Edward John Ward (7 March 189931 July 1963) was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in federal parliament for over 30 years. He was the member for East Sydney for all but six and a half weeks from 1931 until his death in 1963. He served as a minister in the Curtin and Chifley governments from 1941 to 1949, and was also known for his role in the ALP split of 1931.
Ward was born in Sydney and left school at the age of 14; he became involved in the labour movement at a young age. He was elected to the Sydney Municipal Council in 1930, and the following year won Labor preselection for the 1931 East Sydney by-election. He was elected to the House of Representatives, but Prime Minister James Scullin refused him admission to the ALP caucus due to his support for Jack Lang. Ward and six other "Lang Labor" MPs formed a separate parliamentary party and eventually brought down Scullin's government. He lost his seat at the 1931 federal election. However, his successor John Clasby died only a month later and he re-entered parliament at the ensuing by-election, and held the seat until his death.
In 1941, Ward was elected to cabinet by the ALP caucus and appointed Minister for Labour and National Service by Prime Minister John Curtin. He had an uneasy relationship with Curtin, and his claims about the "Brisbane Line" led to a royal commission which found they were unsubstantiated. He received an effective demotion after the 1943 election, becoming Minister for Transport and External Territories. He held those offices until Labor lost power in 1949. Ward stood for the deputy leadership of the ALP on numerous occasions, and also mounted a challenge for the leadership against Herbert Evatt in 1959. He died in office in 1963, having been the longest-serving MP since 1961.
Early life
Ward was born on 21 March 1899 in Darlington, Sydney. He was the fourth child and oldest son born to Mary Ann (née Maher) and Edward James Ward; his father worked for the Sydney tramways.
By the late 1920s Ward was secretary of the ALP electorate council for the federal seat of West Sydney, with Jack Beasley as president. Following the death in office of the incumbent ALP member William Lambert in 1928, Ward led the successful efforts to secure Beasley's preselection as Lambert's successor. He subsequently served as campaign director for Beasley at the 1928 federal election.
In 1930, Ward was elected to the Sydney City Council as the alderman for Flinders Ward. He served on the council's committees for works, electricity, and health. He was elected alongside Jock Garden and the two "became a powerful force in City Council affairs". During the Great Depression he was an advocate for the unemployed, establishing a relief committee and secured donations of fresh fruit and vegetables from the Sydney Markets. He also helped establish a co-operative bakery in Surry Hills to provide cheaper bread for the unemployed.
Parliament
First years in parliament
thumb|right|upright|Ward c. 1931
Ward was first elected to the House of Representatives at the 1931 East Sydney by-election in the midst of the Great Depression and the rise to prominence of NSW's Labor Premier Jack Lang, whose policies for dealing with the depression were considered radically left wing. Ward was a Lang supporter and gained notoriety soon after his election when Prime Minister and ALP leader James Scullin refused to allow Ward into the ALP caucus. In response, Ward joined Jack Beasley and three other Lang supporters in forming the "Australian Labor Party (NSW)", popularly known as "Lang Labor". Eight months later, Ward and the other Lang Labor members voted with the opposition on a no-confidence motion to bring down the Scullin government.
Ward lost his seat later that year to the United Australia Party at the federal election. The Labor vote was split between Ward and official ALP candidate George Buckland. On the second count, just over half of Buckland's preferences flowed to UAP candidate John Clasby, allowing Clasby to win. As luck would have it, Clasby died less than a month after the election before he even took his seat in parliament. At the ensuing February 1932 by-election, Ward reclaimed the seat, again as a Lang Labor candidate.
Ward remained in Lang Labor until 1936, when he returned to the ALP. Nevertheless, he would continue to have a prickly relationship with many of his Labor colleagues for the rest of his life.
thumb|left|Ward with [[Jock Garden, c. 1935]]
One such issue that set Ward apart from his parliamentary colleagues was his opposition to any form of defence spending. During the 1936 budget debate, he argued that any funding earmarked for defence would be better spent on welfare and unemployment relief. In reference to a move to increase the size of the Royal Australian Navy, Ward said:
<blockquote>I wonder if such vessels are really needed for the defence of Australia, or whether they are not required for the purpose of helping other peoples defend rich possessions in other parts of the world.</blockquote>
Government minister (1941–1949)
In 1941, Ward entered the ministry of new Prime Minister John Curtin. Ward served as Minister for Labour and National Service before being moved to Minister for Transport and Minister for External Territories in 1943, considered a demotion – Curtin pointed out that "the Japs [Japanese] have got the External Territories and the Army's got the transport", leaving Ward with little to administer. Even before then, however, Ward barely concealed his hostility to Curtin; for instance, he once accused Curtin of "putting young men into the slaughterhouse, although thirty years ago you would not go into it yourself".
His highest contempt, however, was for those who he considered had betrayed the working class. He refused an invitation to a function celebrating Labor-turned-Nationalist Prime Minister Billy Hughes' 50 years in parliament, saying "I don't eat cheese", a reference to Hughes' nickname of "Billy the Rat".
He was still serving as Member for East Sydney when he died of a heart attack at St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst. Asked when he knew that his health was failing, he said it was when he "took a swing at Gough Whitlam, and missed". He was given a state funeral and buried with Catholic rites in Randwick Cemetery.