John Cusack (Australian politician)

Cusack established a branch of the Labor League (the predecessor of the Labor Party) in Yass in the 1890s. He represented Queanbeyan from 1910 to 1913,^[2] and Albury from 1913 to 1917 in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.^[3] He was one of only four Labor members to hold the seat of Albury.^[3] Following the ALP split of 1916, he was expelled from the party for failing to support a no-confidence motion against the new government formed by ALP defector William Holman. However, he was later readmitted.^[1]

In 1929, Cusack was elected to the House of Representatives for Eden-Monaro,^[4] surviving a petition by his defeated opponent John Perkins.^[5] He attempted to switch to Cowper at the 1931 election but was defeated by Earle Page.^[1] He stood unsuccessfully for several state elections up to 1953,^[6] when he failed, at age 80, as an Independent,^[7] to unseat the sitting Labor member for Burrinjuck, Billy Sheahan.^[8][9] After the election, Cusack accused Sheahan, then NSW Attorney General, of "assist[ing] a masonic vendetta" against him.^[10] In 1954, as a vigorous, though erratic, 85-year old, he contested the federal lower-house seat of Australian Capital Territory. He received around 3% of first preference votes^[11] and lost his deposit.

After his earlier electoral defeats, Cusack returned to his work as a blacksmith in Yass. He died in the old Canberra Hospital and was survived by his wife, three sons (Linton, Stan and Greg) and a daughter (Ursula). His son Stan established a successful furniture business in Canberra, following the development of the area as the Australian Capital Territory. Dymphna Cusack was his niece.^[1] His great-granddaughter Catherine Cusack was elected as a Liberal Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Council in 2003.^[6]