Max Falstein | |
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Member of the Australian Parliament for Watson |
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In office 21 September 1940 – 10 December 1949 |
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Preceded by | John Jennings |
Succeeded by | Dan Curtin |
Personal details | |
Born |
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales |
30 May 1914
Died | 18 May 1967 Concord, New South Wales |
(aged 52)
Nationality | Australian |
Political party |
Labor (1940–49) Independent (1949) |
Spouse(s) | Ila Brenda Greig |
Occupation | Barrister |
Sydney Max Falstein (30 May 1914 – 18 May 1967) was an Australian politician.
Falstein was born on 30 May 1914 at Coffs Harbour to Russian grazier Abram Max Falstein and German-born Rosa, née Goldman. He attended Sydney Boys' High (1926–27) and Sydney Grammar schools, and later studied for a Bachelor of Arts and a law degree at the University of Sydney. On 13 March 1937 he married nurse Ila Brenda Greig at Darlinghurst, and was thus estranged from his Jewish mother. He spent several years in New Zealand before returning to Australia; he was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1940.
Falstein was first involved in politics in New Zealand, where he was an organiser for the New Zealand Labour Party. In Australia, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives in 1940 for the seat of Watson, representing the Australian Labor Party. In parliament he became associated with Arthur Calwell and others who opposed John Curtin's leadership. After Curtin became Prime Minister, Falstein openly clashed with him over issues concerning the Royal Australian Air Force in 1944.
Falstein had enlisted in the RAAF on 18 July 1942; he was convicted of using insubordinate language to a superior in September of that year and was sentenced to twenty-eight days detention. He qualified as a pilot and completed an operational tour from 1944 to 1945 in the south-west Pacific.