Wal Fife

Wallace Clyde Fife (2 October 1929 – 16 November 2017) was an Australian politician and minister in the New South Wales Government and Federal Government.

The Honourable Wal Fife
Manager of Opposition Business
In office 14 August 1987 – 23 May 1992
Leader	John Howard Andrew Peacock John Hewson
Preceded by	John Spender
Succeeded by	Warwick Smith
Minister for Aviation
In office 7 May 1982 – 11 March 1983
Prime Minister	Malcolm Fraser
Preceded by	Charles Jones
Succeeded by	Kim Beazley
Minister for Education
In office 8 December 1979 – 7 May 1982
Prime Minister	Malcolm Fraser
Preceded by	John Carrick
Succeeded by	Peter Baume
Minister for Consumer Affairs
In office 17 July 1977 – 8 December 1979
Prime Minister	Malcolm Fraser
Preceded by	John Howard
Succeeded by	Victor Garland
Member of the Australian Parliament for Farrer (1975-1984) & Hume (1984-1993)
In office 13 December 1975 – 8 February 1993
Preceded by	David Fairbairn (Farrer) Stephen Lusher (Hume)
Succeeded by	Tim Fischer (Farrer) John Sharp (Hume)
NSW Minister 1965–⁠1975 Minister for Transport Minister for Highways In office 3 January 1975 – 10 October 1975 Premier Tom Lewis Preceded by Milton Morris (Transport) Charles Cutler (Highways) Succeeded by Max Ruddock Minister for Mines In office 22 June 1967 – 3 January 1975 Premier Robert Askin Preceded by Tom Lewis Succeeded by George Freudenstein Minister for Power In office 19 June 1972 – 3 January 1975 Premier Robert Askin Succeeded by George Freudenstein Assistant Treasurer In office 19 June 1972 – 3 January 1975 Premier Robert Askin Preceded by George Freudenstein Succeeded by Max Ruddock Minister for Conservation In office 19 June 1972 – 3 January 1975 Premier Robert Askin Preceded by Jack Beale Succeeded by George Freudenstein Assistant Minister for Education In office 13 May 1965 – 27 June 1967 Minister Charles Cutler Premier Robert Askin
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Wagga Wagga
In office 14 December 1957 – 15 October 1975
Preceded by	Edgar Graham
Succeeded by	Joe Schipp
Personal details
Born	Wallace Clyde Fife (1929-10-02)2 October 1929 Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
Died	16 November 2017(2017-11-16) (aged 88) Canberra, Australian Capital Territory[1]
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal Party
Spouse	Marcia Hargreaves Stanley
Children	Two daughters; two sons.
Occupation	Businessman

Early life

Fife was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, and was educated at Wagga Wagga Public School, Wagga Wagga and Canberra Grammar School. In 1948 he started working in the federal secretariat of the Liberal Party and in 1949 he joined his family business, Fifes Produce Pty Ltd, in Wagga Wagga. He married Marcia Hargreaves Stanley in May 1952 and they had two daughters and two sons.^[2]

Political career

Fife was elected as the member for Wagga Wagga in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1957. He was Minister for Mines from June 1967 to January 1975, Minister for Conservation from March 1971 to June 1972, Minister for Power from June 1972 to January 1975 and Minister for Transport and Minister for Highways from January 1975 until his retirement from the New South Wales Parliament in October 1975.^[2] Under his ministership many rural railway stations were closed.^{[citation needed]} The member for the federal seat of Farrer David Fairbairn had announced his resignation and Fife was pre-selected as the Liberal candidate for the next federal election.^[3][4]

Fife was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the member for Farrer at the election on 13 December 1975. He was Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs from July 1977 to December 1979, Minister for Education from December 1979 to May 1982 and Minister for Aviation from May 1982 until the defeat of the Fraser government at the March 1983 election. Following an electoral distribution that moved Wagga Wagga into the Division of Hume, he stood for and won that seat at the 1984 election. His role in Opposition included a stint as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives between May 1989 and April 1990, since Liberal deputy leader Fred Chaney was still a Senator.

Fife retired from parliament prior to the 1993 election.^[5] His departure came as a result of seat redistribution from which the National Party benefited and Fife was resentful to Liberal Leader John Hewson for not saving his career. Fife and others came to see Hewson's leadership as ineffective and Fife's departure was seen as evidence of Hewson not having much influence in the Liberal Party.^[6]

Honours

• Honorary Doctor of Letters (HonDLitt) from Charles Sturt University.^[2]
• Centenary Medal (1 January 2001), "For service to Australian society through the Commonwealth and state parliaments and government".^[7]