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Revision as of 02:38, 17 November 2004 by Formeruser-81 (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)King O'Malley (July 2 1858 - 1953) was an Australian politican and a proponent of founding a national bank.
O'Malley arrived in Australia from the United States around 1888. It is unknown why he left the US, his opponents alleged a financial scandal but this was never proven.
O'Malley denied he was an American citizen, claimed to have been born in Canada and therefore a British subject eligible to sit in the Australian parliament though he never produced a birth certificate to prove his claim and neither his marriage certificate nor his death certificate state a date of birth.
His uncle, Edward O'Malley, owned a small bank in New York City. O'Malley learned banking and became an insurance salesman. He also created his own church in order to entitle himself to a land grant.
He entered Australian politics joining the new Australian Labor Party and was elected to the the first Australian Parliament in 1901
He served as Minister of Home Affairs prior to World War I and urged the establishment of a national capital. He also favoured the creation of a national bank and succeeded in 1908 in having the idea included in the Australian Labor Party's "non-negotiable platform. In 1911 he succeeded in having a bill to establish the Commonwealth Bank pushed through parliament. I n a speech in federal Parliament on his proposed national bank on Sept. 30, 1909, O'Malley emphasized, "The private banking system of the Commonwealth is only a legalized monopoly for the gathering of wealth from the many, and its concentration in the hands of the privileged few... We are legislating for the countless multitudes of future generations. We are in favour of protecting, not only the manufacturer, but also the man who works for him. We wish to protect the oppressed and downtrodden of the earth." The Hamiltonian system should be counterposed to this, he said, adding, "I am the Hamilton of Australia. He was the greatest financial man who ever walked this earth, and his plans have never been improved upon. The American experience should determine us to establish a national banking system which cannot be attacked."
His other contribution to the ALP was its spelling of labour as "labor". O'Malley was an enthusiast for spelling reform and convinced the party that a simplified spelling of labor was the way of the future.
O'Malley was an opponent of conscription and resigned from the Cabinet of Billy Hughes in 1916 to protest its implementation.
He returned to politics in 1939 to launch the ‘Save The Commonwealth Bank Campaign’ when he felt the existence of the insitution was in danger.
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