Alan Brown (Australian politician)

{{Short description|Australian politician}}

{{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable

| name = Alan Brown

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|AM}}

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| office = Minister for (Public) Transport

| term_start = 6 October 1992

| term_end = 31 December 1996

| premier = Jeff Kennett

| predecessor = Peter Spyker

| successor = Robin Cooper

| office1 = Leader of the Opposition (Victoria)

| term_start1 = 23 May 1989

| term_end1 = 23 April 1991

| predecessor1= Jeff Kennett

| successor1 = Jeff Kennett

| constituency_AM2 = Gippsland West

| assembly2 = Victorian Legislative

| term_start2 = 2 March 1985

| term_end2 = 31 December 1996

| predecessor2 = Seat created

| successor2 = Susan Davies

| constituency_AM3 = Westernport

| assembly3 = Victorian Legislative

| predecessor3 = Doug Jennings

| successor3 = Seat abolished

| term_start3 = 5 May 1979

| term_end3 = 1 March 1985

| birth_name = Alan John Brown

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1946|1|25}}

| birth_place = Wonthaggi, Victoria, Australia

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = Australian

| party = Liberal Party

| spouse = Paula McBurnie

| occupation = Carpenter and joiner

}}

Alan John Brown {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} (born 25 January 1946) is an Australian former politician who served as a Liberal member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, and Leader of the Opposition from 1989 to 1991.

A local businessman before entering politics, Brown entered the Legislative Assembly at the 1979 election as the Liberal member for Westernport, in western Gippsland, easily defeating Doug Jennings who had been expelled from the Liberal Party in 1977.Green, Antony: [http://www.abc.net.au/elections/vic/2006/guide/bass.htm ABC Elections Victoria 2006: Bass (Key Seat)], Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 22 November 2006. He would hold this seat, renamed Gippsland West, until his retirement from politics in 1996.

Brown served on the backbench during the Hamer and Thompson governments. After the Liberals lost government at the 1982 election Brown was promoted to the shadow ministry where he served as Shadow Minister for Youth, Sport and Education, Shadow Minister for Housing and Aboriginal Affairs and Shadow Minister of Transport under the leadership of Jeff Kennett. However, after the Liberals were narrowly defeated at the 1988 election many Liberals became unhappy with Kennett's leadership. Soon after the election, Kennett was deposed in a party room coup, and Brown was elected to succeed him.

While Brown failed to take full advantage of the various crises involving the Labor government, he did successfully negotiate a Coalition agreement with the Nationals with whom relations were traditionally poor in Victoria.[http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/re-member/bioregfull.cfm?mid=928 Brown, Alan John], re-member (Parliament of Victoria). The Liberals had come up five seats short of winning the 1988 election, and it was thought that they would have won if not for a number of three-cornered contests in rural areas.

In 1991, Kennett's followers, with Kennett's tacit support, organised a party room coup against Brown. When the spill motion carried, Brown opted not to recontest, allowing Kennett to retake the leadership unopposed. As a concession to Brown, Kennett kept him on the frontbench.

After the Liberals were returned to power after the 1992 election Brown served as Minister for Public Transport. In late 1996 the Kennett Government appointed him as Agent General for Victoria. The resulting by-election in his then-safe seat of Gippsland West was won by independent candidate Susan Davies who would go on to play a decisive role in defeating the Kennett government.

Brown remains prominent in his local community and unsuccessfully ran for the Bass Coast Shire Council (Hovell Ward) in 2012.{{citation|url=http://thestar.com.au/?p=3706|title=Alan Brown seeks to overhaul council|date=7 June 2012|accessdate=24 September 2013}}{{citation|url=http://thestar.com.au/?p=5395|title=Axe falls in Bass Coast|author=Simone Short|date=30 October 2012|accessdate=24 September 2013}}