Lynn Arnold

The Hon. Rev. Dr Lynn Maurice Ferguson Arnold, AO (born 27 January 1949) is an Anglican priest and a former Australian politician who represented the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party, serving as Premier of South Australia between 4 September 1992 and 14 December 1993 at the end of 11 years of Labor government resulting from the 1993 election landslide.

After leaving politics, Arnold worked for World Vision from 1997 to 2007, and for Anglicare SA since March 2008. In November 2013 he was ordained a deacon in the Anglican Church. In December 2014 he was ordained priest in St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide.

Political career

Entering in Parliament as member for Salisbury on 15 September 1979,^[1] he became a Minister with the election of the John Bannon Labor Government in 1982. He served as Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Agriculture and State Development. Arnold held the seat of Salisbury until it was abolished on 6 December 1985, he then represented Ramsay from 7 December 1985 to 11 December 1993.^[1][2]

Arnold was elected Labor leader and Premier of South Australia upon the resignation of John Bannon, after the $3.1 billion collapse of the State Bank of South Australia. However, this did not appease the simmering voter anger against Labor. A warning sign came at the 1993 federal election, which saw two of Labor's longest-standing federal strongholds fall to the Liberals. Hindmarsh was taken by a non-Labor member for only the second time ever after being in Labor hands since 1919, while Grey was taken by the conservatives for only the second time in 50 years.

Arnold waited as long as he could, finally calling an election for 11 December. At that election, the 11-year Labor government was swept out in a massive landslide by the Liberal Party led by Dean Brown. Labor suffered a 14-seat swing and was knocked down to only 39 percent of the two-party vote. This was mainly because Labor was decimated in its longtime stronghold of Adelaide, losing all but nine seats in the capital. One of them belonged to Arnold himself, who was elected in the newly created seat of Taylor.

Most commentators do not blame Arnold for the landslide, and believe Labor would have been heavily defeated regardless of the specific leader chosen. Almost a year after the election, Arnold resigned as Labor leader, and left politics. He was succeeded as Labor leader by his deputy, Mike Rann. His resignation sparked a by-election for Taylor on 5 November 1994, in which Trish White retained the seat for Labor.

Life after politics

In August 2003 Lynn Arnold received a Ph.D. in sociolinguistics from the University of Adelaide (Graduate School of Education). In his doctoral thesis he drew a number of conclusions that were all based upon the study of the language of Asturianu (also known as Bable), spoken in the northern Spanish province known as the Principau d’Asturies.^[3][4]

Dr Arnold was Chief Executive of the humanitarian organisation World Vision Australia from 1997 until 2003. In 2003 he was appointed Regional Vice President of World Vision International for the Asia Pacific Region,^[5] based in Bangkok, Thailand. In October 2006 he was appointed Senior Director (Board Development & Peer Review) for World Vision International, heading a team assisting World Vision boards and advisory councils in the development of their governance capacity and also for administering Peer Review programs in World Vision partnerships.

On 8 December 2007 the Anglican Archbishop of Adelaide, the Most Revd Jeffrey Driver, announced Dr Arnold's appointment as Chief Executive of Anglicare SA.^[6] He was in this role from 18 March 2008.^[7] to 30 June 2012, after which date he was exploring ordination to the Anglican priesthood.^[8] He was succeeded at Anglicare SA by the Reverend Peter Sandeman.^[9] He was ordained deacon in Adelaide in November 2013.^[10]

In December 2014 Lynn Arnold was ordained priest by the Archbishop of Adelaide. He is currently serving as Assistant Priest at St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide.^[11]

References

External links

• Parliamentary Profile: SA Parliament website
• Lingua Nullius: A Retrospect and Prospect about Australia's First Languages (Mp3 Audio), Lowitja O'Donoghue Oration 2016, 31 May 2016
• Lingua Nullius: A Retrospect and Prospect about Australia's First Languages (Transcript), Lowitja O'Donoghue Oration 2016, 31 May 2016

Premiers of South Australia
B. T. Finniss John Baker Robert Torrens Richard Hanson Thomas Reynolds George Waterhouse Francis Dutton Henry Ayers Arthur Blyth Francis Dutton Henry Ayers John Hart James Boucaut Henry Ayers John Hart Henry Ayers Henry Strangways John Hart Arthur Blyth Henry Ayers Arthur Blyth James Boucaut John Colton James Boucaut William Morgan John Cox Bray John Colton John Downer Thomas Playford II John Cockburn Thomas Playford II Frederick Holder John Downer Charles Kingston Vaiben Solomon Frederick Holder John Jenkins R. Butler Thomas Price Archibald Peake John Verran Archibald Peake Crawford Vaughan Archibald Peake Henry Barwell John Gunn Lionel Hill R.L. Butler Lionel Hill Robert Richards R.L. Butler Thomas Playford IV Frank Walsh Don Dunstan Steele Hall Don Dunstan Des Corcoran David Tonkin John Bannon Lynn Arnold Dean Brown John Olsen Rob Kerin Mike Rann Jay Weatherill