Peter Cox (politician)

Peter Francis Cox AO (4 December 1925 – 6 October 2008)^[1] was an Australian politician.

Early life

Cox was born in Bathurst, New South Wales, and educated at Marist Brothers College in the Sydney suburb of Lidcombe. His father, Edwin, was a plumber with the NSW railways. Ben Chifley, the future prime minister, helped the Cox family. After leaving school, Peter became a public servant, working for the Department of Motor Transport in 1942. From 1943 until 1945 he was a member of the Second Australian Imperial Force and served in the Borneo campaign.^[1][2]

Political career

In 1949 Cox joined the Australian Labor Party. He won preselection for the New South Wales state seat of Auburn at 39 and entered the Legislative Assembly at the 1965 election, when Labor, then led by Jack Renshaw, lost power.

Cox became the opposition transport spokesman in 1968 and was noted for his catchphrases. Once Labor was returned to office in May 1976, the new Premier Neville Wran appointed Cox Minister for Transport; as a result, Cox ranked third in terms of cabinet seniority.

In a cabinet reshuffle in 1984, Cox heard from the media that he had been demoted to 13th in the cabinet, as Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy. Peter Cox, was however, not discouraged by this and went on to successfully manage this portfolio and also Public Works^[3] He did not contest the 1988 election.^[2]

He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1988 "in recognition of service to the NSW parliament".^[4] Among his other honours was that of a papal knighthood. He was survived by wife, Olive, and five children.

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