John Norman Button (30 June 1933 – 8 April 2008) was an Australian politician, who served as a senior minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor governments.

After graduating he briefly worked as a law clerk with Maurice Blackburn & Co., then travelled to Italy to study Italian at the University for Foreigners in Perugia.

[2] In 1957, Button moved to London where he worked variously as a sandwich board man for a cinema, at a sausage and pie factory, and as a supply teacher.

[2] In 1963, Button was invited to run as the Labor candidate for the seat of Chisholm, which was safely held by Wilfrid Kent Hughes.

Party members recall that at the declaration of the poll Kent Hughes stood up and said in patrician tones, "It was a fair fight."

[citation needed] Button became part of the interim Advisory Council which took over the branch after intervention, and in 1974 he was elected to the Australian Senate as a strong supporter of Whitlam.

When Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser called a snap election in February 1983, it was Button who told Hayden that he must resign immediately to make way for Bob Hawke.

Button tapping Hayden on the shoulder would later be compared to Bill Shorten switching his support from Julia Gillard to Kevin Rudd in 2013.

This caused large job losses in manufacturing industry and provoked bitter opposition among Labor's trade union base.