Bill Morrow (Australian politician)

Bill Morrow
Senator for Tasmania
In office 1 July 1947 – 30 June 1953
Personal details
Born	(1888-10-22)22 October 1888 Rockhampton, Colony of Queensland
Died	12 July 1980(1980-07-12) (aged 91) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Labor (1908–1938, 1942–1953)
Other political affiliations	Tasmanian Labour Group (1953)
Spouse	Kate Scateni ​ (m. 1910)​
Occupation	Railway worker Trade unionist Politician
Awards	Lenin Peace Prize (1961)

William Morrow (22 October 1888 – 12 July 1980) was an Australian trade unionist, politician and peace activist. He was a Senator for Tasmania from 1947 to 1953, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP) until his resignation in 1953 and unsuccessful bid for re-election as an independent.

Morrow was born in Rockhampton, Queensland. He left school at the age of 10 and joined his father on Queensland Railways, working as a train driver in Far North Queensland. He was active in the labour movement from a young age and was a long-serving officeholder in the Australian Railways Union (ARU). Morrow moved to Tasmania in 1936 as ARU state secretary, where he oversaw a revitalisation of the union. He was expelled from the ALP in 1938 following conflict with the state government, but was readmitted in 1942.

Morrow was elected to the Senate at the 1946 federal election. An outspoken socialist and pacifist, his opposition to attempts to ban the Communist Party and Australian involvement in the Korean War caused difficulties for the ALP as it sought to counter Red Scare tactics. He was disendorsed by the ALP prior to the 1953 Senate election and subsequently resigned to sit as an independent, unsuccessfully seeking election at the head of a Tasmanian Labour Group ticket. After leaving parliament Morrow was prominent in the peace movement, serving on the bureau of the Soviet-backed World Peace Council and on Australian affiliates. He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union in 1961.