Kep Enderby

The Honourable Kep Enderby QC
Attorney-General for Australia
In office 10 February 1975 – 11 November 1975
Prime Minister	Gough Whitlam
Preceded by	Lionel Murphy
Succeeded by	Ivor Greenwood
Minister for Manufacturing Industry
In office 9 October 1973 – 10 February 1975
Prime Minister	Gough Whitlam
Preceded by	Dr Jim Cairns
Succeeded by	Jim McClelland
Minister for the Capital Territory
In office 19 December 1972 – 9 October 1973
Prime Minister	Gough Whitlam
Preceded by	office established
Succeeded by	Gordon Bryant
Member of theAustralian Parliament forAustralian Capital Territory
In office 30 May 1970 – 18 May 1974
Preceded by	Jim Fraser
Succeeded by	Division abolished
Member of theAustralian Parliament forCanberra
In office 18 May 1974 – 13 December 1975
Preceded by	New seat
Succeeded by	John Haslem
Personal details
Born	(1926-06-25)25 June 1926 Dubbo,Australia
Died	7 January 2015(2015-01-07)(aged 88)
Political party	Labor
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Occupation	Barrister

Keppel Earl EnderbyQC(25 June 1926 – 7 January 2015)was an Australian politician and judge. Enderby was a member of theHouse of Representatives,representing theAustralian Labor Partybetween 1970 and 1975 and became a seniorcabinetminister in theGough Whitlamgovernment. After politics, he was appointed a Justice of theSupreme Court of New South Wales.

Early years

Enderby was born inDubbo,New South Wales and educated at Dubbo High School. His parents were milk-bar proprietors.He was a trainee pilot in theRoyal Australian Air Forcein 1944 and 1945. He studied law at theUniversity of Sydneyfrom 1946 to 1950 and was admitted to the New South Wales bar in 1950. He was a successful amateur golfer. He won the 1946New South Wales Amateur Championshipbeating defending championAlan Watersonin the semi-final andJohn Allertonin the final.He represented New South Wales in theAustralian Men's Interstate Teams Matchesin 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949.From 1950 to 1954, he worked as abarristerin London and studied at theUniversity of London.He also played golf in the BritishAmateurandOpenchampionships in 1951 and 1952.

He returned to New South Wales in 1955 and practised law and lectured atSydney Technical College.Enderby was active with Ken Buckley in the foundation of theNew South Wales Council for Civil Libertiesin the 1950s and 1960s.In 1962, he became a lecturer in law at theAustralian National UniversityinCanberra.In 1966, he began practising law in Canberra while continuing to teach part-time. He was appointed aQueen's Counsel(QC) in 1973.

Political career

In 1970, Enderby gainedAustralian Labor Party(ALP) pre-selection for theDivision of Australian Capital Territory(ACT) and was subsequently elected to theHouse of Representativesat aby-electionfollowingJim Fraser's death in April 1970. As the Federal member for the ACT, Kep Enderby was involved in Parliamentary debate over the1971 Canberra flood.FollowingWhitlam's victory at the1972 election,Enderby was appointed as the firstMinister for the Capital Territoryand the firstMinister for the Northern Territoryin theDecember 1972 ministry,replacing the former portfolio of theInterior.In October 1973, he lost these posts, partly because his ACT portfolio made him responsible for implementing policies that were unpopular in his electorate. Instead, he becameMinister for Secondary IndustryandMinister for Supply.Enderby became the last Minister for Supply—a portfolio which had been established at the beginning of World War II and included responsibility for government munitions factories—when Supply and Secondary Industry were merged into theManufacturing Industryportfolio in theJune 1974 ministry.It was during this time that he made what has become his most famous utterance: "Traditionally, Australia obtains its imports from overseas."

In February 1975, followingLionel Murphy's appointment to theHigh Court of Australia,Enderby becameAttorney-GeneralandMinister for Customs and Excise.One of his first actions was to introduce a bill to decriminalizeabortionand homosexuality in the Australian Capital Territory.The Customs and Excise portfolio was renamed Police and Customs in March 1975, reflecting the government's decision to establish theAustralia Police.The Police and Customs portfolio was reassigned toJim Cavanaghin June 1975.

Enderby was elected to the new seat ofCanberraat the1974 election,but was one of many Labor members to lose their seats in the landslide1975 electiondefeat that followed thedismissal of the Whitlam Government.

After politics

Enderby moved to Sydney and returned to the bar, where he practised as a barrister. From 1982 until his retirement in 1992, he was a judge of theSupreme Court of New South Wales. In 1997, he was appointed head of the Serious Offenders Review Council, during which time he said that up to 80 per cent of the nation's prisoners should not be behind bars. In June 2000, the NSW Government decided not to re-appoint him when his term expired, but said the move was not related to his outspoken views.

Enderby held a number of community positions throughout his career, including presiding over the regional society forvoluntary euthanasia.Additionally, after learningEsperantoin 1987, Enderby became involved in Esperanto organisations, including serving as President of theAustralian Esperanto Associationfrom 1992 to 1997,as a committee member of theWorld Esperanto Associationfrom 1992 to 2004, as President of theEsperanto Law Associationfrom 1996 to 2002 and from 1998 to 2001 asPresident of the World Esperanto Association.

External links

In Esperanto

• Ĉu zamenhofa maljusteco?(An injustice to Zamenhof?)
• Kep Enderby forpasis(Kep Enderby is dead, onLibera Folio)

In English

• Barriers to Reform – The Politics of Opposition,speech in theJohn CurtinMemorial, 1975