John Peter Sim, (21 June 1917 – 29 July 2015) was an Australian politician. Born in

Colac, Victoria Colac is a town in the Western District (Victoria), Western District of Victoria, Australia, approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac. History For thousands of years clans of the Gulidjan people ...

, he was a farmer in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

before serving in the military 1941–1946. He was Vice-President of the Western Australian

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 ...

1960–1962. On 26 November 1964, he was appointed to the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

as a Liberal Senator for Western Australia, filling the casual vacancy caused by the death of Senator Seddon Vincent. The

Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, which establishes the country as a Federation of Australia, ...

dictated that a special Senate election had to be held at the same time as the lower house 1966 election, but Sim was re-elected. He held the seat until his retirement in 1980.

Early life

Sim was born on 21 January 1917 in

. He was one of twin sons born to Grace Maria () and John Percy Sim. His father had a farming and grazing property at Ondit near Colac. Sim was raised in Melbourne, attending a parish school at

Murrumbeena Murrumbeena ( ) is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Murrumbeena recorded a population of 9,996 at the 2021 ce ...

and a local state school before completing his secondary education at Scotch College. He left school in 1930 to work on the family farming properties. In March 1941, Sim enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), having previously served in the

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

. He served with the 23rd/21st Battalion in Victoria and the Northern Territory until its disbandment in August 1943. He was then transferred to the 14th/32nd Battalion and served primarily in New Guinea, including as commander of a prison in

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

for suspected war criminals. He concluded his service with the

3rd New Guinea Infantry Battalion The 3rd New Guinea Infantry Battalion (3 NGIB) was a battalion of the Australian Army during World War II. One of four infantry battalions raised in New Guinea to fight against the Japanese, 3 NGIB was formed in June 1945, and spent the remaind ...

from October 1945 to June 1946. After the war's end, Sim and his brother moved to Western Australia, attracted by lower land prices. They bought wool-growing properties at Muradup and were later joined by their parents.

Politics

Sim joined the

in 1946. He first stood for parliament at the 1958 federal election, standing unsuccessfully in third place on the party's Senate ticket in Western Australia. He was elected vice-president of the

Liberal and Country League The South Australian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division), and often shortened to SA Liberals, is the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia. It was formed as the Lib ...

in 1960 and served on the Liberal Party's federal executive from 1963 to 1964.

Senate

On 26 November 1964, Sim was appointed to the Senate to fill a

casual vacancy ''The Casual Vacancy'' is a novel written by British author J. K. Rowling, published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012. It was Rowling's first publication since the ''Harry Potter'' series, her first novel apart fr ...

caused by the death of Senator Seddon Vincent. He was elected to the remainder of Vincent's term at the 1966 election and won re-elected to full terms at the

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

and 1975 elections. Sim was a long-serving member of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, serving as chair from 1971 to 1973 during the

McMahon government The McMahon government was the period of federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister William McMahon of the Liberal Party. It was made up of members of a coalition between the Liberal Party and the Country Party, led by ...

and from 1976 to 1980 during 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 ...

. He travelled frequently overseas, including 13 trips to Indonesia, and was an advocate for the importance of the Indian Ocean to Australia. He held strong views on foreign policy and contradicted government policy on occasion. Sim

crossed the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...

on several occasions, including to support an

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) motion to amend the ''National Health Bill 1970'' to increase federal benefits payable to hospitals treating uninsured patients and in 1977 to oppose two of the Fraser government's referendum bills.

Later life and honours

Sim was president of the Western Australian branch of the

Australian Institute of International Affairs The Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) is an Australian research institute and think tank which focuses on International relations. It publishes the '' Australian Journal of International Affairs''. It is one of the oldest act ...

for 21 years. He was a member of

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1982 to 1991 and served on the board of Murdoch's Asia Research Centre from 1991 to 1997. Sim was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) on 31 December 1982, for service to parliament. In 2006 he was awarded the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

(Gold and Silver Star) by the Japanese government in honour of his contributions to

Australia–Japan relations Australia-Japan relations are the bilateral relations between the Commonwealth of Australia and Japan. The relationships are generally warm and have since continued to grow strong over the years, both nations being considerably close, substantia ...

Personal life

In 1968, Sim married Paula Clarkson (née Bennecke). He died on 29 July 2015, aged 98.

References

1917 births 2015 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army officers Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub