Dick Adams

Dick was elected to Federal Parliament in 1993 and has been re-elected five times since then into what is now a safe Labor seat.

The last time into the new Australian Government in 2007. His office is situated at Perth just outside Launceston and Dick has set his agenda to be the champion of small towns and rural areas. He was allocated a second office in 2005 in light of the size of the electorate and has his second office in New Norfolk.  

He was elected Chairman of the House of Representatives Primary Industry and Resources Committee and through this is able to research the important issues of the day and feed the information to Parliament.   Currently he is involved in an inquiry into Agriculture and Climate Change. He is also joint Chair of the Joint Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Library and has a strong interest in research for the committee processes and for Members of Parliament generally.

Another committee that he is heavily involved with is the Joint Committee of the National Capital and External Territories  which covers the Capital and all the small external territories, such as Christmas Island, Cocos Islands and Norfolk Island to name a few. Christmas Island has a role to play in the asylum seekers who come by boat from Asia to Australia.  He is also interested in peace keeping and the role of the Australian Commonwealth Police in various peacekeeping roles.

Tasmania itself is also an island and is a State in its own right but has many difficulties due to its detachment from the Australian mainland and Dick is always looking for ways to improve island transport both for passenger and freight. Island economies have distinct problems and many of them share these and he is always looking for improvements and different approaches to deal with island isolation.

He has a strong interest in history and while Tasmania’s settlement was one of the first areas settled, in European terms it is very young as it has only been settled by Europeans for just over 200 years. Australia is just beginning to appreciate its own history and its beginnings and Tasmania has good examples of this early settlement still being used for its original uses. This is being developed for tourism purposes now.

Dick is known for his support for the fine food and wine products of Tasmania and continues to promote these and the natural and built attractions that Tasmania has as a holiday State.

Dick is seen as a champion for country people and is well known for taking up unpopular causes with sensitivity and compassion.