John MacDonald (Australian politician)

Not to be confused with John McDonald (Western Australian politician), a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.

John MacDonald
File:John Valentine MacDonald.jpg
Senator for Queensland
In office 26 May 1922 – 15 December 1922
Preceded by	John Adamson
Succeeded by	William Thompson
In office 1 August 1928 – 16 November 1928
Preceded by	Thomas Givens
In office 1 July 1932 – 17 August 1937
Succeeded by	Ben Courtice
Personal details
Born	(1880-02-14)14 February 1880 Opotiki, New Zealand
Died
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Occupation	Journalist

John Valentine MacDonald (14 February 1880 – 17 August 1937) was a New Zealand-born Australian politician.

Early life

Born in Opotiki in New Zealand, MacDonald was educated in New Zealand before becoming a printer. He migrated to Australia in 1897, becoming a journalist and editor; he was editor of the Brisbane Standard in 1913. He was also a founding member of the Australian Journalists' Association.

Politics

On 26 May 1922, he was appointed to the Australian Senate as a Labor Senator for Queensland, filling the casual vacancy caused by the death of Nationalist Senator John Adamson. However, he was defeated in the 1922 election. Following the death of another Nationalist Senator, Thomas Givens, MacDonald was again appointed to the Senate on 1 August 1928 but was defeated again at the 1928 election. MacDonald was finally elected in his own right in the election of 1931, taking his place in the Senate in 1932. He died in 1937, necessitating the appointment of another (in this case, Labor's Ben Courtice) to fill his own casual vacancy.