Allan Morris
{{Short description|Australian politician}}
{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox MP
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Allan Morris
| honorific-suffix =
| image =
| constituency_MP = Newcastle
| parliament = Australian
| majority =
| predecessor = Charles Jones
| successor = Sharon Grierson
| term_start = 5 March 1983
| term_end = 8 October 2001
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1940|7|26}}
| birth_place = Waratah, New South Wales, Australia
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse =
| party = Labor (to 2007)
| relations = Peter Morris (brother)
Matthew Morris (nephew)
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater =University of Newcastle
| occupation = Computer programmer
| profession =
| religion =
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Allan Agapitos Morris (born 26 July 1940) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, representing the seat of Newcastle for the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He also served on the Newcastle City Council from 1974 to 1983. He was expelled from the ALP in 2007.
Early life
Morris was born on 26 July 1940 in Waratah, New South Wales.{{cite news|url=https://handbook.aph.gov.au/Parliamentarian/FI4|title=Morris, Allan Agapitos|work=Parliamentary Handbook|publisher=Parliament of Australia|access-date=19 October 2024}} He and his older brother Peter Morris – also a federal MP – were the sons of Jimmy Morris, a Greek immigrant from the island of Symi who anglicised his name from Agapitos Montiadis and ran a coffeehouse in Newcastle, New South Wales.{{cite journal|first=Leonard|last=Janiszewski|year=2020|title=Novocastrian Hellenes: an insight into Newcastle's Greek settlement|journal=Nostos: A Journal for Greek Letters|publisher=Journal of the Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand|volume=20|pages=99–106}}
Morris holds the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the University of Newcastle. Prior to entering politics, he was a computer programmer and analyst. He was an alderman on Newcastle City Council from 1974 to 1983 and also a councillor on electricity provider Shortland County Council from 1974 to 1977.
Politics
=Early involvement=
Morris was secretary of the ALP's Newcastle branch from 1973 to 1982. He was a delegate to the party's state council and state conference from 1975 and served as the party's campaign director for the federal Division of Newcastle at the 1975 federal election.
=House of Representatives=
At the 1983 election, Morris was elected to the House of Representatives, retaining the seat of Newcastle for the ALP following the retirement of incumbent MP Charles Jones. He was re-elected on six further occasions (including at a supplementary election following the death of a candidate at the 1998 election), eventually retiring prior to the 2001 election.
In parliament, Morris served as chair of the House Standing Committee on Community Affairs from 1993 to 1996 and as deputy chair of the House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Resources from 1998 to 2001. He was factionally unaligned within the ALP and came into conflict with the Hawke government on several occasions, including on changes to the assets test for pensions and the Bell Group's 1986 takeover bid for BHP.{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/116392484|title=Hawke hopes assets test before poll|first=Paul|last=Malone|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=28 February 1984}}{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/118106376|title=BHP left to stand alone|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=12 March 1986|first=Paul|last=Malone}} In 1990, he publicly criticised the government's decision to renege on an election promise to relocate the Australian Maritime Safety Authority from Canberra to Newcastle.{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122311249|title=Sea-safety body to remain in Canberra|newspaper=The Canberra Times|first=Amanda|last=Uhlmann|date=16 September 1990}}
=Later activities=
In 2006, Morris publicly opposed the ALP's decision to disendorse incumbent Newcastle state MP Bryce Gaudry, with his letters to federal Labor leader Kim Beazley on the matter published in The Sydney Morning Herald.{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/fair-warning-trampled-by-the-machine-20060916-gdoeh7.html|title=Fair warning trampled by the machine|first=Alan|last=Ramsey|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=16 September 2006|access-date=19 October 2024}} Prior to the 2007 New South Wales state election, he announced he would support Gaudry's bid for re-election as an independent.{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-02-14/ex-federal-labor-mp-to-back-independent/2194510|title=Ex-federal Labor MP to back independent|publisher=ABC News|date=14 February 2007|access-date=19 October 2024}} He was subsequently expelled from the party.{{cite news|url=https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/467806/labors-love-lost/|title=Labor's love lost|newspaper=Newcastle Herald|date=18 March 2011|access-date=19 October 2024|first=Greg|last=Ray}}
References
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{{succession box | title=Member for Newcastle | before=Charles Jones| after=Sharon Grierson| years=1983–2001}}
{{S-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Allan}}
Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia
Category:New South Wales local councillors
Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Newcastle
Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Category:21st-century Australian politicians
Category:Australian people of Greek descent
Category:University of Newcastle (Australia) alumni
Category:Australian MPs 1983–1984
Category:Australian MPs 1984–1987
Category:Australian MPs 1987–1990
Category:Australian MPs 1990–1993
Category:Australian MPs 1993–1996