority, the speaker's vote became the deciding vote and any by-election in a Labor seat had the potential to cause a change in government. The government had to be careful that it had a full attendance within the house so its bills would not be defeated. Additionally, the government did not hold a majority in the Legislative Council, despite receiving 62,000 more votes than the Coalition, due to a pro-rural malapportionment. This made it difficult to pass legislation; over the course of the Tonkin government, 21 bills were voted down by the Legislative Council. A Liberal supporter, West was active in the local community, and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1982 New Year Honours.

Budget problems The financial state of the Government of Western Australia was poor throughout Tonkin's premiership. Tonkin managed to secure A$5.6 million (equivalent to A$ million in ) in federal funding at the premiers' conference in April 1971 which went some way towards getting the deficit to manageable levels. Tonkin announced that he would not be able to implement the election promises which required funding, to which Opposition Leader Brand responded by saying that Tonkin should not have made such lavish promises when it was known the budget was in bad shape.

The budget handed down by Treasurer Tom Evans in September 1971 was unpopular. The resignation of Attorney-General and Minister for Railways Ron Bertram on 30 September 1971 due to ill health necessitated Tonkin's first cabinet reshuffle. He took the opportunity to appoint himself treasurer and give away the portfolios of education to Evans and environmental protection to Ron Davies, leaving himself with cultural affairs. In the reshuffle, Arthur Bickerton was added to the cabinet as the minister for housing.

Ascot by-election On 8 October 1971, Speaker Merv Toms collapsed on the floor of parliament and later died, necessitating a by-election in the seat of Ascot. Labor had lost its majority pending the by-election and Coalition supporters were calling for a snap election, believing the Coalition would win. Deputy Liberal leader Charles Court told Tonkin that he would not bring a motion of no confidence against the government while they were down one member, but Country Party leader Crawford Nalder gave no such guarantee. Deciding that he should not risk being defeated in a motion of no confidence, Tonkin had Governor Kendrew prorogue parliament, which meant there would be no sittings until after the by-election. As the party that won would be the government after the election, both sides campaigned hard. Court was unusually vigorous, even going doorknocking in Belmont. The Labor candidate Mal Bryce ended up winning the by-election against Liberal candidate Fred Chaney.

Achievements The Tonkin government implemented several reforms in industrial relations and employment. It appointed an extra industrial commissioner to process arbitration cases. The government reduced the responsibilities of the Department of Labour by transferring the role of representing the government as an employer at the Industrial Commission to the Public Service Board. This allowed the Department of Labour to focus on the health and safety of employees. The government increased the pay rates of apprentices. Public servants were given four weeks of paid annual leave, equal pay for equal work between male and female staff, workers' compensation, and free return airfares for people working north of the 26th parallel. The Legislative Council blocked legislation that provided private sector employees with four weeks of paid annual leave, ten days of paid sick leave per year, and long service leave after ten years.

The Community Welfare Act 1972 merged the former departments for native welfare and child welfare to create the Department of Community Welfare.

After having lost several relatives to cancer, including his wife, daughter, father, and stepfather, Tonkin promoted alternative cancer therapies, including the Tronado machine, which was not supported by medical sources. Don Taylor was elected by the party to replace Graham as deputy leader.

Labor's Brian Burke won the by-election by just 30 votes in what had previously been a safe seat. Inflammatory comments by Whitlam government minister Fred Daly at Forrest Place enraged the farmers and led to objects being thrown at Whitlam. Another unpopular action by the Whitlam government was the blocking of an Alwest joint venture for an aluminium refinery near Bunbury due to its majority foreign ownership and environmental concerns.

The election resulted in a primary vote swing against Labor of 0.81 per cent. The largest swings were in rural areas, and this led to the Coalition winning the seats of Albany, Merredin-Yilgarn, Pilbara, and Toodyay, enough for the Coalition to win the election. Tonkin was succeeded as premier by Charles Court on 8 April 1974.

Many people laid the blame for Labor's defeat on the Whitlam government. Court said that "John Tonkin, instead of finding himself with a friend in Canberra, found himself with a person who was trying to tip Australia upside down". Tonkin's wife Joan agreed that Whitlam damaged Labor in Western Australia. On the other hand, Deputy Premier Don Taylor said Court had led the Liberals to victory by "good generalship" and that Whitlam had not been a big factor.

Later life Tonkin continued on as opposition leader, heading the Tonkin shadow ministry, the first formal shadow ministry in Western Australia. He resigned as leader on 15 April 1976 and chose not to contest his seat at the 1977 state election. He was succeeded in the seat of Melville by Barry Hodge and as the leader of the Labor Party by Colin Jamieson. Tonkin had served in parliament for 43 years, ten months and eleven days, making him the longest-serving member of the Parliament of Western Australia as of 2021. In the same year, Tonkin was made a freeman of the Town of East Fremantle.

In his retirement, Tonkin lived in East Fremantle and later South Perth. He died at Concorde Nursing Home in South Perth on 20 October 1995. A state funeral service was held at Wesley Church five days later and he was cremated at Fremantle Cemetery. Former governor Francis Burt eulogised Tonkin by saying that "he never generated cynicism or malice" and "we always knew we could trust him".

Legacy In 1985, the Beechboro–Gosnells Highway was renamed Tonkin Highway upon the opening of stage four, which linked Hardey Road in Cloverdale to Great Eastern Highway in Redcliffe. Tonkin cut the ribbon at that stage's opening ceremony on 1 May 1985. The headquarters of the Water Authority of Western Australia (later Water Corporation) in Leederville was named the John Tonkin Water Centre in 1985. A park in East Fremantle is named John Tonkin Reserve.

The East Fremantle house which Tonkin lived in from 1939 to 1989, a California bungalow on Preston Point Road, was assessed for placement on the State Register of Heritage Places in 2003, but the minister for heritage, Tom Stephens, directed that the house not be added to the register, but the Town Planning Appeal Tribunal overturned the decision in August 2004. Local heritage activists and the National Trust of Western Australia called for the house to be heritage-listed. The house was eventually demolished in 2007.

In September 2011, it was announced that the new school in Mandurah formed by the merger of Mandurah High School and Mandurah Senior College would be named John Tonkin College. Members of Tonkin's family, including his widow Joan, attended the official naming ceremony on 16 November 2011. The school opened at the start of the 2012 school year.