Johnson was elected for the
Australian Labor Party as the first member for the newly created
House of Representatives seat of
Hughes at the
1955 election. He held it until his defeat at the
1966 election by
Liberal Don Dobie. However, a redistribution ahead of the
1969 election shifted most of the wealthier portions of Hughes to the newly created seat of
Cook. The reconfigured Hughes now had a notional Labor majority of eight percent, making it a fairly safe Labor seat on paper. Believing this made Hughes impossible to hold, especially with Johnson priming for a rematch, Dobie transferred to Cook. This proved prescient, as Johnson retook Hughes on a large swing while Dobie narrowly won Cook. Johnson would hold Hughes without serious difficulty until 1983. Following Labor's win at the
December 1972 election, he was appointed to the
Whitlam ministry as
Minister for Housing. In October 1973, he was appointed to the additional portfolio of
Works. In November the two portfolios were combined as Housing and Construction. In June 1975 he was moved to the
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. He lost this position as a result of the
dismissal of the Whitlam government in November 1975. He subsequently became the Opposition Whip. Labor returned to government at the
March 1983 election, but Johnson did not stand for a place in the ministry. However, he was elected
chairman of committees. He resigned from parliament in December 1983 so that he could become Australian
High Commissioner to
New Zealand. His position as High Commissioner was cut short following the serious illness of his daughter, Sally Anne Penman, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, and subsequently died in February 1988. ==Personal life==