Alan Fitzgerald (satirist) - Politics

Politics

In 1967 Fitzgerald was elected to the ACT Advisory Council as a "True Whig", promising to take no action as a mock platform. He was re-elected in 1970, with 21% of the vote, ahead of the Liberal Party candidates and second only to the Australian Labour Party (ALP) team. For many years, Fitzgerald was a member and chairman of the ACT Historic Sites and Building Committee (later renamed the Heritage Council), a body that had been established at his initiative. The Committee sought to protect historic homesteads and buildings, during a time when Canberra was rapidly being extended into surrounding rural areas.

Fitzgerald was initiated into politics when he stood for the Australia Party (founded by Gordon Barton) as its candidate in the May 1970 by-election, running for the House of Representatives seat of Canberra. He won the highest vote of any Australia Party candidate in any election, but was eliminated from the vote count in a final distribution of preference votes. In 1972, Fitzgerald stood again as an Australia Party candidate for the same seat in the Federal election of that year.

Fitzgerald was elected the President of the National Press Club for two terms, 1969–70 and 1970–71, and remained on the committee for many years. As a monarchist, he was a founding member and chairman of the ACT & Region branch of the ACM and played an active role in the Australian republican debate. In 1998, he was the ACM's primary candidate in the election of delegates to the Constitutional Convention, but lost on a final distribution of preferences to the ARM candidate, Frank Cassidy.