Harry Vernon Quick (born 28 June 1941,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

), is an Australian politician. He was a member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

from 1993 until 2007, representing the electorate of

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

. He sat as an

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

representative from 1993 to 2007, when he was expelled from the party for failing to pay his membership dues. An outspoken maverick MP, he did not contest the 2007 federal election. He first entered politics in 1993 after winning the southern

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

n seat of

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. On the night of the 1993 federal election, Quick was the first member to become elected (mainly due to the

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difference), reclaiming

for

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, for the first time in 17 years. During the time he has been member for

the one-time

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

stronghold has become a reasonably safe

seat. Even in the 2004 federal election where all

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

n Labor members lost support, Quick's decline was the smallest. He was a teacher, education officer and electorate officer before entering politics. He worked for Senator

Michael Tate Michael Carter Tate AO (born 6 July 1945) is a legal academic and former Australian Labor Party politician who later became an ambassador and then a Catholic priest. Early life and education Tate was born in Sydney in 1945. He was educated a ...

prior to being elected to the House. He also protested against the

2003 Iraq war The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

in which Australian troops took part. He once took a Tasmanian

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into the

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in protest against legalising the import of

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apples which have been banned in Australia for 80 years because of bio-security risk reasons, notably the

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disease. He opposed the 2005

Walker Corporation Walker Corporation is an Australian privately-owned property development company. Most notably, Walker Corporation is responsible for the development and restoration of several significant Australian sites, including King Street Wharf, Finger ...

planned development at Ralphs Bay, Lauderdale near Hobart that the

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had hoped for. He has always believed that politicians should take a "hands on" role in the community. Quick was an Opposition Whip 2001–04. On 12 August 2005, Quick announced that he would not contest his seat at the next federal election, blaming what he called the party's left-right factional disputes and lack of a strong leader as the reasons for his retirement. Quick caused controversy during the 2006 state election by endorsing not only fellow Labor candidates in the state equivalent of his seat, but also a

Tasmanian Greens The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia which developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the Franklin Dam campaign. They form a part of the Australian Greens. The party ...

member,

Nick McKim Nicholas James McKim (born 11 June 1965) is an Australian politician, currently a member of the Australian Senate representing Tasmania. He was previously a Tasmanian Greens member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly elected at the 2002 election ...

. Quick was expelled from the ALP on 20 August 2007 for failing to pay his membership fees. He sat as an Independent member until his retirement. In February 2009, Quick was reported to be seeking preselection for the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, H ...

division of Derwent as a representative of the

. He had joined the Greens in July 2008. Five days after announcing his intention to contest the seat held by Treasurer Michael Aird, Quick abruptly changed his mind, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.Harry's Quick Green backflip
''The Mercury'', 18 February 2009

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quick, Harry 1941 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Franklin Members of the Australian House of Representatives 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians