Ian Macphee
Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs | |
---|---|
In office 8 December 1979 – 7 May 1982 | |
Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
Preceded by | Michael MacKellar |
Succeeded by | John Hodges |
Minister for Productivity | |
In office 8 November 1976 – 8 December 1979 | |
Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
Preceded by | New title |
Succeeded by | Kevin Newman |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Balaclava | |
In office 18 May 1974 – 1 December 1984 | |
Preceded by | Ray Whittorn |
Succeeded by | David Kemp |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Goldstein | |
In office 1 December 1984 – 19 February 1990 | |
Preceded by | New seat |
Succeeded by | David Kemp |
Personal details | |
Born | University of Hawaii | 13 July 1938
Occupation | Lawyer |
Ian Malcolm Macphee
Early years
Born in
In 1974 he won the blue-ribbon seat of
In government
After three years in the productivity
In the 1980 and the 1983 elections, Macphee retained his seat, defeating Labor candidate Chris Kennedy. Macphee helped oversee the introduction of the Special Broadcasting Service. He played an important role in the opening of the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs and he worked with the Institute's director, Petro Georgiou, in overseeing government policy in this area.[2]
Macphee later described his time as Immigration Minister as the most "exciting...[and] absolutely enriching" time during his period in parliament.[3]
Macphee became a
In opposition
Upon this defeat, the Liberal Party became badly divided between the
In 1985 Howard successfully challenged for the leadership. Macphee stood for the deputy leadership that Howard had vacated, finishing runner-up to Neil Brown with 15 votes out of 70.[5] Howard kept Macphee in the Shadow Cabinet, although he became Shadow Minister for Communications rather than retain his more prestigious former portfolio. Macphee kept this position until April 1987 when Howard sacked him.[6]
In 1988 Howard commented that immigration from
Preselection challenge
Early in the following year, Macphee lost Liberal preselection in Goldstein—the real contest in this safe Liberal seat—to academic David Kemp. This challenge was portrayed in the media as a "wet" versus "dry" battle, although some commentators, such as Gerard Henderson, argued that Macphee had simply lost the support of the Liberal members in his electorate.[9] Macphee blamed his loss on his decision to oppose Howard's position on Asian immigration.[3] This event further crippled an already divided party and contributed to Howard losing the leadership back to Peacock in May 1989.
With the next election not due until 1990, Macphee briefly returned to Shadow Cabinet under Peacock, again serving as shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. He returned to the backbench until retiring prior to the 1990 election.
After politics
Macphee remained in public life. He served on the board of CARE Australia and from 1994 he served as a director of the
On 26 January 1992, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for "service to the Australian parliament".[10]
Macphee, given his history with Howard, was critical of the Howard Government, stating that he was "consistently outraged" by the Government's position on refugee policy. He also publicly supported the 2005 "backbench revolt" of Petro Georgiou, Judi Moylan, Bruce Baird and Russell Broadbent, which saw the softening of some aspects of the legislation.[11][12]
Macphee was also highly critical of the Howard Government's role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[13]
In 2017 speaking as a former immigration minister, Macphee criticised the powers held by current Immigration Minister Peter Dutton as "unchecked and unjust."[14]
In 2020, in response to a push from a local group,
References
- ^ Kelly P., "John Malcolm Fraser" in Grattan M. (ed) Australian Prime Ministers, New Holland, Sydney, 2000 p. 369-70.
- ^ MacPhee, Ian (1993). "Liberals Misunderstand Australian Society". Making Multicultural Australia. Archived from the original on 23 August 2006. Retrieved 9 March 2006.
- ^ a b MacPhee, Ian (30 November 1981). "First Biennial Meeting of AIMA – Opening Address". Making Multicultural Australia. Archived from the original on 25 August 2006. Retrieved 9 March 2006.
- ^ Woodward D., Australia Unsettled: The Legacy of 'Neoliberalism', Pearson, Sydney, 2005 p. 72
- ^ "Summary of yesterday's scenes and what led to them". The Canberra Times. 6 September 1985.
- ^ Henderson G., Menzies' Child, The Liberal Party of Australia 1944 - 1994, Allen & Urwin, Sydney, 1994 p. 290
- ^ "Immigration policy: Suspension of Standing and Sessional Orders". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 25 August 1988. Archived from the original on 19 July 2005. Retrieved 9 March 2006.
- ^ Henderson (1994), p. 298
- ^ Henderson (1994), p. 299
- Government of Australia. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ Shaw, Meaghan (28 August 2004). "Lib urges rethink on Coalition credibility". The Age.
- ^ Macphee I.M., Liberalism Gets a Hearing Again, The Australian, 20 June 2005
- ^ Howard's folly: alienating the neighbours The Age, 6 March 2003
- ^ Dutton's powers unchecked and unjust, former Liberal immigration minister says The Guardian 4 May 2017
- ^ "Former Liberal minister endorses ousting of MP Tim Wilson at next federal election". the Guardian. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
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