Colston was born in Brisbane and joined the Labor Party at the age of 19 and held several branch positions in the party. He was unsuccessfully nominated for selection as a Senate candidate at the age of 23.
He qualified as a teacher and taught in several primary schools while he completed a doctorate in educational psychology at the University of Queensland. He failed on two further occasions to gain Senate selection. He later wrote a book, The Odd One Out, about his political experiences.[1]
On 30 June 1975, Queensland ALP Senator Bertie Milliner died suddenly. The Labor Party nominated Colston to fill the casual vacancy in the Senate. The Constitution provides that a Senate casual vacancy is filled by a person chosen by the relevant state parliament. Although not a constitutional requirement until 1977, it was long a convention for the state parliament to choose a person nominated by the departing Senator's political party. However, the Premier of Queensland, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, claimed that Colston was a "dangerous socialist" and refused to appoint him. Officially, though, Bjelke-Petersen expressed doubts over Colston's integrity and instead appointed Albert Field, a member of the Labor Party who was staunchly opposed to the policies of the Gough Whitlam Labor government.[2]
The ALP challenged Field's appointment in the High Court, and Field was on leave from the Senate almost from the day of his appointment. That gave the Coalition a greater advantage and so was one of the crucial events that led to the dismissal of the Whitlam government.
Labor Senator
At the ensuing 1975 election, Colston was elected as a Labor senator. He continued to serve in that capacity until 1996.
After the 1996 election, the Labor Party refused to nominate Colston to become Deputy President of the Senate, a position he had previously held from 1990 to 1993. In a bid to win him over, the HowardCoalition government offered to support him. Colston resigned from the Labor Party by fax message at 11:30 a.m., on 20 August, and he took his seat as an independent that afternoon. In the evening, he was elected Deputy President, on the nomination of the Coalition. He opposed the Coalition's industrial relations package, but he voted for the sale of a third of Telstra and some other government initiatives. Colston then sat as a "Queensland First" senator.
Travel allowances scandal
In 1997, Colston was charged by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions with 28 charges of defrauding the Commonwealth by allegedly misusing his parliamentary travel allowance. He then revealed that he was suffering from cancer. Prosecution was not pursued after medical opinion was provided that Colston was unlikely to live long enough for a trial to be completed. In the event, he survived for a further six years. He retired from the Senate at the end of his term.
Death and estate
Colston died of colon cancer in 2003. He had appointed his wife, Dawn Colston, as executor and trustee of his will, but she died eleven months later, before she could dispose of her husband's will. She had appointed her brother, Brian McMullen, as executor of her will.
The Colstons' son, Douglas Colston, claimed that he was entitled to half the income of his parents' estates, and initiated action against McMullen. The case was ongoing, as of September 2011.[3] As of 2022, the outcome of this case is unknown.
Notwithstanding the controversies that he generated after his defection from Labor, Colston requested that no condolence motion be moved in the Senate after his death.[4]
^Oberhardt, Mark (24 April 2012). "Court of Appeal grants son of Senator Mal Colston fresh rights to pursue control of estate". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
^"COLSTON, Malcolm Arthur (1938–2003)Senator for Queensland, 1976–99 (Australian Labor Party; Independent)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
Further reading
Saunders, Malcolm; Lloyd, Neil (2010). "Holding Australia to Ransom: The Colston Affair, 1996–2003". Queensland Review. 17 (1): 59–74. doi:10.1017/S1321816600005262. S2CID 146497147.
colston, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, april, 2008, learn. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Mal Colston news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Malcolm Arthur Colston 5 April 1938 23 August 2003 was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Queensland from 1975 to 1999 He was a member of the Labor Party until 1996 when he resigned to sit as an independent following a dispute over his candidacy for Deputy President of the Senate Colston was a schoolteacher before entering politics and held a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Queensland Mal ColstonDeputy President of the SenateIn office 20 August 1996 6 May 1997PresidentMargaret ReidPreceded byMargaret ReidSucceeded bySue WestFather of the SenateIn office 1 July 1993 30 June 1999Serving with Brian Harradine a Preceded byPeter DurackSucceeded byBrian HarradineSenator for QueenslandIn office 13 December 1975 30 June 1999Personal detailsBorn 1938 04 05 5 April 1938Brisbane Queensland AustraliaDied23 August 2003 2003 08 23 aged 65 Brisbane Queensland AustraliaPolitical partyQueensland First 1996 1999 Independent 1996 Labor 1958 1996 SpouseDawn Patricia McMullenChildren1Alma materUniversity of QueenslandOccupationTeacherPolitician Contents 1 Early life 2 Political career 2 1 Role in 1975 constitutional crisis 2 2 Labor Senator 2 3 Resignation from Labor Party 2 4 Travel allowances scandal 3 Death and estate 4 References 5 Further readingEarly life EditColston was born in Brisbane and joined the Labor Party at the age of 19 and held several branch positions in the party He was unsuccessfully nominated for selection as a Senate candidate at the age of 23 He qualified as a teacher and taught in several primary schools while he completed a doctorate in educational psychology at the University of Queensland He failed on two further occasions to gain Senate selection He later wrote a book The Odd One Out about his political experiences 1 Political career EditRole in 1975 constitutional crisis Edit Colston indirectly played a role in the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis On 30 June 1975 Queensland ALP Senator Bertie Milliner died suddenly The Labor Party nominated Colston to fill the casual vacancy in the Senate The Constitution provides that a Senate casual vacancy is filled by a person chosen by the relevant state parliament Although not a constitutional requirement until 1977 it was long a convention for the state parliament to choose a person nominated by the departing Senator s political party However the Premier of Queensland Joh Bjelke Petersen claimed that Colston was a dangerous socialist and refused to appoint him Officially though Bjelke Petersen expressed doubts over Colston s integrity and instead appointed Albert Field a member of the Labor Party who was staunchly opposed to the policies of the Gough Whitlam Labor government 2 The ALP challenged Field s appointment in the High Court and Field was on leave from the Senate almost from the day of his appointment That gave the Coalition a greater advantage and so was one of the crucial events that led to the dismissal of the Whitlam government Labor Senator Edit At the ensuing 1975 election Colston was elected as a Labor senator He continued to serve in that capacity until 1996 From 1993 to his retirement he was a joint Father of the Senate along with Brian Harradine Resignation from Labor Party Edit After the 1996 election the Labor Party refused to nominate Colston to become Deputy President of the Senate a position he had previously held from 1990 to 1993 In a bid to win him over the Howard Coalition government offered to support him Colston resigned from the Labor Party by fax message at 11 30 a m on 20 August and he took his seat as an independent that afternoon In the evening he was elected Deputy President on the nomination of the Coalition He opposed the Coalition s industrial relations package but he voted for the sale of a third of Telstra and some other government initiatives Colston then sat as a Queensland First senator Travel allowances scandal Edit In 1997 Colston was charged by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions with 28 charges of defrauding the Commonwealth by allegedly misusing his parliamentary travel allowance He then revealed that he was suffering from cancer Prosecution was not pursued after medical opinion was provided that Colston was unlikely to live long enough for a trial to be completed In the event he survived for a further six years He retired from the Senate at the end of his term Death and estate EditColston died of colon cancer in 2003 He had appointed his wife Dawn Colston as executor and trustee of his will but she died eleven months later before she could dispose of her husband s will She had appointed her brother Brian McMullen as executor of her will The Colstons son Douglas Colston claimed that he was entitled to half the income of his parents estates and initiated action against McMullen The case was ongoing as of September 2011 3 As of 2022 the outcome of this case is unknown Notwithstanding the controversies that he generated after his defection from Labor Colston requested that no condolence motion be moved in the Senate after his death 4 References EditNotes From 1 September 1998 Citations Dickenson Jacqueline 2007 Mal Colston The worst rat of the lot Australian Society for the Study of Labour History Archived from the original on 13 December 2010 Turncoat turned into a footnote Obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald 26 Aug 2003 Oberhardt Mark 24 April 2012 Court of Appeal grants son of Senator Mal Colston fresh rights to pursue control of estate The Courier Mail Retrieved 24 March 2015 COLSTON Malcolm Arthur 1938 2003 Senator for Queensland 1976 99 Australian Labor Party Independent The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate Retrieved 21 December 2022 Further reading EditSaunders Malcolm Lloyd Neil 2010 Holding Australia to Ransom The Colston Affair 1996 2003 Queensland Review 17 1 59 74 doi 10 1017 S1321816600005262 S2CID 146497147 Parliament of AustraliaPreceded byPeter Durack Father of the Australian Senate1993 1999with Brian Harradine Succeeded byBrian Harradine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mal Colston amp oldid 1128626135, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
