Roger Francis Shipton (5 August 1936 – 18 January 1998) was an Australian politician. 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. For example, while the political systems ...

and served in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from 1975 to 1990, representing the Melbourne seat of Higgins.

Early life

Shipton was born in Melbourne on 5 August 1936. He graduated

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

and was president of the Victorian Law Students' Society. Prior to entering parliament he was chief legal officer of chemical manufacturer ICI Australia.

Politics

Shipton was a delegate to the Victorian state council of the Liberal Party from 1962 and served on the state executive from 1973 to 1976. In 1975 he succeeded former Prime Minister Sir

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician, farmer and airman who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1968 to 1971. He held office as the leader of the leade ...

as the

member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

for the

Division of Higgins The Division of Higgins was an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian Electoral Division in Victoria, Australia, Victoria for the Australian House of Representatives from 1949 until 2025. At the time of its abolition in ...

. Unlike his predecessors in that electorate, Gorton and

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, who had both served as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, he was never promoted to cabinet, though he did serve in the opposition shadow ministry from 1983 to 1985. In the lead up to the 1990 Federal Election it was suggested that he would stand aside to allow John Elliott to take his seat, and the leadership of the Federal Liberal Party, but he declined to make way for Elliott and remained the member for Higgins. Despite his stand he was successfully challenged for pre-selection by future Treasurer

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with support from Michael Kroger. He retired from parliament after being defeated. He died in 1998 due to complications following heart surgery.

Personal life

Shipton's son James became chairman of the

Australian Securities & Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...

(ASIC). He was also the godfather of

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lead singer

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References

1936 births 1998 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Higgins Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Melbourne Law School alumni 20th-century Australian lawyers Australian MPs 1975–1977 Australian MPs 1977–1980 Australian MPs 1980–1983 Australian MPs 1983–1984 Australian MPs 1984–1987 Australian MPs 1987–1990 {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub