Peter Donald Shack (born 20 June 1953) is a former Australian politician who served as a member of 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 ...

from 1977 to 1983 and from 1984 to 1993. He was a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and represented the

Division of Tangney The Division of Tangney is an Australian electoral division in the state of Western Australia. The Division was named after Dame Dorothy Tangney, the first female member of the Australian Senate. Tangney is an affluent electorate covering t ...

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 ...

Early life

Shack was born in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. He is a descendant of Heinrich Schacht, who immigrated to Australia in 1860s from the German-Danish border region of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

; another of Heinrich Schacht's descendants was Labor Senator

Chris Schacht Christopher Cleland Schacht (born 6 December 1946) is a former Australian politician and member of the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He was born in Melbourne and educated at the University of Adelaide and Wattle ...

. Shack was educated at

Wesley College, Perth Wesley College, informally known as Wesley, is an independent, day and boarding school for boys and girls (co-ed to Year 6 and boys only Years 7–12), situated in South Perth, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The college is a Uniting ...

and the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

before becoming a company director and political advisor.

Politics

In 1977, aged 24, Shack was elected to the House of Representatives 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 ...

member for

Tangney The Division of Tangney is an Australian electoral division in the state of Western Australia. The Division was named after Dame Dorothy Tangney, the first female member of the Australian Senate. Tangney is an affluent electorate covering t ...

. He was defeated by

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 ...

's George Gear in 1983. However, a redistribution for the 1984 election made Tangney notionally Liberal, forcing Gear to transfer to nearby

Canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...

. Shack ran for his old seat in that election and won it with a large swing. He held the seat without serious difficulty until his retirement in 1993.

Criminal conviction

In January 2013, Shack was convicted of stealing $100,000 from his mother-in-law Mary Stasinowsky in July 2004. On 26 April he was sentenced to 14 months imprisonment.

References

Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Tangney Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1953 births Living people People educated at Wesley College, Perth 20th-century Australian politicians Australian people of German descent Australian politicians convicted of crimes {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub