John Elliott
President of the Liberal Party of Australia
In office
30 October 1987 – 23 October 1990
LeaderJohn Howard
Andrew Peacock
John Hewson
Preceded byJohn Valder
Succeeded byAshley Goldsworthy
Personal details
Born
John Dorman Elliott

(1941-10-03)3 October 1941
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died23 September 2021(2021-09-23) (aged 79)
Richmond, Victoria, Australia
Political partyLiberal
SpouseLorraine Elliott (divorced)
Children3 (including Tom Elliott)

John Dorman Elliott (3 October 1941 – 23 September 2021) was an Australian businessman and state and federal president of the Liberal Party. He had also been president of the Carlton Football Club.[1] He frequently provoked controversy due to his political affiliations, his brushes with the law, and his abrasive personal style.

Early life and education

Elliott was born in Melbourne on 3 October 1941. He was the son of Frank Elliott and his wife, Anita.[2] He completed his secondary schooling at Carey Baptist Grammar School in Kew. He then attended the University of Melbourne and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree and later completed a Master of Business Administration degree at the Melbourne Business School.[3]

Career

Elliott joined BHP for two years. He then left to do an MBA, before joining global consulting firm McKinsey & Company in 1966[2] and worked in both Australia and the United States for six years. In 1972, he acquired control of IXL, a food manufacturer listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. From there, he and his team built the company up through a string of acquisitions throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, including Australian corporate icons Elders Limited (an agricultural services concern) and Carlton & United Breweries (now part of the Foster's Group). The acquisition of Courage Breweries in the United Kingdom, followed by Carling O'Keefe Breweries in Canada- and UK-based Grand Metropolitan Breweries, made the Foster's Group the fourth-largest brewer in the world. During this time, he was also a high-profile president of the Carlton Football Club (1983–2002)[4] and federal president of the Liberal Party.[2] He was an effective advocate for the club on a range of issues. During his presidency, the club won two VFL (now AFL) premierships.[5][6]

In 1985, Elliott's company, by then called Elders IXL, played an important role as a white knight in fending off Robert Holmes à Court's attempted takeover of diversified mining company BHP. Elders bought a large share in BHP, which blocked Holmes à Court's attempt to take control.[7] As a result, Elliott joined the BHP board. He then attempted a management buyout of Elders, but this was unsuccessful and left his A$80 million fortune considerably reduced. Subsequently, the National Crime Authority of Australia (NCA) investigated a foreign exchange transaction undertaken by Elders.[7] Elliott was cleared of criminal charges. He accused the NCA of a vendetta inspired by the then-Labor government, motivated by his position as Liberal Party president. He later launched civil action for damages, which was ultimately unsuccessful.

He was also a director of a number of public companies, including BHP, National Mutual, Bridge Oil and North Limited. Elliott was a member of the Liberal Party for over thirty years. He held multiple positions in the party, including president (1987–1990), party treasurer and vice president of the Victorian division.[8][9] He was chairman of the 500 Club, which he formed in the 1980s, and was the biggest donor to the Liberal Party in Victoria.

His various political involvements led to him being caricatured in Rubbery Figures, a satirical rubber puppet series that screened in Australia[10] during the late 1980s. He was often depicted holding an Elders IXL beer can while belching or exclaiming "pig's arse".[11]

In 1990, Elliott was a vocal supporter of the Multifunction Polis (MFP), a controversial concept to build in Australia a new "technology city" with a population of 100,000. At the time, the leader of the Liberal Party, Andrew Peacock, was vehemently opposed to the plan, claiming the Multifunction Polis would become an "Asian enclave".[12][13]

Sports administration career

Carlton Football Club President

Elliott became the president of the Carlton Football Club in 1983, when he replaced Ian Rice.[14] During Elliott's tenure as president of the Club, he oversaw a significant period of on and off field success for the club. Elliott also oversaw Carlton's two premiership victories in 1987 and 1995.[15][16]

After the 2002 AFL season, Elliott was voted out of office as president of the Carlton Football Club, a position he had held for two decades.[8] The club, after having finished last for the first time since 1894, was later found to have committed serious long-term breaches of the Australian Football League salary cap regulations, which resulted in a fine of $930,000, forfeited draft picks including the prized number one draft pick, and an ongoing prolonged period of poor results on the field.[17][18] Further, in a move some thought to be ungracious given his long service to the club, his name was also removed from all signage at Carlton's home ground at Princes Park.[19][20][21] Elliott was then replaced by Ian Collins as President of Carlton Football Club.[22]

Later life

In January 2005, he declared himself bankrupt, to be discharged in July 2008.[10] When he died in 2021 his net worth was less than $12,000.[23]

On television, Elliott was a regular guest panelist on the ABC television program Q&A. In 2010, he appeared on the televised Dick Smith population debate,[24] where his vision to harness Northern Australia's excess rainfall via pipeline to the Murray–Darling headwaters in Queensland received wide support. In 2012, he featured on the ABC's Agony Uncles program.[25] On radio, he regularly appeared on a program presented by his son Tom on talkback station 3AW.[19]

Elliott was the inaugural chairman of the Committee for Melbourne and a director of the foundation of the University of Melbourne Business School. In September 2015, he was made an honorary fellow of the school.

Personal life

He was divorced from the late Lorraine Elliott, a former Victorian state parliamentarian for the Liberal Party. They had three children.[26] The eldest is Tom Elliott (born 1967), an investment banker and radio and television presenter.[19] His daughter Caroline Elliott is vice-president of the Liberal Party in Victoria.[8] He also had two children from his second marriage, which also ended in divorce. His second wife, Amanda Elliott, later became the first female chairperson in the Victorian Racing Club's 153-year history.[27]

Known for his "eccentric, crass and often controversial style of business and politics", Elliott was also a long-term cigarette smoker and claimed to have considered running for the 2016 Australian Senate on a platform of "Smokers' Rights".[8]

Elliott was admitted to the Epworth Hospital in Richmond, Victoria after suffering a fall in September 2021. He died on 23 September 2021, ten days before his 80th birthday.[28][29][30]

References

  1. ↑ "Face Three-Way Fight For Elliott's job". Canberra Times. 23 October 1990. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 McPhee, Cassandra; Morgan, Sarah (23 September 2021). "Former Carlton President John Elliott dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  3. ↑ Who's Who in Australia. ConnectWeb. 2021.
  4. ↑ Ryan, Peter (18 July 2018). "Tom Elliott lashes out at board but Carlton president says rant is ill-informed". The Age. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  5. ↑ "Official AFL Website of the Carlton Football Club". carltonfc.com.au. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "Australian Football - Carlton Football Club - Grand Finals". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  7. 1 2 Kirby, James; Myer, Rod (2011). Richard Pratt: One Out of the Box: The Secrets of an Australian Billionaire. John Wiley & Sons. p. 152. ISBN 9780730376125.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Koziol, Michael (3 June 2016). "Election 2016: Former Liberal Party president John Elliott considering independent Senate tilt". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  9. ↑ "Former Liberal Party president and Carlton boss John Elliott dies aged 79". www.msn.com. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Jack to the future". The Age. 11 March 2007. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  11. ↑ Bongiorno, Frank (2015). "5. The Deal-Makers". The Eighties: The Decade That Transformed Australia. Black Inc. ISBN 9781863957762.
  12. ↑ Morgan, Gary C. (11 July 1990). "Now there's Democracy in Russia – Australia must be Next". Roy Morgan Research. Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2008.
  13. ↑ Jupp, James (2007). From White Australia to Woomera: The Story of Australian Immigration. Cambridge University Press. pp. 107–219. ISBN 978-0-521-69789-7. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  14. ↑ "John Elliott". Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  15. ↑ "Blues greats pay tribute to John Elliott, who defined Carlton". 24 September 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "Former Carlton president John Elliott dies". 23 September 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  17. ↑ If the Cap fits – Blueseum. Published 12 November 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  18. ↑ "Elliott leaves Blues in a shocking mess". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 November 2002. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  19. 1 2 3 Money, Lawrence (30 April 2015). "Two of us: John and Tom Elliott". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  20. ↑ "Elliott no Blue hero". The Age. 18 February 2003. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  21. ↑ "Elliott leaves Blues in a shocking mess". 24 November 2002. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  22. ↑ "Inside a horror week for Carlton". 30 November 2002. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  23. ↑ Cowie, Tom; Kruger, Colin (30 July 2023). "$6951 in the bank and some furniture: What was left in John Elliott's will". The Age. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  24. ↑ Q and A Population Debate Special, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 12 August 2010, retrieved 15 May 2019
  25. ↑ Butler, Dianne (3 April 2012). "Easter long weekend viewing". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  26. ↑ Money, Lawrence; Hatch, Patrick (3 July 2014). "Former Liberal MP Lorraine Elliott dies, aged 70". The Age. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  27. ↑ Domain (19 October 2017). "VRC chair Amanda Elliott has smashed through racing's glass ceiling". Domain. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  28. ↑ "Long-time Carlton president John Elliott dead aged 79". Fox Sports. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  29. ↑ "Former Carlton president John Elliott dies". 23 September 2022.
  30. ↑ "Blues greats pay tribute to John Elliott, who defined Carlton". 24 September 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
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