Gallus Prime

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Lore & Background

Gallus was first elected to the seat of Hawker, based on Glenelg and the Holdfast Bay area, at the 1990 election, defeating one-term Labor incumbent Elizabeth Harvey on a razor-edge 50.01 percent two-party vote from a 1.2 percent two-party swing. Had at least 8 of 14 Australian Democrats supporters ranked Harvey higher than Gallus on next preferences, Harvey would have won. Hawker was abolished ahead of the 1993 federal election. Most of its territory, including Glenelg, was absorbed into neighbouring Hindmarsh, and Gallus opted to follow most of her constituents there. Hindmarsh had long been a Labor stronghold, but had grown increasingly marginal over the last decade. Largely due to the addition of Holdfast Bay, Labor's already thin majority of 5.3 percent was pared back even further, to an extremely marginal 1.2 percent. Additionally, the election was called at a bad time for the state Labor government, which was still reeling from the collapse of the State Bank of South Australia. Indeed, the state Labor government would be heavily defeated at a state election later that year. Gallus took a substantial first-count lead and ultimately won on the eighth count, becoming only the second non-Labor MP ever to win the seat and the first since 1917. To date, it is also the only time that Labor has been in government without holding Hindmarsh.

In Their Own Story

In the last couple of years of the Liberal Party's time in Opposition, which ended in 1996, Gallus was Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, in which she was seen as an effective opponent against Aboriginal Affairs Minister Robert Tickner when she attacked his credibility over the Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy. On one occasion, she moved a censure motion against Tickner during question time, with Prime Minister Paul Keating humorously referring to her as 'Callous Gallus'. The controversy over the Hindmarsh Island bridge was believed to have cost Tickner his seat at the 1996 election. Despite this she was not picked for a place in the ministry by new Liberal Prime Minister John Howard. Gallus did, however, become Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Reconciliation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs in 2001 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs 2001–04. Gallus gained a large swing in the 1996 election, technically making Hindmarsh a safe Liberal seat. However, she had to withstand strong challenges from Labor's Steve Georganas in the next two elections. Gallus retired at the 2004 election and was replaced as the Liberal candidate by Simon Birmingham, who lost the seat to Georganas by just 108 votes.

Reader's Guide

Gallus's political career is defined by her narrow victories and her role in the Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy. She entered Parliament by winning Hawker with a 50.01 percent two-party vote. After Hawker was abolished, she won Hindmarsh on the eighth count, becoming only the second non-Labor MP to hold that seat since 1917. As Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, she attacked Minister Robert Tickner's credibility over the Hindmarsh Island bridge, moving a censure motion that prompted Paul Keating to call her 'Callous Gallus'. That controversy was believed to have cost Tickner his seat in 1996. Despite her effectiveness, John Howard did not appoint her to the ministry. She later served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Reconciliation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (2001) and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (2001–04). She retired in 2004, and her successor Simon Birmingham lost to Steve Georganas by 108 votes.

Did You Know?

• Gallus won the Division of Hawker in 1990 with a razor-edge 50.01 percent two-party vote.
• Had at least 8 of 14 Australian Democrats supporters ranked Harvey higher than Gallus on next preferences, Harvey would have won.
• Gallus became only the second non-Labor MP to win Hindmarsh and the first since 1917.
• Prime Minister Paul Keating humorously referred to her as 'Callous Gallus' during a censure motion.
• Her successor Simon Birmingham lost the 2004 election by just 108 votes.