Keith Alexander Laught (2 June 1907 – 13 May 1969) was an Australian politician. Laught was born in Mitcham, South Australia. His parents were telegraph clerk Alexander Veitch Laught and his wife Johanne Christiane née Wittber. He was educated at Unley High School and Scotch College then the University of Adelaide, becoming a barrister and solicitor in 1928 and moving to the Mid North town of

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

where he met and married his wife, Josephine Faith (Jo) née Hackett. Laught remained Presbyterian but was married in his bride's

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

church in 1935. The couple moved to Mount Gambier in 1938. Laught served with the

3rd Light Horse Regiment The 3rd Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army during the First World War. The regiment was raised in September 1914, and by December as part of the 1st Light Horse Brigade had moved overseas. The regiment onl ...

from 1939 and volunteered for the Second Australian Imperial Force in 1940, joining the 9th Division Cavalry Regiment. He served in the Middle East but suffered from medical issues that saw him returned to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1943 and discharged on 1 January 1944. In the 1951 election, Laught was elected to the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

as a Liberal Senator for South Australia, receiving a short term following the

double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolution ...

election. He faced election again at the 1953 election which was the first half-senate election held separately from the lower house. He lived in Mount Gambier until 1959, then moved to

Glenunga Glenunga is an List of Adelaide suburbs, inner southeastern suburb of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It is located in the City of Burnside, five kilometres southeast of the Adelaide city centre. The name Glenunga is a composite of Au ...

in Adelaide to make travel to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

easier. Laught was an advocate for the decimalisation of Australian currency, and for the adoption of metric weights and measures. He held the seat until his death on the way from his hotel to Parliament House in 1969;

Martin Cameron Martin Bruce Cameron (born 24 August 1935) is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian Senate from May to October 1969. He was later a member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 1971 ...

was appointed to fill the casual vacancy.

References

Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Members of the Australian Senate 1907 births 1969 deaths People educated at Scotch College, Adelaide 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub