Eric Laidlaw Robinson (18 January 1929 – 7 January 1981) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and held ministerial office in the

Fraser government The Fraser government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. It was made up of members of a Liberal–Country party coalition in the Australian Parliament from November 1975 to March 1983. Init ...

, serving as Minister for the Capital Territory (1975–1976), Post and Telecommunications (1976–1977), and

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

(1977–1979, 1979–1980). He represented the

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

seat of

McPherson McPherson is a Scottish surname. It is an Anglicised form of the Gaelic ''Mac a' Phearsain'' and ''Mac a Phearsoin'', meaning "son of the parson". Notable people with the surname include: In sports *Adrian McPherson, American football player ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from 1972 until his death in 1981.

Early life

Robinson was born on 18 January 1929 in

East Brisbane, Queensland East Brisbane is an inner southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , East Brisbane had a population of 6,186 people. Geography East Brisbane is located south-east of the Bris ...

, the son of Florence Evelyn (née Laidlaw) and Arthur Neville Robinson. He attended the Slade School in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

and then joined his father's sporting goods business. Prior to entering politics he served as managing director and chairman of Robinson Holdings Pty Ltd, overseeing "a chain of stores in coastal Queensland". In 1964 he married Narelle Beel (née Jones), who had two children from a previous marriage.

Politics

Robinson joined the

Queensland Liberal Party The Queensland Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (Queensland Division), was the Queensland division of the Liberal Party of Australia until 2008. It was initially formed in October 1943 as the Queensland People ...

in 1957 and in 1963 was a founding member of the

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a list of surface water sports, surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in Glossary of surfing, tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wind wave, wave of water, whic ...

branch. He was state president of the Liberals from 1968 to 1973. He was elected to the Federal seat of

in the

at the 1972 federal election. Following

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...

's win at the 1975 election, he was appointed Minister for the Capital Territory in the Fraser ministry. In February 1976, he was moved to Minister for Post and Telecommunications. He was appointed Minister for Finance following

Phillip Lynch Sir Phillip Reginald Lynch Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (27 July 1933 – 19 June 1984) was an Australian politician who served in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1966 to 1982. He was deputy lea ...

's standing down in 1977. Allegations of malpractice by him were dealt with in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Matters in Relation to Electoral Redistribution in Queensland 1977, which exonerated him of wrongdoing. On 22 February 1979, he resigned from the ministry, stating in a letter to Fraser that he could no longer give him his "unqualified support". On 27 February he agreed to return as Minister for Finance—Fraser said that "there were no significant differences" between them. He was not reappointed to the ministry following the 1980 election. Robinson died suddenly in 1981 in

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

of acute

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, while still in office. He was survived by his wife, Narelle, a son and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Eric Laidlaw Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for McPherson Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1929 births 1981 deaths Members of the Cabinet of Australia People from the Gold Coast, Queensland Australian MPs 1972–1974 Australian MPs 1974–1975 Australian MPs 1975–1977 Australian MPs 1977–1980 Australian MPs 1980–1983