Roger Nott

Roger Bede Nott (20 October 1908 – 28 September 2000) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1941 until 1961. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (NSW) and held numerous ministerial positions between 1954 and 1961. He was the Administrator of the Northern Territory between 1961 and 1964.

Early life

Nott was born at Gulgong, New South Wales and was the son of a farmer. Leo Nott a member of the Legislative Assembly between 1953 and 1963 was his brother. He was educated to elementary level at Gulgong Primary School and initially worked as a shearer and farm hand. He later became a wheat farmer at Dunedoo.

State Parliament

Nott was elected to the parliament as the Labor member for Liverpool Plains at the 1941 state election. He replaced the Country Party member Harry Carter and defeated the Country Party candidate Alfred Yeo who had been the member for Castlereagh. Liverpool Plains was one of a number of rural seats that Labor won at the 1941 election and these victories contributed to the formation of the Labor government of William McKell. Nott retained the seat at the next 6 elections but controversially resigned in 1961 to accept an appointment from the Federal government as the Administrator of the Northern Territory. This position was often a sinecure for retiring members of the ruling party but the government of Robert Menzies offered it to Nott to force his resignation from parliament and cause a by-election. The Country Party's Frank O'Keefe, who had been an unsuccessful candidate at four previous elections and a rising star for the party, was successful. Nott was the unsuccessful candidate at the 1970 Upper Hunter by-election caused by Frank O'Keefe's transfer to the federal seat of Paterson.

Government

Nott was a member of the governments of Joseph Cahill and Robert Heffron. He was appointed as a Minister without Portfolio in 1954 and between 1956 and 1957 was the Secretary for Lands and Secretary for Mines. From 1957 until his retirement he was the Minister for Agriculture.^[1]

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