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Max Fox

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Australian politician (1912–1988)

Max FoxCBE
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Henty
In office
10 December 1955 – 18 May 1974
Preceded byJo Gullett
Succeeded byJoan Child
Personal details
Born(1912-04-27)27 April 1912
Oakleigh, Victoria, Australia
Died27 November 1988(1988-11-27) (aged 76)
Political partyLiberal
Spouse Edna Bowra ​(m. 1936)​
OccupationClerk

Edmund Maxwell Cameron Fox, CBE (27 April 1912 – 27 November 1988) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1955 to 1974. He was the party's chief whip from 1969 to 1974.

Early life

Fox was born on 27 April 1912 in Oakleigh, Victoria. He was educated at state schools before becoming a clerk and salesman. At the time of his election to parliament he was working as a manufacturers' agent.

Fox enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in March 1942. He trained as a wireless maintenance mechanic. He was promoted to corporal in December 1942 and to sergeant in April 1944, receiving his discharge in December 1945.

Politics

Fox stood unsuccessfully for the Liberal and Country Party at the 1955 state election, losing to the incumbent Australian Labor Party MP Val Doube in the seat of Oakleigh.

Fox was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1955 federal election, retaining the seat of Henty for the Liberal Party following the retirement of Jo Gullett. He was re-elected on six further occasions. He eventually lost his seat to Labor candidate Joan Child at the 1974 election, one of only two Liberal MPs to lose their seats to Labor at the election.

In 1969, Fox was appointed as the Liberal Party's House whip, a position he maintained until his parliamentary defeat under Liberal leaders John Gorton, William McMahon, and Billy Snedden. He chaired the House Select Committee on Naming of Electoral Divisions from 1968 to 1969, the House Select Committee on Wildlife Conservation from 1970 to 1972, and the House Select Committee on Road Safety from 1972 to 1973. He was also chairman of the Commonwealth Immigration Planning Council from 1967 to 1973 and a parliamentary representative on the Parliamentary Retiring Allowances Trust and Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.

Positions and views

In 1966, following an incident where Australian flags were burned outside The Lodge, Fox called for the Flags Act 1953 to be amended to ban defiling the national flag.

Fox was critical of the kangaroo industry, particularly what he described as the "wholesale slaughter" of kangaroo shooting. He lobbied the federal government for a ban on the export of kangaroo products, reportly submitting a total of 54 petitions on the subject across two years. In 1971, he was described by The Bulletin as "the leader of the kangaroo lobby".

Fox was a supporter of increased immigration to Australia. He asked parliamentary questions on behalf of the Jewish community on a number of occasions, requesting intervention by the federal government on behalf of Jews facing antisemitism in Syria and the Soviet Union.

Personal life

Fox married Edna Bowra in 1936. He died on 27 November 1988, aged 76.

References

  1. ^ "Fox, Edmund Maxwell Cameron, CBE". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  2. Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
  3. ^ "L.C.P. Choice for Oakleigh". The Age. 9 October 1954.
  4. ^ Church, Nathan; Gobbett, Hannah; Lumb, Martin; Lundie, Rob (19 September 2014). Commonwealth Members of Parliament who have served in war: Colonial wars and the First World War (PDF) (Report). Research Papers Series, 2014-15. Australian Parliamentary Library. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  5. Francis, Noel (25 June 1974). "Seat in the House for mother of five". The Canberra Times.
  6. "In reply: Flags Act". The Canberra Times. 15 October 1966.
  7. "One more week: export action". The Bulletin. No. 4702. 2 May 1970.
  8. "On the hop". The Bulletin. No. 4784. 4 December 1971.
  9. "Migration a 'must'". The Australian Jewish News. 5 November 1971.
  10. "McMahon asked to act for Syrian Jews". The Australian Jewish Times. 27 April 1972.
  11. "Govt. backing Soviet Jewry". Australian Jewish Times. 14 September 1972.
  12. "Recent Weddings". Table Talk. 26 November 1936.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded byJo Gullett Member for Henty
1955 – 1974 		Succeeded byJoan Child


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