Thomas Givens

Henry Thomas Givens (12 June 1864 – 19 June 1928) was an Australian politician. He served as a Senator for Queensland from 1904 until his death in 1928 and was President of the Senate from 1913 to 1926. He began his career in the Australian Labor Party (ALP), serving briefly in the Queensland Legislative Assembly (1899–1902), but became a Nationalist after the party split of 1916. He was born in Ireland and worked as a labourer, miner, trade unionist and newspaper editor before entering politics.

Early life Givens was born on 12 June 1864 in Cappagh White, County Tipperary, Ireland. He was the son of Mary Ann (née White) and Robert Givens, a farmer. He was educated in Ireland at a Catholic primary school, although he was a Protestant. According to one account, he was associated with the Irish National Land League and was gaoled for a period.

Givens emigrated to Australia in 1882, He initially worked on the canefields of North Queensland and also spent time in New South Wales and Victoria, "probably as an itinerant bush worker". He then returned to Queensland as a miner, spending 16 years working on the goldfields around Charters Towers. He helped establish a miners' union at Eidsvold and later became an organiser for the Australian Workers' Union, initially at Charters Towers. In parliament, Givens spoke mainly on the sugar industry where he was strongly opposed to the use of "black labour". He proposed that Pacific Islanders be banned from working in factories and within of a factory. The newspaper had reported Senator David Watson's allegations that Givens had attempted to bribe him to resign. His suit was unsuccessful as it was held that the article in question was a factual account of parliamentary proceedings.

As president, Givens upheld the independence of parliament from the executive, ensuring the administration of parliamentary departments remained separate from the Commonwealth Public Service. He was protective of parliamentary privilege, opposing attempts to censor Hansard during World War I. A number of his rulings established longstanding practices in the Senate, particularly around its treatment of taxation bills in accordance with section 53 of the constitution. Givens announced his retirement from the presidency in 1926, a year before parliament relocated to the new capital Canberra. He remained in the Senate as a government backbencher until his death in office on 19 June 1928.