John Francis "Mick" Cotter (born 21 March 1935) is an Australian retired politician. Born in Yarram, Victoria, he was a

pastoralist Pastoralist may refer to: * Pastoralism, raising livestock on natural pastures * Pastoral farming, settled farmers who grow crops to feed their livestock * People who keep or raise sheep, sheep farming Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the r ...

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * ''Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ra ...

and

contractor A contractor is a person or company that performs work on a contract basis. The term may refer to: Business roles * Defense contractor, arms industry which provides weapons or military goods to a government * General contractor, an individual o ...

before entering politics. Having moved to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, he was elected to Coolgardie Shire Council in 1965. In 1974 he left the council to run as the

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 ...

candidate for 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 ...

seat of

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

, losing to long-serving Labor member

Fred Collard Frederick Walter Collard (6 June 1912 – 1 December 1986) was an Australian politician. Born in Beverley, Western Australia, he was educated at state schools before becoming a goldminer and an official with the Australian Workers' Union. ...

. He sought a rematch against Collard in 1975, this time winning. He held the seat until his defeat in 1980.

References

Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Kalgoorlie Members of the Australian House of Representatives Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 1935 births Living people 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub