By Matilda McDermott
Race Mathews was nothing short of a reformer for Australia, working through all forms of Government to enact real change.
Serving as the MP for Casey and as State Member for Oakleigh, Mathews contributed to policies that still shape Australia today.
He started his career as a speech therapist, where eventually he joined the Labor Party and worked his way up in government, working as a private secretary and being a major part of former Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam’s, think tank.
“He never forgot where he came from or who he was there to serve,” Premier Jacinta Allen said in a statement.
Mathews contributed to the development of Labor’s policies, such as Medibank paving the way for Medicare.
“Race helped shape the early design of Medibank – laying the groundwork for Medicare and helping build a health system that treated care as a right, not a privilege.”
“When Race became Fabian Society secretary in 1960 he commissioned Moss Cass to put his ideas into Fabian pamphlets. The first, Reform in Medicine (1961), advocated a national health scheme centred on public hospitals and health centres and staffed by full-time salaried doctors,” Iola Mathews via Race Mathews: A Life in Politics.
Mathews was dedicated to the local community, throughout his career as State Member for Oakleigh he worked as Victorian Minister for the Arts, where he was a champion.
He opened the Arts Centre in Southbank, introduced the Spoleto International Festival for Arts and the Melbourne Writers Festival all while overseeing Victoria’s 150th celebration.
Mathews also worked as Minister for Police and Emergency, where he conducted a major review of Victoria Police, introduced gun reforms in the form of gun control and bettered disaster relief after the Ash Wednesday fires in 1983.
His role as both Minister for the Arts and Minister for Police and Emergency overlapped when the famous theft of Picasso’s Weeping Woman was conducted by the Australian Cultural Terrorists in which they sent letters to Mathews demanding funding for young artists. The painting was returned two weeks later, unharmed.
Mathews also served as Minister for Community Services where he introduced an expansion of child protection.
“Race’s legacy is found in the Victoria he helped build – a fairer, more caring, more creative place,” Premier Allen said.
After a decorated career in politics, Mathews committed his life to academics completing a PhD at Monash University, and publishing works.
Race Mathews’ legacy will be forever remembered by his family and wife, Iola Mathews who published a biography about his life, Race Mathews: A Life in Politics.
His reforms and tireless dedication will always be felt by the local community.
Race Mathews passed away on 5 May 2025 following a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.
