Raymond Allen Braithwaite (born 6 December 1933) is a former

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 ...

n politician. Born at

Finch Hatton, Queensland Finch Hatton is a rural town and locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Finch Hatton had a population of 499 people. Geography Finch Hatton lies in the valley of Cattle Creek (a tributary of the Pioneer ...

, he was a chartered accountant before entering politics. In 1964 he was elected to

Mackay City Council The City of Mackay was a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the regional city of Mackay, Queensland, Mackay and the surrounding region. The City ...

, where he remained until 1969. He also served in the military. In 1975, he was elected to 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 ...

as the

National Country Party The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a fede ...

member for Dawson, defeating

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 ...

minister

Rex Patterson Rex Alan Patterson (8 January 1927 – 13 April 2016) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and held ministerial office in the Whitlam Government as Minister for Northern Development (1972–1975), ...

. He held the seat until his retirement in 1996. In his valedictory speech in parliament, Braithwaite thanked the ALP for nominating candidates against him in Dawson who were easy for him to beat at every election he contested.

References

1933 births Living people National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Dawson Members of the Australian House of Representatives Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-National-politician-stub