Former Fraser Minister Dies

Kevin Newman, a minister in the Fraser Liberal Government of the 1970s, has died. Newman was the husband of Senator Jocelyn Newman, the Minister for Family and Community Services.

He was first elected to the Tasmanian seat of Bass in June 1975, winning the previously safe Labor seat in a by-election following the retirement of Lance Barnard. The huge swing to the Liberal Party, around 15%, is believed to have been influential in persuading the coalition parties to block the Whitlam Government's budget a few months later, an action that led to the dismissal of Gough Whitlam.