Graham Harris

For the rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, see Graham Harris (rugby league).

Graham Harris
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Chisholm
In office
18 October 1980 – 5 March 1983
Preceded byTony Staley
Succeeded byHelen Mayer
Personal details
Born (1937-08-29) 29 August 1937 (age 87)
Melbourne, Australia
Political partyLiberal Party of Australia
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
ProfessionBarrister

Graham McDonald Harris (born 29 August 1937) is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1980 to 1983, representing the electorate of Chisholm.[1]

Harris was born in Melbourne and studied law at the University of Melbourne, before practising as a barrister from 1961 until his election to parliament. He was a member of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve from 1965 and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1974. Harris was an active member of the Liberal Party for many years, serving on its state council from 1970 to 1981 and as chairman of his state and federal electorate committees.[1][2]

In 1980, he was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1980 election upon the retirement of Tony Staley. He held the seat until his defeat in 1983 by Labor's Helen Mayer.[3][1] Harris opposed the controversial Franklin Dam in Tasmania, which was highly unpopular in his electorate, and attributed anti-dam campaigning targeting the government by The Wilderness Society as a factor in his defeat.[4][5][6] Harris recontested the seat against Mayer at the 1984 election, losing by only 200 votes in a closely-fought race in which Harris campaigned on opposition to the Hawke government's assets test for taxation.[6][7]

Harris returned to legal practice after his defeat in 1983 and remained a practising barrister until 1994, after which he engaged in other business interests. He was awarded the Reserve Force Decoration in 1985, was promoted by the Navy Reserve to the rank of Commander in 1985 and served as Director Naval Intelligence (Reserves) in the RANR from 1989 to 1993. He was later state president (1992-1994) and national president (1994-2017) of the Navy League.[2] Harris was a Director of Kilmour Investments Pty Ltd from 1973 to 2022 (Chairman 1979 to 2017) Harris has been a Director of Associated Kiln Driers Pty Ltd (AKD) since 1991 and Chairman since 2015. Harris retired as Chairman in June 2023. He remains a Director. AKD is Australia's largest timber miller.

  1. ^ a b c "Biography for HARRIS, Graham McDonald". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b "A change at the helm of the Navy League". Navy League. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  3. ^ Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  4. ^ "A time of sound and fury as the lobby groups reappear". The Age. 21 February 1983. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Marginal seats will be at risk over dams, survey shows". The Age. 13 January 1983. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Chisholm stays marginal". The Age. 12 November 1984. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  7. ^ "COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA LEGISLATIVE ELECTION OF 1 DECEMBER 1984". Psephos. Retrieved 5 August 2021.