John Scaddan

John Scaddan, CMG (4 August 1876 – 21 November 1934), popularly known as "Happy Jack", was Premier of Western Australia from 7 October 1911 until 27 July 1916.

John Scaddan was born in Moonta, South Australia, into a Cornish Australian family. He was educated at the state schools in Woodside and Eaglehawk, Victoria, Australia. From the age of thirteen he worked in the mines at Eaglehawk, while continuing his schooling part-time at the Bendigo School of Mines and Industries. He worked in the area until 1896, when he came to Western Australia, probably as part of the gold rush to the Kalgoorlie goldfields. Scaddan initially worked underground as a miner, but after gaining his engine-driver's certificate, he operated a stationary engine at the pit head. In 1900, Scaddan married Elizabeth Fauckner (or Fawkner) in Boulder, who died from Bright's disease on 21 September 1902, and in 1904 he married Henrietta Edwards.

Scaddan became a keen unionist, and on 28 June 1904 he contested the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Ivanhoe, partly because he was having difficulty securing continuous employment, and partly also because of an interest in economic affairs. He easily won the seat for the Labor Party, but was not invited to be a minister in Henry Daglish's 1904-05 government. This would later be to his advantage, as a number of his rivals within the Labor party suffered from their association with the unsuccessful Daglish ministry.

Scaddan was re-elected unopposed in the election of October 1905, and for the next four years served as party secretary. On the retirement of party leader Thomas Bath in August 1910, Scaddan became leader of the Labor Party, and thus also Leader of the Opposition. In the election of October 1911, Labor campaigned on a wide-ranging and radical platform. Scaddan easily won his seat, which had been renamed Brown Hill-Ivanhoe after a redistribution. The Labor party won an overwhelming majority, and on 7 October 1911 Scaddan became Premier of Western Australia. At just 35 years of age, he remains the youngest ever premier of Western Australia.

Scaddan led a vigorous, radical, reforming government. In 1911, it passed the Workers' Homes Act, which made it easier for lowly paid workers to own their homes. In 1912, the jurisdiction of the Arbitration Court was expanded; Thomas Walker was Minister for Justice and Education, and Attorney General. Workers' compensation provisions were greatly extended. The government also spent heavily on development of the Wheatbelt, especially in the construction of railways. Railway construction was increased, while farmers settling in the eastern wheat belt were provided with assistance in the form of liberalized lending arrangements, technical expertise, and new railways to transport the greatly increased production that took place as a result. Workers were also helped by extensions to the arbitration system. In addition, land taxation was increased, a graduated income tax was introduced, and considerable reforms were carried out in the fields of divorce, criminal law, irrigation, and education.

Scaddan's government is perhaps most remembered for its policy of setting up state owned enterprises, termed state socialism by Scaddan, although it was not really state socialism. Scaddan's government became involved in numerous industries: it established a state shipping service; started a dairy farm at Claremont and a sawmill at Manjimup; reopened a quarry at Boya; set up a brickworks and an agricultural implement works; took over the South Perth ferries and Perth's trams; started up abattoirs; and even purchased hotels.

To help finance its policies, Scaddan's government introduced an income tax in 1912, and this was greatly increased after World War I broke out. It also borrowed heavily, and state debt increased as much in Scaddan's five years as it had in the previous 13 years.

Scaddan's many reforms were achieved despite constant obstruction from the Legislative Council. The government won only a third of all divisions in the Legislative Council, and this is in stark contrast to treatment of the Wilson governments before and after Scaddan's government, who never lost a single bill in the upper house.