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Speaker, 4 March 1998 to 31 August 1998
National Party of Australia

Ian Sinclair (b.1929), grazier and 23rd Speaker of the House of Representatives, held the office for just under six months after an almost 35-year career in the House, which included senior ministerial positions and the leadership of his party.¹

Sinclair was born in Sydney; his father was a chartered accountant and his mother was a teacher. He studied at the University of Sydney and was admitted to the Bar in 1952. In 1956 he married Margaret Tarrant, a journalist, with whom he had three children.

Sinclair moved to New England in 1953. In 1961 he was elected to the NSW Legislative Council for the Country Party. He resigned two years later and was elected to the seat of New England at the 1963 federal election. He was appointed Minister for Social Services in 1965 and went on to hold several senior portfolios, serving as a minister under six prime ministers. In 1971 he was elected deputy leader of his party and was twice Leader of the House.

In 1979 Sinclair was charged with offences under the Companies Act and was suspended from the front bench, but returned to the ministry after being acquitted of all charges. In 1984 he replaced Doug Anthony as leader of the National Party (the renamed Country Party). He led the party to two federal elections, in 1984 and 1987, but was replaced by Charles Blunt in 1989 after Sinclair refused to join the ‘Joh for PM’ campaign that saw the Liberal-National Coalition split after some National Party members supported Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s leadership campaign.

When the Howard Government was elected in 1996 Sinclair was seen as a candidate for Speaker but the Liberal party room insisted on Bob Halverson, a Liberal. Following Halverson’s resignation Sinclair was elected Speaker on 4 March 1998, the first Speaker to come from the Country/National Party.

Sinclair held the Speakership when the House of Representatives was dealing with a number of polarising issues and the Labor Party was still adjusting to being out of office after 13 years. Sinclair’s long experience gave him a great understanding of the House, and in an unruly Parliament he quickly established himself as an assertive Speaker. His rulings were sometimes controversial; at times he allowed the Government considerable latitude and was combative towards the Opposition.

On 31 August 1998 Sinclair retired from Parliament, ahead of the forthcoming election. He remains the longest-serving Member for New England.

Sinclair’s first wife died in 1967. In 1970, he married Rosemary Fenton, a public relations officer from Lord Howe Island, with whom he has one child. In 2001 he was appointed an AC for his service to the Parliament and to rural and regional communities. In retirement he has served in senior positions with numerous not-for-profit organisations.