Antony Hamilton Lamb (born 7 March 1939) is a former Australian politician. He 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 1972 to 1975 and from 1984 to 1990, representing the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP). He was a pharmacist prior to entering politics.

Early life

Lamb was born on 7 March 1939 in

Horsham, Victoria Horsham () is a regional city in the Wimmera region of western Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Located on a bend in the Wimmera River, Horsham is approximately northwest of the state capital Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, Horsham ...

. He was one of three children born to Marie Christine () and George Hamilton Lamb, his father being a Country Party member of the

parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria that follows a Westminster System, Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Monarchy in Australia, King, represent ...

. His mother died in 1941 following a long illness, while his father died in 1943 as a Japanese prisoner of war on the Burma Railway. Lamb attended Box Hill High School before taking up a scholarship at

Scotch College, Melbourne Scotch College is a private, Presbyterian day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The college was established in 1851 as The Melbourne Academy in a house in Spri ...

. He qualified as a pharmacist at the

Victorian College of Pharmacy Monash University, Parkville campus is a campus of Monash University, located in Parkville, Victoria, Australia. It is home to the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Founded in 1881 and previously known as the Victorian College ...

in 1959, where he was a member of the Young Labor Association and active in the New Theatre. He later completed the degree of

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

at 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 ...

in 1971 and a diploma in education at

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

in 1979. Lamb completed an apprenticeship with Eric Scott, the president of

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia The Pharmacy Guild of Australia is a national employer's organisation representing pharmacy owners in Australia. Еstablished in 1927 as the Federated Pharmaceutical Services Guild of Australia, it is registered under the Fair Work Act 2009 ...

. He later worked for periods in South Croydon and

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

before becoming manager of a pharmacy at the

Northland Shopping Centre Northland Shopping Centre is a major shopping centre in Preston, Victoria, Preston, approximately 11 km north of the Melbourne central business district in Victoria, Australia. It is the largest predominantly single-level shopping centre in ...

in Preston.

Politics

In 1972, he was elected to 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. ...

as the

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 ...

member for La Trobe. As a backbench member in 1973, Lamb and David McKenzie introduced the Medical Practice Clarification Bill which, if passed, would have allowed abortion in the Australian Capital Territory. The bill was defeated after a conscience vote on 10 May 1973 by 98 votes to 23. Lamb held the seat of LaTrobe until his defeat in 1975. In 1984 he returned to the House as the member for the new seat of Streeton, which he held until its abolition in 1990. Lamb then contested the seat of Deakin, but was unsuccessful.

Later life

In the Australia Day Honors, 2006, Lamb received the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

(OAM) for service to pharmacy, to the Australian Parliament and to the community. In 2009, Lamb published his thesis in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy: In 2015, Lamb and three other former MPs brought a case before the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

, purporting that reductions to their retirement allowances and limitations on the number of "domestic return trips per year" under the Members of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) Act 2002 was unconstitutional under S51(xxxi) of the

Constitution of Australia The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, which establishes the country as a Federation of Australia, ...

. They lost the case in 2016, with the court finding that Parliament was entitled to vary the terms of allowances.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamb, Tony 1939 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for La Trobe Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Streeton Members of the Australian House of Representatives Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian pharmacists University of Melbourne alumni Australian MPs 1972–1974 Australian MPs 1974–1975 Australian MPs 1984–1987 Australian MPs 1987–1990