William O'Connor (Australian politician)

William O'Connor
Member of the Australian Parliament
for West Sydney
In office
28 September 1946 – 10 December 1949
Preceded byJack Beasley
Succeeded byDan Minogue
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Martin
In office
10 December 1949 – 10 December 1955
Preceded byFred Daly
Succeeded bySeat abolished
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Dalley
In office
10 December 1955 – 29 September 1969
Preceded byArthur Greenup
Succeeded bySeat abolished
Personal details
Born(1910-09-29)29 September 1910
Died18 September 1987(1987-09-18) (aged 76)
NationalityAustralian
Political partyAustralian Labor Party
OccupationClerk

William Paul O'Connor (29 September 1910 – 18 September 1987) was an Australian politician. He was educated at Catholic schools before becoming a clerk, as well as an organiser of the Australian Workers' Union.

In 1946, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for West Sydney. Following that election, one of the defeated candidates for the seat, Ronald Sarina, petitioned the High Court to declare O'Connor's election void, claiming that O'Connor's adherence to the Roman Catholic faith represented allegiance to a foreign power, which would make him ineligible to be a member of parliament under Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia. Sarina's solicitor sought leave to withdraw the petition, which was granted.[1]

Following the redistribution of 1949, O'Connor transferred to Martin, which he held until 1955. In that year, Martin was abolished, and O'Connor defeated sitting Labor MP Arthur Greenup for preselection for the seat of Dalley. O'Connor held Dalley until its abolition in 1969, at which time he retired.

He died in 1987, at age 76.[2]

  1. ^ "PETITION AGAINST MR. O'CONNOR; M.P. WITHDRAWN". The Canberra Times. Vol. 21, no. 6, 138. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 10 December 1946. p. 2. Retrieved 1 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 6 June 2008.