Allan Guy

The Honourable Allan Guy CBE
Member of the Australian Parliament for Bass
In office 12 October 1929 – 15 September 1934
Preceded by	Syd Jackson
Succeeded by	Claude Barnard
Member of the Australian Parliament for Wilmot
In office 21 September 1940 – 28 September 1946
Preceded by	Lancelot Spurr
Succeeded by	Gil Duthie
Senator for Tasmania
In office 10 December 1949 – 30 June 1956
Personal details
Born	30 November 1890 Launceston, Tasmania
Died	16 December 1979 (aged 89)
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Labor (1929–31) UAP (1931–44) Liberal (1944–56)
Relations	James Guy (father)

James Allan Guy, CBE (30 November 1890 – 16 December 1979) was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party in both the Tasmanian House of Assembly and the Federal House of Representatives, before leaving to represent the United Australia Party and then the Liberal Party of Australia in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. His father, James Guy, had also been a Senator.

Guy was elected to the Division of Bass in the Tasmanian House of Assembly in 1916 and was part of Joseph Lyons' cabinet when Labor came to power in 1923. He served as Chief Secretary (1923–28), Minister for Mines (1923–24), Minister for Railways (1924–28), Acting Premier from July to December 1926, then Deputy Premier until Labor was defeated in 1928. He became Deputy Leader of the Opposition and remained in the Tasmanian parliament until 1929.

In 1929 he contested and won the Federal Division of Bass for Labor and joined James Scullin's government. In 1931 he joined Joseph Lyons, James Fenton and two other Labor members in forming the United Australia Party along with the Nationalist Party of Australia opposition, which came to office in December with Lyons as prime minister. In 1932 Lyons rewarded him for his loyalty by appointing him assistant Minister for Trade and Customs. One of Guy's responsibilities was to defend film-censorship provisions which he described as 'both necessary and admirable', for, without them, 'all sorts of puerile and undesirable films could be displayed, to the detriment, not only of our civilization, but of the Christian religion'.^[1]

After losing his seat in the 1934 election, Guy contested it unsuccessfully in 1937, and then the Division of Wilmot unsuccessfully in 1939, before winning it in 1940. He represented Wilmot for the UAP until 1944 and for the Liberal Party until 1946.

In 1949 he was elected to the Australian Senate as a Liberal, where he remained until being defeated in the 1956 election.

He was awarded a CBE in 1968 for services to "Parliament and the community."^[2]

References

1. "Guy, James Allan (1890–1979) Biographical Entry - Australian Dictionary of Biography Online". Adb.online.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
2. "It's an Honour". Retrieved 2009-08-28.

Bibliography

• Australian Dictionary of Biography biography