Christine Gallus

Christine Ann "Chris" Gallus (born 6 April 1943), Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1990, representing the Division of Hawker, South Australia 1990-93 and for Hindmarsh, South Australia 1993-2004.^[1] She was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and was educated at the Firbank Girls' Grammar School in Melbourne, Flinders University and the Australian National University. She was a researcher with the South Australian Health Commission, an advertising executive, journalist and small business director before entering politics.

Gallus was first elected in 1990, defeating one-term Labor incumbent Elizabeth Harvey. Her seat was abolished after only one term, and Gallus followed most of her constituents into neighbouring Hindmarsh. That seat had long been a Labor stronghold, but the latest redistribution reduced Labor's majority to an extremely marginal 1.2 percent. 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.

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. The controversy over the Hindmarsh Island bridge was credited for Tickner's political defeat when he lost 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.^[2]

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.

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