Thomas Leslie Austin (24 September 1923 – 1 June 2002) was an Australian politician. He was born in

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 ...

to Leslie Albert Austin, a farmer, and Nora Bradfute Cunningham. After attending

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay. Establ ...

, he served in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

from 1941 to 1945 as a sub-lieutenant. On his return he was a woolclasser from 1946 to 1947, when he became a sharefarmer. He settled in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

in 1950. In 1972 he was elected to 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 ...

as the Liberal member for Hampden, shifting to

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

in 1976. He was appointed Minister for Public Works and Minister for Property and Services in 1978, moving to the Agriculture portfolio in 1980. Following the defeat of the

Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

in 1982 he was Opposition Spokesman for Agriculture, becoming Shadow Minister for Sport, Recreation and Racing in 1990; he was also Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 1985 to 1987. He resigned his seat in 1992 and became Chairman of the Victorian Dairy Industry Authority, a position he held until 2000. Austin died in Melbourne in 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Tom 1923 births 2002 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Politicians from Melbourne Royal Australian Navy officers 20th-century Australian politicians People educated at Geelong Grammar School Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Ministers for agriculture (Victoria) Ministers for public works (Victoria) Ministers for forests (Victoria)