The Askin Government was sworn in by the
governor of New South Wales,
Sir Eric Woodward, on 13 May 1965 at
Government House. It was the first to be headed by the Liberal Party since the main non-Labor party in the state adopted the Liberal banner; being one of only three Liberals to win power from Labor. Askin, who served as his own
treasurer, heavily involved himself in the business of Government, while also maintaining a range of social agendas and regular outings to the racetrack or Rugby League games. One of the privileges of office was the access to a Ministerial car and personal driver, which became particularly important for Askin, who did not drive. On one occasion when Askin was supposed to drive a new
Holden from the factory assembly line during a visit, Askin arranged for his driver, Russ Ferguson, to be hidden on the car floor working the controls while Askin held the wheel. Askin's government was marked by strong opposition to an increase in Commonwealth powers, a tough stance on "law and order" issues, laissez-faire economic policies, and aggressive support for industrial and commercial development. At his first Cabinet meeting, Askin restored direct air services between Sydney and Dubbo, and required
Jørn Utzon, the Danish architect then working on the
Sydney Opera House, to provide a final price and completion date for the Opera House, which had gone past the original estimates for both. His Public Works Minister
Davis Hughes began to assert control over the project and demanded that costs be reined in. This brought him into direct conflict with Utzon and in February 1966, after a bitter standoff and the suspension of progress payments by Hughes, Utzon resigned, sparking a major public outcry. The Sydney metropolitan area at the time was marked by increasing strains on state infrastructure and Askin's Government's pro-development stance was largely attributed as an attempt to alleviate these problems. Despite this, the newly established State Planning Authority were continuously criticised for not being totally accountable to the public, particularly as the pro-business Sydney Commissioners worked side by side with the Planning authority to increase developments in the Sydney CBD to their highest levels ever, embodied by the construction of the
MLC Centre, the demolition of the
Theatre Royal, Sydney and the
Australia Hotel.
Second term At the
24 February 1968 election, Askin increased his previously tenuous majority, scoring a six-seat swing against Labor's Renshaw and an overall majority of 12 over the Labor Party and the two Independents. Askin retained his seat with 70.97%. It was the first time since the
UAP/Country Coalition won three consecutive elections from 1932 to 1938 that a non-Labor government in New South Wales had been reelected. In mid-1968 Askin famously became embroiled in a media controversy over the reporting of several words spoken to the
United States Chamber of Commerce lunch in Sydney on 23 July 1968 (also the day Opposition Leader Renshaw resigned, to be replaced by
Pat Hills), in which he spoke of the October 1966 state visit by United States president
Lyndon B. Johnson. Askin had joined Prime Minister
Harold Holt, President Johnson and the American ambassador,
Ed Clark, in a drive through the Sydney CBD. As Johnson's motorcade drove into
Liverpool Street, several anti-
Vietnam War protesters, including
Graeme Dunstan, threw themselves in front of the car carrying them. As Askin later recalled, a police officer had informed him that some communists were obstructing the route. Askin claimed he had instructed the officer to drag them off. As the car moved on, he then said to Johnson "half-jocularly": "what I ought to have told him was to ride over them", to which Johnson replied "a man after my own heart". At the subsequent luncheon, Askin instead reported that he had said the remark to the police officer, which a journalist attending the event later reported it as "Run over the bastards."
Federal relations at the Premier's Conference on 4 February 1971. The two were never close. As Treasurer, Askin focused on the state budget and on
Commonwealth-State financial relations. His attitude towards the Commonwealth and the Federal Government was shaped by his first premiers' conference in 1965 when Prime Minister Menzies negotiated with the Victorian premier
Henry Bolte to achieve an extra grant of funds for Victoria at the expense of the other states and closed the conference before the other Premiers could object. At subsequent premiers' conferences he opposed the 'centralising' tendencies of Canberra and became a strong advocate of the rights of the states. With
John Gorton becoming prime minister after Holt's death, Askin came into conflict with the Commonwealth Government over Gorton's determination to maintain federal command over taxation and in June 1968 declared that he could veto any form of state taxation. In late 1969, Askin, with Bolte, organised an 'emergency' premiers' conference, without Gorton, to publicise the disadvantages of the States, a move that was partly responsible for the party deposition of Gorton in 1971. Later that year, taking advantage of unease at the increasingly erratic Labor government of Gough Whitlam and the increasing economic problems seen to be caused by it, Askin called an early election for 1973. A setback arose for the government in the northern Sydney seat of
Gordon, when the Liberal member and education minister,
Harry Jago, forgot to lodge a formal nomination of his candidacy. This resulted in the Liberals losing the seat to the
Democratic Labor Party before the election took place. Nevertheless, Askin's government went to a record fourth win against the ALP (still led by
Pat Hills), increasing the Liberal/Country majority by four seats and making Askin the only major party leader to win four consecutive terms for premier until Neville Wran of the ALP. At this election, Askin ran in
Pittwater, essentially a reconfigured version of his old seat of Collaroy, which had been abolished in a redistribution. Pittwater was as safely Liberal as Collaroy, and Askin retained it easily. In 1973 he was appointed an Officer of the Lebanese
National Order of the Cedar. Askin's last term in office was marked by tension between the NSW and Victorian Governments, and by a widespread view that Askin was getting out of touch with the voters. Late in 1974, Askin announced his resignation, and his last intervention was to support his minister for lands,
Thomas Lewis, in his bid to be Askin's successor instead of the deputy leader and minister for education,
Sir Eric Willis. It was reported that Lewis had offered to upgrade Askin's knighthood from Knight Commander (KCMG) to Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) of the Order of St Michael and St George, while Willis was uncommitted on the topic. In any event, Askin retired from politics in January 1975 and was succeeded by Lewis as premier. On 14 June 1975 he was elevated to Knight Grand Cross, for his service as premier. The departure of Askin began a turbulent year for the government. Lewis was ousted in a party room coup by Willis in 1976, but Willis only lasted four months before losing the 1976 election to Labor, ending the longest unbroken run for a non-Labor government since
World War I. == Later life ==