Kim Chance
{{Short description|Australian politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = The Honourable
| name = Kim Chance
| honorific-suffix =
| image =
| office = Member of the Legislative Council
of Western Australia
| constituency = Agricultural Region
| term_start = 18 March 1992
| term_end = 21 May 2009
|birth_name=Kimberley Maurice Chance
| birth_date = {{birth date|1946|11|16|df=y}}
| birth_place = Perth, Western Australia
| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|2|22|1946|11|16|df=y}}
| death_place = Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| party = Labor
}}
Kimberley Maurice "Kim" Chance (16 November 1946 – 22 February 2017) was an Australian farmer and politician who served as a Labor Party member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1992 to 2009, representing Agricultural Region. He served as a minister in the governments of Geoff Gallop and Alan Carpenter between 2001 and 2008.
Early life
Chance was born in Perth, Western Australia, the son of Hazel Isobel (née Prowse) and Geoffrey Maurice Chance. His uncle, Edgar Prowse, was a Country Party senator. Chance was raised on his father's property at Doodlakine, and then boarded at Wesley College, Perth. He returned to Doodlakine to engage in sharefarming, and later farmed on his own land, initially at Doodlakine and later at Carrabin. Chance served on the executive of the Western Australian Farmers Federation, including as treasurer, and was a state delegate to the National Farmers Federation. He was also a board member of the Water Authority of Western Australia from 1985 to 1992, and a director of the Avon Football Association.[http://parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/MemberNames/Chance,%20Kimberley%20(Kim)%20Maurice?OpenDocument Kimberley (Kim) Maurice Chance], Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
Politics
Chance joined the Labor Party in 1971. He first stood for parliament at the 1983 federal election, running for the House of Representatives in the Division of O'Connor (a safe seat for the Liberal Party). Chance contested three more federal elections over the following decade (in 1984, 1987, and 1990), but lost to Wilson Tuckey of the Liberal Party on each occasion. His share of the vote in O'Connor decreased at every election, both in terms of first preferences and on the two-party-preferred count, although this was consistent with Labor's nationwide trends.[http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/ Australian Election Archive], Psephos. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
At the 1989 state election, Chance ran in second position in Labor's ticket in Agricultural Region. He failed to win election, but in March 1992 filled the casual vacancy caused by Jim Brown's retirement. Chance was re-elected as the lead Labor candidate in Agricultural Region at the 1993 state election, and at every subsequent election until his retirement. He was included in the shadow ministry in February 1994, when Ian Taylor replaced Carmen Lawrence as leader, and served as a shadow minister under two more opposition leaders (Jim McGinty and Geoff Gallop).[http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/Memblist.nsf/WAllMembersFlat/Chance,+Kimberley+(Kim)+Maurice?opendocument Hon. Kimberley (Kim) Maurice Chance MLC], Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
Chance became Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council following Labor's victory at the 2001 state election, and was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Forestry, and Minister for Fisheries in the new ministry. His three portfolios were combined in July 2001, although fisheries was separated out again in March 2005 and given to Jon Ford. Chance also held responsibility for several of Western Australia's regions, subordinate to the Minister for Regional Development. He remained in the ministry until the Labor government's defeat at the 2008 state election, which he did not contest. His term ended in May 2009.
Later life
After leaving parliament, Chance served for periods as chairman of the Australian Landcare Council and chairman of the Western Australian Fishing Industry Council. He also spent time as a food-security consultant in Abu Dhabi, and helped establish a camel dairy in Dandaragan, the first such enterprise in the country.[https://thewest.com.au/countryman/news/purely-by-chance-ng-ya-395688 "Purely by Chance"], The West Australian, 3 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2017.[https://thewest.com.au/countryman/news/taking-a-chance-on-camels-ng-ya-123839 "Taking a chance on camels"], The West Australian, 25 November 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2017. Chance died in February 2017, aged 70.[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-23/former-wa-alp-minister-kim-chance-dies-at-the-age-of-70/8296948 "Kim Chance, former WA ALP minister and camel dairy farmer, dies aged 70"], ABC News, 23 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017. He had married Susanne O'Rourke in 1974, with whom he had two children.
References
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Category:20th-century Australian farmers
Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia
Category:Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council
Category:People educated at Wesley College, Perth
Category:People from the Wheatbelt (Western Australia)
Category:21st-century Australian politicians