Thomas Maltby

On two occasions in his political career, Maltby had a split with the United Australia/Liberal Party and sat in the assembly on the crossbenches. In 1941, Maltby advocated for a UAP conference with the United Australia Organisation to discuss reform and reorganisation of the UAO. When the party passed a resolution refusing such a meeting, Maltby walked out of the party room meeting and moved his documents and personal effects to the Independents' room at Parliament House.[4] He did not resign from the UAP, but disassociated himself from his party colleagues and sat on the Opposition crossbenches for several months before returning.[5]

In September 1945, Maltby was one of five Liberal Party members to cross the floor and vote with the Labor Party and the Independents to defeat an appropriation bill. The Country–Liberal coalition government of Albert Dunstan and Thomas Hollway collapsed, and the Governor of Victoria, Sir Winston Dugan commissioned Ian Macfarlan to form a "stop-gap ministry" with the sole purpose of passing supply. Maltby was appointed Deputy Premier, Chief Secretary and Minister for Electrical Undertakings in the short-lived ministry, which lasted from 2 October to 21 November 1945.[6] Maltby was expelled from the Liberal Party for his defection,[7] but was re-admitted to the party in 1946.[8]

On 2 December 1947, Maltby achieved what he called "a boyhood ambition" when he was elected Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.[9]

Maltby was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours on 9 June 1949 for his work as Speaker.[10]

In May 1950, Arthur Warner, the Minister of Electrical Undertakings, asked Premier Tom Hollway to relieve him of his duties due to a conflict of interest involving Warner's association with several electrical companies. Hollway agreed, and Maltby was one of the front runners to replace Warner in the ensuing reshuffle, provided he was not renominated as Speaker.[11] On 19 June, Maltby was sworn into the Electrical Undertakings portfolio, as well as the Mines portfolio previously held by Henry Bolte.[12] However, Maltby's place in cabinet was to be once again short-lived: eight days later, the Hollway government collapsed when the Labor Party agreed to support a minority Country Party government led by John McDonald.[1]

At the 1955 election, Maltby's electorate of Barwon was abolished, so he stood for and won the seat of Geelong, the seat he had contested over thirty years earlier.

On 7 June, Maltby was made Commissioner of Public Works in the Bolte Ministry. He was also made Minister of Housing[13] but was replaced the next day by Horace Petty.[14] In 1959, Maltby toured public buildings and studied road building and construction in the United States and Britain. He reported on his findings in the Report on his mission abroad, published in Melbourne in the same year.[15]