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Ian Morton Armstrong, AM, OBE (17 July 1937 – 16 December 2020) was an Australian politician who served as Deputy Premier of New South Wales.

Early life

Armstrong attended Newington College (1949–1953).

Parliamentary career

Armstrong was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Lachlan from 19 September 1981 to March 2007. He was Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs from 1988 to 1993. From 1993 until 1995, he was Deputy Premier of New South Wales as well as Minister for Ports and Minister for Public Works.

The Coalition government was defeated at the 1995 election and Armstrong stayed on as National Party leader when the Coalition then went into Opposition.

During this term in Opposition, a motion in the Legislative Assembly to gag Armstrong was passed thanks to the casting vote delivered by Labor Speaker John Murray against him and Murray attracted criticism for using his casting vote this way.

Although Armstrong was set to lead the Nationals at the March 1999 state election, he was unexpectedly ousted by his deputy George Souris just two months beforehand. This ousting came a month after Peter Collins was deposed as Liberal leader by Kerry Chikarovski.

Armstrong's seat of Lachlan was abolished shortly before the 2007 state election. This change prompted Armstrong's decision to leave the parliament; he had no particular interest in finding another constituency to represent, and he had already been in the legislature for more than a quarter of a century.

Nevertheless, Armstrong's public life did not end in 2007. Six years later he was appointed the inaugural Chair of Central Tablelands Local Land Services.

Honours

In the 1979 New Year Honours, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Civilian Division) in recognition of his service to primary industry and was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for his service to the New South Wales Parliament and to international trade. In the Queen's Birthday Honours 2009 Armstrong was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the Parliament of New South Wales, to the agricultural and livestock sectors, and to the community.

The Ian Armstrong Building in Orange was named after Armstrong. It houses the headquarters of NSW Department of Primary Industries and offices of other state government departments. The building was officially opened and named in September 2020, a few months before Armstrong's death.

Death

His death was announced on 16 December 2020.

References

1. ^ "The Hon. Ian Morton Armstrong". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
2. Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998 (Syd, 1999) pp5
3. "The Queen's Birthday 2009 Honours List". Government House of The Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
4. "Prince Street to close for DPIE offices opening in Orange". Central Western Daily. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
5. "Shiny new headquarters opens for DPI in Orange". The Land. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
6. Ryan, Hannah (16 December 2020). "Ex-NSW deputy premier Ian Armstrong dies". 7NEWS.com.au. Retrieved 16 December 2020.

• Members of the Order of Australia
• Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire
• 1937 births
• 2020 deaths
• National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
• People educated at Newington College
• Deputy premiers of New South Wales
• 21st-century Australian politicians