Charles Court - Political Career

Political Career

In 1946, Court joined the Liberal Party and stood in 1953 as one of two co-endorsed Liberal candidates in the Perth metropolitan seat of Nedlands. After distribution of preferences, he received 54% of the valid votes. He would hold this seat for just over 29 years. He became a member of the opposition until the election of a Liberal government in 1959. Sir David Brand's 12-year government was defeated at the 1971 election. In May 1972, Brand retired as opposition leader for health reasons and was replaced by Court. In 1974, the Liberal-Country Party coalition defeated John Tonkin's Labor government and Court became premier.

As minister for industrial development in the Brand government in the 1960s, Court was the architect of a number of important development initiatives in the Western Australian iron-ore industry, paving the way for the subsequent Western Australian mining boom. He was integral in transforming the state from one which as recently as the 1930s had required special assistance from the Commonwealth Grants Commission, to one which was able to generate substantial income. Court's subsequent eight-year term as premier essentially continued these initiatives and, in particular, his strong promotion of iron-ore mining in the Pilbara region and gas exploration and development on the North West Shelf.

Court was a staunch opponent of Aboriginal land rights, playing a central role in the infamous Noonkanbah land-rights dispute which marked a new low in relations between the government and Aboriginal people. The mining boom had led to hundreds of resource tenements being pegged on the Yungngora people's Noonkanbah pastoral station in the Kimberley, but an anthropological report found the whole area had spiritual significance for the community. Court was adamant that the exploration should go ahead regardless—and a convoy of 45 drilling rigs and trucks left Perth,manned by non-union drivers and protected by hundreds of police, on 7 August 1980. Violent confrontations between police and Noonkanbah protesters ensued, culminating in the drilling rigs forcing their way through community picket lines and on to sacred land. The saga has been seen by some commentators as the defining issue of Court’s final, unfinished term in office, and a problematic political legacy.

Court was also renowned for his anti-centralist views, being a staunch defender of states' rights against perceived encroaching federal government powers, but also for his support of the Australian flag and the Australian Monarchy. In his maiden speech to parliament in 1953 he referred to a centralist government as "leviathan". Despite his pro-union upbringing, as Premier he was vehemently opposed to labor unions, supporting legislation which prevented gatherings of more than three people in public without police permission in an attempt to prevent the holding of illegal union meetings.

In 1976 Court controversially attempted to close the Tresillian Centre for mentally ill children in his blue-ribbon electorate of Nedlands, after complaints from neighbours. The affair prompted a public outcry which led to the resignation of parliamentary secretary Ray Young, and Court eventually backed down. However, the children were ultimately forced to move to Forrestfield and the centre was sold to the Nedlands Council.

A cause of even greater controversy was Court's decision to close the Perth-Fremantle railway service in 1980. His stated rationale was that buses would do the job better, being cheaper and more flexible. However, it soon emerged that the government intended to build a freeway on part of the rail reserve. A public protest group, 'Friends of the Railways', campaigned against the closure in the period before the 1983 election contributing to the defeat of the Liberal government and the immediate reinstatement of the rail service by the succeeding Burke Labor government.

As Premier, Court demonstrated a commitment to arts and culture in Western Australia, overseeing the inauguration of Murdoch University, the restoration of His Majesty's Theatre and the opening of the Art Gallery of Western Australia in 1979 as part of the new Perth Cultural Centre. Court was premier at the time of the state's 150th anniversary celebrations in 1979—commonly known as WAY '79.

In 1982, he resigned from parliament and was succeeded as premier by his deputy, Ray O'Connor. A few months later, his son Richard succeeded him as the member for Nedlands. The younger Court would become premier himself, from 1993 to 2001.