Chipp, Don

▪ 2007

Donald Leslie Chipp 

      Australian politician (b. Aug. 21, 1925, Melbourne, Australia—d. Aug. 28, 2006, Melbourne), founded (1977) the left-wing Australian Democrats as a reaction to policies of the ruling Liberal Party that he considered too conservative. Chipp was elected to the House of Representatives as a Liberal in 1960 and held a succession of cabinet posts. As minister for customs and excise (1969–72), he was responsible for lifting censorship bans on Playboy magazine and Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer, among other publications. He became disillusioned with the Liberal Party's increasingly conservative bent, however, and resigned on March 24, 1977. Running as a Democrat, Chipp became a member of the Senate in December. In the October 1980 general elections, Chipp's party captured five Senate seats, which secured the Democrats leverage as a crucial “third force” in the balance of parliamentary power. He retired in 1986 but remained a prominent figure in the party.

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