Charles Kingston (politician)

Charles Kingston (politician)

Charles Cameron Kingston, (22 October 1850 - 11 May 1908) Australian politician, was an early liberal Premier of South Australia serving from 1893 to 1899 with the support of Labor led by John McPherson from 1893 and Lee Batchelor from 1897 in the House of Assembly, winning the 1893, 1896, and 1899 state elections against the conservatives. He was a leading proponent of and contributed extensively on the Federation of Australia, and was elected to the federal House of Representatives with the most votes amongst the seven elected in the single South Australian division at the 1901 federal election, serving under the Protectionist Party. A radical liberal in state politics, his government introduced such progressive measures as: electoral reform including the first law to give votes to women in Australia (and second in the world only to New Zealand), a legitimation Act, the first conciliation and arbitration Act in Australia, establishment of a state bank, a high protective tariff, regulation of factories, a progressive system of land and income taxation, a public works programme, and more extensive workers’ compensation.