Peter Francis Adamson (born 1961 in Darwin) is a former Australian politician. He was educated at private schools, and then at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, where he graduated with a bachelor of Arts, majoring in Politics. Prior to entering politics, he was the sports anchor on Channel Eight (now Channel Nine) News.

Political career

In 1994, future Chief Minister

Clare Martin Clare Majella Martin (born 15 June 1952) is a former Australian journalist and politician. She was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995. She was appointed Opposition Leader in 1999, and won ...

was approached to contest the Darwin Legislative Assembly seat of

Casuarina ''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...

for the Labor Party at the 1994 election. However, she was defeated by Peter Adamson, standing as the candidate for the

Country Liberal Party The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP) is a centre-right political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In local politics it operates in a two-party system with the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It also contests federal ...

. He was re-elected at the 1997 election but defeated by Labor candidate Kon Vatskalis at the 2001 election when Labor won government in the Territory for the first time.

Lord Mayor and subsequent fall from grace

In 2002 Adamson was elected Lord

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Darwin. While Adamson knew many early successes, including economic investment, roadwork repairs, and sending himself and others as a mayoral delegation to

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

(Darwin's sister city) to discuss expanding economic ties, Adamson's career soon came spiralling out of control, with the revelation of misuse of council funds to purchase comical items such as a refrigerator, women's underwear and a Darth Vader voice distorter. The unfolding media speculation became "something of a ritual for several months as the case against Peter Adamson has ground through the court system with colourful and sometimes bizarre aspects of the story". Adamson, on initial criticism chose to see the funny side, on New Year's Eve he arrived at a party dressed as a fridge, with his girlfriend who went as a policewoman, Although he had stood aside from the job, Adamson was still drawing his $90,000 a year Lord Mayor's salaries when convicted. He was subsequently replaced by

Garry Lambert Garry Lambert is an Australian politician. He was the Lord Mayor of Darwin from 2007 to 2008. He was the unsuccessful Country Liberal Party candidate for the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly seat of Fannie Bay in the 2008 election. Lam ...

. Adamson subsequently lost his appeal, with the judge calling him a sociopathic liar. Adamson was sentenced to seven months in prison but the sentence was to be suspended after two months and was released from prison in April 2008. He is engaged to Leanne Meharry.Darwin Mayor Peter Adamson - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Peter 1961 births Living people Country Liberal Party members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Mayors and Lord Mayors of Darwin Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly University of Sydney alumni 21st-century Australian politicians