Political Career
In 1967, Houghton ran for the Victorian Legislative Council, obtaining a seat in the new Templestowe Province. He served on the Council for fifteen years, and in that time was Minister for Social Welfare (1973); Health (1976–1979); and, from 1980 to 1985, the portfolios of Conservation, Lands, and Soldier Settlement. He was also Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet before moving onto Social Welfare.
Today, Houghton is best-remembered for his work cleaning up HM Prison Pentridge and the Yarra River. As Minister for Social Welfare, he successfully worked to abolish "C" division of the gaol, which at the time was known as the "Hell division". He told reporters at the time, "Prisoners are not rough, tough hooligans. Most of the occupants of prison are inadequate, pitiful people." In 1980 he was appointed chairman of a parliamentary committee to investigate pollution in the Yarra River and the possible cleanup of what he described as the "depressed, ramshackle buildings" along the southern bank of the river. As a result of his work, the Victorian Government spent six million Australian dollar cleaning up the area.
Read more about this topic: Vasey Houghton
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or career:
“We in the South were ready for reconciliation, to be accepted as equals, to rejoin the mainstream of American political life. This yearning for what might be called political redemption was a significant factor in my successful campaign.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“The 19-year-old Diana ... decided to make her career that of wife. Today that can be a very, very iffy line of work.... And what sometimes happens to the women who pursue it is the best argument imaginable for teaching girls that they should always be able to take care of themselves.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)