Ian Raymond Causley (19 October 1940 – 27 April 2020) was an Australian politician. He was a Nationals member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

, representing the

Division of Page The Division of Page is an Electorates of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. It stretches from Korora, New South Wales, Korora to the Quee ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

from 1996 to 2007.

Early life

Causley was born on 19 October 1940 in

Maclean, New South Wales Maclean is a town in Clarence Valley Council, Clarence Valley Local government in Australia, local government area in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Clarence River (New South Wales), Clarence River and ne ...

, the son of Hilda Jean (née Lewis) and Samuel Arthur Causley. His father was a fourth-generation

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

farmer. Causley attended Chatsworth Island Public School and Maclean High School. He won a scholarship to attend the

University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 26,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 6,000 students See also * New England Coll ...

, but instead chose to work as a sugarcane cutter and save up to purchase his own property. He became president of the Clarence River Cane Growers' Association as well as a director of the New South Wales Sugar Milling Co-operative and a member of the New South Wales Cane Growers' Council. He and his wife also owned and managed a hotel in Lismore.

State politics

Causley joined the Country Party (later National Party) in 1965. He was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

at the 1984 state election, winning the seat of Clarence for the Nationals from the incumbent

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP) MP

Don Day Donald Day (19 February 1924 – 18 May 2010) was an Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electorates of Electoral district of Casino, Casino (1971–1981) and Electoral district of Clare ...

. He was promoted to state cabinet in 1988 and served as Minister for Natural Resources (1988–90 and 1991–93), Minister for Water Resources (1990–91), Chief Secretary (1990–91), Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries (1993–95) and Minister for Mines (1993–95). In 1990, Causley and deputy premier

Wal Murray Wallace Telford John Murray (11 September 1931 – 15 July 2004) was an Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. He was a National Party member for the seat of Barwon from 1 May 1976 until 3 Ma ...

were investigated by the Independent Commission Against Corruption over allegations they had allowed the sale of

Crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

to a National Party donor on non-commercial terms. They were cleared of corruption but found to have "created a climate conducive to corrupt conduct". Causley successfully sued the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' for damages over the allegations.

Federal politics

In the federal parliament, Causley was Deputy Speaker from February 2002 to November 2007, the last five years of the

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

Prime Ministership, under Speakers

Neil Andrew John Neil Andrew (born 7 June 1944) is a former Australian politician. He served in the House of Representatives for over 20 years from 1983 to 2004 representing the Division of Wakefield in South Australia for the Liberal Party. He became th ...

and

David Hawker David Peter Maxwell Hawker (born 1 May 1949) is a former Australian politician who served as a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from May 1983 to July 2010, representing the Division of Wannon, Victoria, previously re ...

. Causley retired at the 2007 election. He died on 27 April 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Causley, Ian 1940 births 2020 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Page Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian farmers Farmers from New South Wales Australian MPs 1996–1998 Australian MPs 1998–2001 Australian MPs 2001–2004 Australian MPs 2004–2007 Ministers for agriculture (New South Wales)