Don Chipp
Encyclopedia
Donald Leslie Chipp, AO
(21 August 1925 – 28 August 2006) was an Australian politician, and the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats
.
and Melbourne University, where he graduated in commerce. After playing Australian rules football
for Heidelberg
in the Victorian Football Association, he played briefly in the (higher-grade) Victorian Football League
with the Fitzroy Football Club
(playing three games in 1947, for one goal). He also played for Prahran
in the VFA and was a member of their 1951 Premiership side. He was also a finalist in the important Stawell Gift
annual foot race.
After serving in the Royal Australian Air Force
in World War II, Chipp worked as registrar of the Commonwealth Institute of Accountants from 1950 to 1955. In 1955 he was appointed chief executive officer of the Olympic Civic Committee, which was involved in organising the 1956 Olympic Games
in Melbourne. After the Games he worked as manager of the Victorian Promotion Committee, and also ran his own management consultancy. From 1958 to 1961 he was a member of the Kew
City Council.
member for Higinbotham
in Melbourne's southern bayside suburbs. After a redistribution in 1968 he transferred to the less safe seat of Hotham
. He was given the Navy and Tourism portfolios by Prime Minister Harold Holt
in 1967. After Holt's sudden death in December 1967, Chipp retained those portfolios in the brief interim government of Country Party
leader John McEwen
, but he was dropped from the ministry by the new Liberal Prime Minister, John Gorton
. This was partly because Chipp had supported another candidate, Billy Snedden
, in the Liberal leadership ballot, and partly because Gorton disapproved of Chipp's decision to hold a second Royal Commission
into the 1964 Voyager disaster
– a decision which Gorton felt reflected badly on the Royal Australian Navy
.
After the 1969 election, Gorton appointed Chipp as Minister for Customs and Excise. In this portfolio he gained national attention by largely abolishing the censorship of printed material, unbanning many novels, including Henry Miller
's Tropic of Cancer
, as well as allowing the sale of Playboy
magazine. He also oversaw the introduction of the R certificate for films in 1970, which allowed previously banned films to be rerated and shown to adults. These actions made him popular but also placed him at odds with many of his fellow party members, who considered such decisions too liberal. During this period, Chipp became identified as part of a "small-l liberal" faction of the Liberal Party, along with Snedden and Andrew Peacock
.
Following the Liberal Party's defeat at the 1972 federal election
by the Labor Party
's Gough Whitlam
, Chipp served as Shadow Minister for Social Security. He was a strong supporter of Snedden, who had become party leader following the 1972 defeat but lost the 1974 election against Whitlam. When Malcolm Fraser
displaced Snedden as leader in March 1975, Chipp retained his position but it was no secret that the two men did not get on. When Fraser was appointed Prime Minister following the dismissal of Gough Whitlam
on 11 November 1975, he gave Chipp three portfolios in his caretaker ministry—Social Security
, Health
, and Repatriation and Compensation
. However, when Fraser won the December 1975 election, Chipp was not included in the ministry.
with other controversial speakers including Frank Hardy
, Patrick White
and Faith Bandler
. He writes "Liberals thought it was intolerable that any member of the party should appear with 'those people'". The rebellious image was heightened by the fact that Chipp omitted to attend a Parliament House reception for Queen Elizabeth II, having decided to honour his prior speaking engagement which had been widely publicised. Chipp concluded: "It was then, I believe, that I concluded I could not stay in such a party any longer. I resented the tag of 'rebel' which was being applied to me by my own colleagues."
Chipp decided to resign from the Liberal Party on 24 March 1977 and concluded his speech that day with the following:
Even before the resignation, he received an invitation to join an amalgamated centre-line party which predated the Australian Democrats
. He resolutely turned down a series of such leadership offers until, on 9 May 1977, he was accorded an overwhelming standing ovation by a 3,000-strong audience at the Melbourne Town Hall
and concluded ". . . I was committed. . . and it was a good feeling".
At the December 1977 election he was elected to the Australian Senate
, with one colleague (Colin Mason
of New South Wales). As Democrats leader, Chipp was involved in various high-profile environmental and social-justice causes, including playing an important role in stopping the Franklin Dam Project
.
At the 1980 election, the Democrats gained three more senators, giving them a total of five—a potential balance of power
which they retained until 1 July 2005, after a total lack of success at the 2004 election. Their theoretical ability to reject or amend government legislation was seldom applied, being dependent on rarely-forthcoming support from other non-government senators. It was, however, a useful avenue for publicity and effective Senate committee dealings outside the chamber.
and replaced as a senator by Janet Powell
. He ran unsuccessfully for election as the Lord Mayor
of Melbourne in 2001. In his later years, he suffered from Parkinson's Disease
, although he still made a number of public appearances, most notably on the ABC chat show Enough Rope
with Andrew Denton. He also gave an opening address to the Democrats' national conference in Melbourne in May 2006.
Chipp died of pneumonia
in August 2006 at Epworth Hospital in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond
. A state funeral
service was held on 2 September 2006 for him. Australian flags
were flown at half-mast
all day in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory to mourn and honour him.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(21 August 1925 – 28 August 2006) was an Australian politician, and the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
.
Early life
Donald Leslie Chipp was born in Melbourne and educated at Northcote High SchoolNorthcote High School
Northcote High School is a co-educational, state high school in Northcote, Victoria, Australia. It is situated at the southern end of the City of Darebin, on St Georges Road.Teaching from Year 7 through 12, the school has a population of around 1,450 students...
and Melbourne University, where he graduated in commerce. After playing Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
for Heidelberg
Heidelberg, Victoria
Heidelberg is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Banyule....
in the Victorian Football Association, he played briefly in the (higher-grade) Victorian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
with the Fitzroy Football Club
Fitzroy Football Club
The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
(playing three games in 1947, for one goal). He also played for Prahran
Prahran Football Club
Prahran Football Club, nicknamed The Two Blues, is an Australian rules football club based at Toorak Park in Orrong Road between High Street and Malvern Road, Armadale, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Since 2007, the club has competed in D1 Section of the Victorian Amateur Football Association...
in the VFA and was a member of their 1951 Premiership side. He was also a finalist in the important Stawell Gift
Stawell Gift
The Stawell Gift is Australia's oldest and richest short distance running race. It is run over every Easter weekend by the Stawell Athletic Club, with the main race finals on the holiday Monday, at Central Park, Stawell in the Grampian Mountains district of western Victoria.The race is run on grass...
annual foot race.
After serving in the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
in World War II, Chipp worked as registrar of the Commonwealth Institute of Accountants from 1950 to 1955. In 1955 he was appointed chief executive officer of the Olympic Civic Committee, which was involved in organising the 1956 Olympic Games
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
in Melbourne. After the Games he worked as manager of the Victorian Promotion Committee, and also ran his own management consultancy. From 1958 to 1961 he was a member of the Kew
Kew, Victoria
Kew is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Kew had a population of 22,516....
City Council.
Political career
Chipp entered federal politics in 1960 as the LiberalLiberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
member for Higinbotham
Division of Higinbotham
The Division of Higinbotham was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1949 and abolished in 1969, when it was renamed Hotham. It was named for George Higinbotham, a leading Victorian colonial politician and judge. It was located inthe south-eastern suburbs of...
in Melbourne's southern bayside suburbs. After a redistribution in 1968 he transferred to the less safe seat of Hotham
Division of Hotham
The Division of Hotham is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1969 and is named for Sir Charles Hotham, Governor of Victoria 1854-55. It is located in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Hotham covers an area of approximately 72 square kilometres from...
. He was given the Navy and Tourism portfolios by Prime Minister Harold Holt
Harold Holt
Harold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
in 1967. After Holt's sudden death in December 1967, Chipp retained those portfolios in the brief interim government of Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
leader John McEwen
John McEwen
Sir John "Black Jack" McEwen, GCMG, CH , was an Australian politician and the 18th Prime Minister of Australia...
, but he was dropped from the ministry by the new Liberal Prime Minister, John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
. This was partly because Chipp had supported another candidate, Billy Snedden
Billy Snedden
Sir Billy Mackie Snedden, KCMG, QC was an Australian politician representing the Liberal Party. He was Leader of the Opposition at the 1974 federal election, failing to defeat the Labor incumbent Gough Whitlam.-Early life:...
, in the Liberal leadership ballot, and partly because Gorton disapproved of Chipp's decision to hold a second Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
into the 1964 Voyager disaster
HMAS Voyager (D04)
HMAS Voyager was a Daring class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy , that was lost in a collision in 1964.Constructed between 1949 and 1957, Voyager was the first ship of her class to enter Australian service, and the first all-welded ship to be built in Australia...
– a decision which Gorton felt reflected badly on the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
.
After the 1969 election, Gorton appointed Chipp as Minister for Customs and Excise. In this portfolio he gained national attention by largely abolishing the censorship of printed material, unbanning many novels, including Henry Miller
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is...
's Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Cancer (novel)
Tropic of Cancer is a novel by Henry Miller which has been described as "notorious for its candid sexuality" and as responsible for the "free speech that we now take for granted in literature." It was first published in 1934 by the Obelisk Press in Paris, France, but this edition was banned in the...
, as well as allowing the sale of Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine. He also oversaw the introduction of the R certificate for films in 1970, which allowed previously banned films to be rerated and shown to adults. These actions made him popular but also placed him at odds with many of his fellow party members, who considered such decisions too liberal. During this period, Chipp became identified as part of a "small-l liberal" faction of the Liberal Party, along with Snedden and Andrew Peacock
Andrew Peacock
Andrew Sharp Peacock AC, GCL , is a former Australian Liberal politician. He was a minister in the Gorton, McMahon and Fraser governments, and was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia 1983–1985 and 1989–1990...
.
Following the Liberal Party's defeat at the 1972 federal election
Australian federal election, 1972
Federal elections were held in Australia on 2 December 1972. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The Liberal Party of Australia had been in power since 1949, under Prime Minister of Australia William McMahon since March 1971 with coalition partner the Country Party...
by the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
's Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
, Chipp served as Shadow Minister for Social Security. He was a strong supporter of Snedden, who had become party leader following the 1972 defeat but lost the 1974 election against Whitlam. When Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
displaced Snedden as leader in March 1975, Chipp retained his position but it was no secret that the two men did not get on. When Fraser was appointed Prime Minister following the dismissal of Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
on 11 November 1975, he gave Chipp three portfolios in his caretaker ministry—Social Security
Minister for Human Services (Australia)
The position of Minister for Human Services within Australian politics is currently held by the Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP. The Minister is responsible for a number of welfare agencies and administers her portfolio through the Department of Human Services and its component bodies:* Child Support...
, Health
Minister for Health and Ageing (Australia)
The Minister for Health and Ageing is a portfolio in the Government of Australia with the responsibility for national health policy. The current Minister for Health and Ageing is Nicola Roxon...
, and Repatriation and Compensation
Minister for Veterans' Affairs (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Veterans' Affairs oversees income support, compensation, care and commemoration programs for more than 400,000 veterans and their widows, widowers and dependants....
. However, when Fraser won the December 1975 election, Chipp was not included in the ministry.
Resignation from the Liberal Party
In his book The Third Man, Chipp considered the effects of a "whispering campaign" to discredit him within the Liberal Party. This came to a head when he spoke at a heavily attended Citizens for Democracy meeting at the Sydney Town HallSydney Town Hall
The Sydney Town Hall is a landmark sandstone building located in the heart of Sydney. It stands opposite the Queen Victoria Building and alongside St Andrew's Cathedral...
with other controversial speakers including Frank Hardy
Frank Hardy
Francis Joseph Hardy, or Frank, was an Australian left-wing novelist and writer best known for his controversial novel Power Without Glory. He also was a political activist bringing the plight of Aboriginal Australians to international attention with the publication of his book, The Unlucky...
, Patrick White
Patrick White
Patrick Victor Martindale White , an Australian author, is widely regarded as an important English-language novelist of the 20th century. From 1935 until his death, he published 12 novels, two short-story collections and eight plays.White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, shifting narrative...
and Faith Bandler
Faith Bandler
Faith Bandler, AC also known as Ida Lessing Faith Mussing is an Australian civil rights activist of South Sea Islander heritage. She is a campaigner for the rights of Indigenous Australians and South Sea Islanders. Bandler is best known for her leadership in the campaign for the 1967 referendum on...
. He writes "Liberals thought it was intolerable that any member of the party should appear with 'those people'". The rebellious image was heightened by the fact that Chipp omitted to attend a Parliament House reception for Queen Elizabeth II, having decided to honour his prior speaking engagement which had been widely publicised. Chipp concluded: "It was then, I believe, that I concluded I could not stay in such a party any longer. I resented the tag of 'rebel' which was being applied to me by my own colleagues."
Chipp decided to resign from the Liberal Party on 24 March 1977 and concluded his speech that day with the following:
I have become disenchanted with party politics as they are practised in this country and with the pressure groups which have an undue influence on the major political parties. The parties seem to polarise on almost every issue, sometimes seemingly just for the sake of it, and I wonder if the ordinary voter is not becoming sick and tired of the vested interests which unduly influence political parties and yearns for the emergence of a third political force, representing middle-of-the-road policies which would owe allegiance to no outside pressure group. Perhaps it may be the right time to test that proposition.
Leadership of the Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
. He resolutely turned down a series of such leadership offers until, on 9 May 1977, he was accorded an overwhelming standing ovation by a 3,000-strong audience at the Melbourne Town Hall
Melbourne Town Hall
Melbourne Town Hall is the central municipal building of the City of Melbourne, Australia, in the State of Victoria. It is located on the northeast corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, in the central business district. It is the seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Melbourne...
and concluded ". . . I was committed. . . and it was a good feeling".
At the December 1977 election he was elected to the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
, with one colleague (Colin Mason
Colin Mason
Colin Victor James Mason is a New Zealand-born Australian journalist, author and former politician.Mason worked for 14 years as the first foreign correspondent of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and became deeply involved in Asian affairs...
of New South Wales). As Democrats leader, Chipp was involved in various high-profile environmental and social-justice causes, including playing an important role in stopping the Franklin Dam Project
Franklin Dam
The Franklin Dam or Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of most significant environmental campaigns in Australian history.The dam was...
.
At the 1980 election, the Democrats gained three more senators, giving them a total of five—a potential balance of power
Balance of power (parliament)
In parliamentary politics, the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor political party or other grouping whose guaranteed support may enable an otherwise minority government to obtain and hold office...
which they retained until 1 July 2005, after a total lack of success at the 2004 election. Their theoretical ability to reject or amend government legislation was seldom applied, being dependent on rarely-forthcoming support from other non-government senators. It was, however, a useful avenue for publicity and effective Senate committee dealings outside the chamber.
Post-political life
Chipp retired from the Senate, on 18 August 1986, being succeeded as leader by Janine HainesJanine Haines
Janine Haines, AM , Australian politician, was the first female federal parliamentary leader of an Australian political party. An Australian Democrat, she was also the first member of that party to enter the federal parliament after the party's formation...
and replaced as a senator by Janet Powell
Janet Powell
Janet Frances Powell in Nhill, Victoria, is an Australian politician.She was appointed a senator for Victoria, representing the Australian Democrats, upon the resignation of the party's founder, Don Chipp, in 1986. She was elected the following year. She became the third leader of the party, from...
. He ran unsuccessfully for election as the Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...
of Melbourne in 2001. In his later years, he suffered from Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
, although he still made a number of public appearances, most notably on the ABC chat show Enough Rope
Enough Rope
Enough Rope with Andrew Denton is a television interview show originally broadcast on ABC Television in Australia...
with Andrew Denton. He also gave an opening address to the Democrats' national conference in Melbourne in May 2006.
Chipp died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in August 2006 at Epworth Hospital in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond
Richmond, Victoria
Richmond is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
. A state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
service was held on 2 September 2006 for him. Australian flags
Flag of Australia
The flag of Australia is a defaced Blue Ensign: a blue field with the Union Flag in the canton , and a large white seven-pointed star known as the Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist quarter...
were flown at half-mast
Half-staff
Half-staff is the American term for to describe a flag flying a flag below the summit of the flagpole . The rest of the English-speaking world uses the term half-mast. Technically the flag should be flown one breadth lower to allow for the invisible flag of death...
all day in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory to mourn and honour him.
External links
- Australian Parliament: Parliamentary biography CHIPP, the Hon. Donald Leslie, AO
- Australian Parliament: Speeches of Senator the Hon. Don Chipp
- Interview with Andrew DentonAndrew DentonAndrew Christopher Denton is an Australian television producer, comedian, Gold Logie-nominated television presenter and former radio host, and was the host of the ABC's weekly television interview program Enough Rope. He is known for his comedy and interviewing technique...
on the ABCAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's Enough RopeEnough RopeEnough Rope with Andrew Denton is a television interview show originally broadcast on ABC Television in Australia... - Interview with Peter Thompson on the ABCAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
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