Charles Race Thorson Mathews (27 March 1935 – 5 May 2025) was an Australian politician, academic, author and reformer. He was a member of
Australia's
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
Federal Parliament and the
Victorian State Parliament for the
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).
[''Who's Who in Australia'' 2022]
Early life and education
Mathews was born in Melbourne, Victoria. He was educated at
Melbourne Grammar School
Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...
and Toorak Teachers' College, after which he taught in primary schools in
Gippsland
Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...
and
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
from 1953–1958. In 1961, he began as a clinical speech therapist in the
Victorian Education Department after graduating from the
Victorian Council of Speech Therapy. In later years he took out degrees from
Melbourne University
The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...
,
Monash University
Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...
and the
University of Divinity
The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university with a specialised focus in divinity and associated disciplines. It is constituted by twelve theological colleges from seven denominations and three schools. The University of Di ...
.
Political career
Mathews joined the
Labor Party in 1956 in
Moe.
In 1958, he moved to
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
, where he became active in the party, organising federal and state campaigns and was secretary of the Scoresby State Electoral Council (SEC). In 1963, he was elected to Croydon Council and served there until 1966. In 1964, he stood unsuccessfully for the state seat of
Box Hill. In 1960, Mathews was elected secretary of th
Australian Fabian Society He was secretary or president most of the time until 2006.
During his leadership the Fabian Society became a major think tank for the Whitlam and the Hawke–Keating governments.
From 1967–1972, he served as Principal Private Secretary to
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
in the
Australian Parliament
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...
, where he helped develop Labor's policies on Education and
Medibank
Medibank is an Australian private health insurance provider headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria. It is Australia's largest private health insurance provider, covering around 4.2 million customers in 2024. Medibank initially ...
(later Medicare).
From 1972 to 1975, Mathews was the Federal Member for
Casey, where he served as the chairman of the House of Representatives Select Committee on Specific Learning Difficulties (1974–1975), and the chairman of the Government Members' Committee on Urban and Regional Development (1973–1975). He was a member of the Administrative Committee of the
Victorian ALP from 1970–1977 and 1977–1981.
From 1976–1979, Mathews was Principal Private Secretary for
Clyde Holding and then
Frank Wilkes as
Leaders of the Opposition in the
Parliament of Victoria
The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria that follows a Westminster System, Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Monarchy in Australia, King, represent ...
.
From 1979 to 1992, Mathews served as the State Member for
Oakleigh in the
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...
during the
Cain Government. In this capacity, Mathews served as the chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Co-operatives, the
Minister for Police and Emergency Services and
Minister for the Arts 1982–1987. He served as Minister for Community Services from 1987–1988.
As Minister for Police and Emergency Services, he introduced
gun control
Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians.
Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...
, a major review of the police force and improved disaster management after the
1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires.
As Minister for the Arts, he opened the Arts Centre on Southbank, established the Spoleto International Festival of the Arts, the
Melbourne Writer's Festival and oversaw Victoria's 150th celebrations. His two portfolios of Police and Arts overlapped
in 1986 with the theft of
Picasso's ''
Weeping Woman'' from the
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...
by the 'Australian Cultural Terrorists', who wanted more funding for young artists. The painting was returned two weeks later unharmed.
He was a member of the Public Accounts Committee 1980–1982, the Privileges Committee 1988–1992, and the Economic and Budget Review Committee 1989–1992.
Mathews was the author, co-author, or editor of numerous books on politics, co operatives and economics. These include ''Building the Society of Equals: Worker Co-operatives and the A.L.P.,'' ''Australia's First Fabians'',
[Mathews, Race, ''Australia's First Fabians: Middle-Class Radicals, Labour Activists and the Early Labour Movement'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.] ''Whitlam Re-visited: Policy Development, Policies and Outcomes'',
[Mathews, Race; Emy, Hugh; and Hughes, Owen; ''Whitlam Re-visited: Policy Development, Policies and Outcomes'', Sydney: Pluto Press, 1992.] ''Labor's Troubled Times'', ''Turning the Tide: Towards a Mutualist Philosophy and Politics for Labor and the Left,'' ''Jobs of Our Own''
[Mathews, Race, ''Jobs of Our Own: Building a Stakeholder Society'', Sydney, Pluto Press (Australia), and London, Comerford & Miller, 1999.] and ''Of Labour and Liberty: Distributism in Victoria, 1891-1966''.
[Mathews, Race, ''Of Labour and Liberty: Distributism in Victoria, 1891-1966'', Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 2017.]
In the context of co-operative economics, Mathews supported
distributism
Distributism is an economic theory asserting that the world's productive assets should be widely owned rather than concentrated. Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, distributism was based upon Catholic social teaching princi ...
and strongly favoured
worker cooperative
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and Workers' self-management, self-managed by its workers. This control may mean a Company, firm where every worker-owner participates in decision-making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one ...
s as the basis of a
left-wing economic model.
Academic career and co-operatives
While in parliament from 1990–1992 Mathews was part-time Visiting Fellow in the Public Sector Management Institute (PSMI) at
Monash University
Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...
. After leaving parliament he became senior research fellow in the PSMI, then in the Graduate School of Government at Monash University 1995–1996 and Senior Research Fellow in the International Centre for Management in Government at Monash 1996–2000.
While at Monash he published ''Whitlam Re-visited
'' with Hugh Emy and Owen Hughes and ''Australia's First Fabians
''.
In the 1980s, Mathews became very involved in the
co-operative movement, especially th
Mondragon Corporationin Spain, which he visited several times. He was chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Co-operatives 1989–1992, and wrote two Fabian pamphlets on co-operatives,
Building the Society of Equals' and
Mondragon Lessons for Australia'.
After leaving the parliament Mathews continued his research. In 1998, he completed a PhD at Monash University on Mondragon, Antigonish and 'evolved distributism'. He turned his PhD thesis into ''Jobs of Our Own: Building a Stake-Holder Society
'', published in 1999.
Mathews then turned his attention to the history of the co-operative movement in Australia and its link t
Catholic Social Teachingin the 1930s to 1950s. He enrolled in the
University of Divinity
The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university with a specialised focus in divinity and associated disciplines. It is constituted by twelve theological colleges from seven denominations and three schools. The University of Di ...
and was awarded a Doctor of Theology in 2014. He turned his thesis into ''Of Labour and Liberty: Distributism in Victoria, 1891 - 1966
'', published in 2017.
Other activities
Mathews developed an interest in
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
as a boy and at the age of 16 was instrumental in founding the
Melbourne Science Fiction Club in 1952. He opened two World Science Fiction Conventions (
Worldcon
Worldcon, officially the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during Wor ...
s) in Melbourne, in 1975 and 1985.
Throughout his life, Mathews was driven by a commitment to equality, democracy and empowerment, and inspired and mentored others. In the 1960s, he helped
Whitlam bring about reform of the
Victorian ALP, leading to 'Intervention' in 1970. From the 1990s on, Mathews campaigned again for reform of the Labor Party, so that the factions would be "on tap , but not on top" and local members would have more say. He also campaigned for the reform of the parliament, and in 2006 helped establish th
Accountability Round Table and was its first chairman.
Mathews was on the board of th
Melbourne Recital Centrefrom 2004–2009 and th
Australian Centre for the Moving Image(ACMI) for 2006–2008. In 2009 he was involved in a successful campaign to save the independence of the
Victorian College of the Arts
The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (FFAM). It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus ...
.
Personal life
Mathews met his first wife Geraldine (Jill) McKeown at Teachers College in 1953. They married in 1956. She died of cancer in 1970. They had three children.
In 1971, Mathews became close to
Ainsley Gotto
Ainsley Gotto (14 February 1946 – 25 February 2018) was an Australian public servant and entrepreneur, who was the private secretary to John Gorton, the Prime Minister of Australia in the late 1960s.
Early life
Gotto was born in the Brisbane ...
, personal private secretary to
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 ...
leader
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician, farmer and airman who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1968 to 1971. He held office as the leader of the leade ...
(
prime minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
from 1968 to 1971). Most of the media were aware of the relationship with Gotto but did not report on it. Mathews told Whitlam, who was very tolerant: "You've got to be careful about your
pillow talk".
In 1972, Mathews married Iola Hack, a journalist at ''
The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
''. They have two children. Iola Mathews co-founded the
Women's Electoral Lobby and later worked within the
Australian Council of Trade Unions
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...
(ACTU) to achieve workplace gender equality in the 1980s and 1990s, for which she was awarded an
Order of Australia Medal (OAM).
Mathews died at the age of 90, on 5 May 2025 in Melbourne from
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
.
Biography
''Race Mathews:'' ''A Life in Politics''by Iola Mathews, Monash University Press 2024
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, Race
1935 births
2025 deaths
Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia
Politicians from Melbourne
Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Casey
Academic staff of Monash University
Australian economists
Distributism
People from Hawthorn, Victoria
Ministers for the creative industries (Victoria)
Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Australian MPs 1972–1974
Australian MPs 1974–1975
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Australia