Mr Steele Hall

Raymond (Steele) Steele Hall

Liberal Movement

Former Member

Goyder

House of Assembly

07 March 1959

Steele Hall became member for Gouger in 1959. From 1965 to 1966 he served as Opposition Whip, then subsequently took over the Liberal and Country League leadership from Sir Thomas Playford in 1966, serving as Leader of the Opposition for two years before becoming Premier following the LCL being elected at the 1968 State Election. The major political issue of the day was electoral reform: the deliberately inequitable electoral boundaries imposed by the LCL under Butler and Playford had been affecting the results of elections for forty years, and the level of publicity and protest about the matter had risen significantly in recent years. One of the 'progressive' members of the LCL, Hall introduced legislation to reform the House of Assembly to a more equitable system of representation - the internal repercussions of this self-sacrificing act to the LCL were severe, as it virtually guaranteed Hall's defeat at the next elections. Other important consequences of Hall's Premiership were seen in social welfare, Aboriginal affairs, abortion reform, and the arts.

The LCL lost the 1970 election to the Australian Labor Party under leader Don Dunstan, as expected, and Hall remained Leader of the Opposition for two years before resigning as party leader. He remained in Parliament and founded the Liberal Movement, before winning a Federal Senate seat in 1974, which he held for two and a half years, during a tumultuous period in federal politics. He rejoined the Liberal Party in 1976 (which had changed its name from the Liberal and Country League in 1974). He became Federal Member for Boothby in 1981 and held the seat for the 15 years, until 1996.

Senator for South Australia 1975-77
Member of the House of Representatives for Boothby 1981-96

A portrait of Hall, by South Australian artist Robert Hannaford AM, unveiled in 2019, hangs in Parliament House.