James Lionel Simmonds (9 October 1926 – 3 March 2007) was an Australian politician. He was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

to salesman Lionel William Simmonds and Myrtle Evelyn. He attended local state schools and became a toolmaker, with education from

Melbourne Technical College RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public university, public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering cla ...

. He was also involved in the union movement as a shop steward and branch secretary of the

Amalgamated Metal Workers Union The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), or more fully the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, is an Australian trade union. The AMWU represents a broad range of workers in the manufacturing s ...

. A member of the Labor Party, he was secretary of the

Heidelberg West Heidelberg West is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Banyule local government area. Heidelberg Heights recorded a population of 5,252 at the 2 ...

branch and campaign director for the federal seat of Scullin. In 1969 he was elected in a by-election to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

as the member for

Reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

. He was Labor spokesman on labour and industry from 1970 to 1982 and on consumer affairs from 1973 to 1977 and from 1981 to 1982. From 1982 to 1985 he was Minister for Employment and Training, moving to Local Government in 1985. He stepped down from the front bench in 1988 and retired from politics in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmonds, Jim 1926 births 2007 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Politicians from Melbourne RMIT University alumni 20th-century Australian politicians