Early Political Career
Mair first entered politics at the 11 June 1932 election, when he stood as the United Australia Party candidate for the local seat of Albury in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. The election campaign was noted for having occurred not long after the dismissal of Premier Jack Lang, and was affected by violence by the right-wing New Guard. Despite this, Mair gained the seat from the Labor party member, Joseph Fitzgerald. Despite only gaining 30.65% of the primary vote to Fitzgerald's 40.07%, Mair was able to secure the seat with Country Party preferences, on a 58-41% margin.
As the local member, Mair became interested in helping those affected by the Great Depression and fulfilled his election promise to give most of his paliamentary salary to the poor in his own electorate, a practice which he continued until 1938. Serving on the backbench, Mair was noted for being a strong supporter of Premier Bertram Stevens at a time when party discipline within the UAP was non-existent. Mair soon built up a reputation for being a loyal, yet also strongly independent member of parliament, and a powerful debater in the House.
At the May 1935 election, Mair was returned in his seat with an increased margin of 59.03%. In 1937, he visited Britain with his wife for the coronation of King George VI and later attempted to enter the Soviet Union, in an attempt to study the social problems associated with a communist system, as a sailor on a Norwegian ship, but was refused entry.
Read more about this topic: Alexander Mair
Famous quotes containing the words early, political and/or career:
“There is a relationship between cartooning and people like Miró and Picasso which may not be understood by the cartoonist, but it definitely is related even in the early Disney.”
—Roy Lichtenstein (b. 1923)
“An inquiry about the attitude towards the release of so-called political prisoners. I should be very sorry to see the United States holding anyone in confinement on account of any opinion that that person might hold. It is a fundamental tenet of our institutions that people have a right to believe what they want to believe and hold such opinions as they want to hold without having to answer to anyone for their private opinion.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)
“I doubt that I would have taken so many leaps in my own writing or been as clear about my feminist and political commitments if I had not been anointed as early as I was. Some major form of recognition seems to have to mark a woman’s career for her to be able to go out on a limb without having her credentials questioned.”
—Ruth Behar (b. 1956)