Premiership
As both Premier and Treasurer, Forgan Smith's immediate problem was the depression. As with other Governments throughout the world at this time, there was great pressure to try to improve the economy and reduce unemployment. He continued to follow the principles of the Premier's Plan, although he insisted that the Government fulfill its contractual obligations. His greatest concern was unemployment, and he moved to implement something akin to the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, although he predated Roosevelt by some nine months. Like Roosevelt, his policies were similar to the economic theory of John Maynard Keynes.
Smith was willing to raise taxes, especially on the wealthy and on corporations, in order to fund unemployment relief programs. He was successful in raising revenue from £5.6 million in 1932-33 to £8.6 million in 1938-39, although in the process he turned Queensland into Australia's highest taxing state. The Commonwealth Bank also paid Queensland £920,000 as part of a program to aid the states. This money was put towards coupons and relief work.
Like most Queensland Premiers, Forgan Smith was an advocate of development. As such, he could put the relief work programs to good use building infrastructure and undertaking other capital works projects. He embarked on a number of ambitious ones, including the Storey Bridge, an upgrade of Mackay Harbour, the Somerset Dam (which was not completed until after the end of his premiership) and a new building for the University of Queensland at St. Lucia that now bears his name. The relief work program was unsound over the long term, and was meant as a stop-gap measure. In some cases, local authorities took advantage of it, while in other cases, communities became dependent on it. For example, at one stage half of the workers of Coolangatta on the Gold Coast were on relief work. In 1938 relief work was abolished in favour of a permanent, long-term capital works program.
The weekly payments received by relief workers were raised to the level of the basic wage (a measure financed by a graduated income tax), while a major public works programme was initiated which boosted job opportunities and provided the state which major constructions of lasting worth. When minister of Agriculture in 1926, Smith had established a faculty of Agriculture at the University of Queensland. As premier, new faculties were established at the same university in Dentistry, Veterinary Science, and Medicine. As noted by Ross McMullin, the establishment of these new faculties “was part of the co-ordinated development of the university and Queensland’s health services.” In 1938, Smith claimed that Queensland enjoyed ‘the highest wage system, the best conditions of labour and the lowest unemployment’ in the country.'
Forgan Smith was also a typical Queensland Premier in that he was criticised for being authoritarian and dictatorial. He used his strong and forceful personality to dominate Cabinet and the QCE, and his government passed a number of controversial pieces of legislation. He added clauses to the 1936 Racing Bill which made it harder for reporters to find out and divulge information about proposed legislation, which drew heavy criticism from the press. The 1940 Public Safety Bill gave the government vast powers during wartime. The most authoritarian, though, was probably the Transport Act of 1938, which allowed the Government to declare ‘State of Emergency’ in any part or all of the state for any time for any reason.
In such a case, the government's actions were effectively beyond legal challenge. In Forgan Smith's defence, these laws were more or less in line with similar ones passed in other jurisdictions (for example, the Official Secrets Act in the United Kingdom). Also, Forgan Smith never declared a State of Emergency himself – it would fall to later Premiers to take advantage of that power. He would regularly consult with his Ministers to reach a decision, and while he could be heavy-handed he was not an absolute ruler.
Forgan Smith, like most Queensland Premiers, was a defender of states’ rights. For example, he opposed the Uniform Tax Plan of 1942, even though it was a Federal Labor Government which was proposing it. Many people expected him to make a move to federal politics himself, just as Ted Theodore had done. However, he seemed satisfied with his secure position in Queensland.
The first Queensland Premier to make wide use of radio, Forgan Smith was an effective speaker, and he made a good impression on many of those who listened to him. Radio allowed him to reach a wider audience than he could otherwise have done, and he also travelled throughout the state, especially to turn the first sod on a new capital works project. Though somewhat dour, he became respected and genuinely popular. Confronted by a weak and divided opposition, he won substantial victories not only in 1932 but also in 1935, 1938 and 1941. Facing little opposition from within his own Government, he was able to retire of his own volition from the premiership on 16 September 1942. On 9 November he resigned from Parliament, and was able to pursue his other interests – sugar and education. He became a member and then chairman of the Sugar Board following his resignation, and then became the Chancellor of the University of Queensland in 1944. He remained there until his death, in Sydney, in 1953.
A pragmatic and hard-working politician who rose, step by step, through careful planning, Smith was not dogmatic, nor did he do anything spectacular, preferring to busy himself with day-to-day administration. He claimed to be a socialist, although he was an ardent critic of communism. His populism, interests in education and state development and dominance of politics throughout his time in office occasionally invite comparisons with Peter Beattie.
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