Grant Tambling

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Grant Tambling
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Northern Territory
In office
18 October 1980 – 5 March 1983
Preceded bySam Calder
Succeeded byJohn Reeves
Senator for Northern Territory
In office
11 July 1987 – 9 November 2001
Preceded byBernie Kilgariff
Succeeded byNigel Scullion
Administrator of Norfolk Island
In office
1 November 2003 – 7 August 2007
MonarchElizabeth II
Governor‑GeneralMichael Jeffery
Preceded byMichael Stephens
Succeeded byOwen Walsh
Personal details
Born (1943-06-20) 20 June 1943 (age 80)
Wondai, Queensland, Australia
Political partyCountry Liberal Party (1974−2003; 2007-present)[a]
National Party (federal)
SpouseSandy Tambling

Grant Ernest John Tambling, AM (born 20 June 1943) is an Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1980 to 1983 and then a Senator for the Northern Territory from 1987 to 2001, representing the Country Liberal Party. In federal parliament, he sat with the National Country Party, later renamed National Party. He later served as Administrator of Norfolk Island from 2003 to 2007.

Early life[edit]

Tambling was born in Wondai,[2] Queensland and raised in Darwin in the Northern Territory. He attended Darwin High School and Adelaide Boys' High School, returning to Darwin before moving to Sydney for work.[3]

Politics[edit]

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Years Term Electoral division Party
1974–1977 1st Fannie Bay Country Liberal

After a stint in local government on the Darwin City Council, Tambling was elected to the first Northern Territory Legislative Assembly as the Country Liberal Party member for Fannie Bay. Tambling served as Executive Member for Community Development in that first parliament. Executive members were the equivalent of ministers in later years, though that title was not used until self-government was granted in 1978.[4]

In 1975, he became deputy leader of the CLP and hence Deputy Majority Leader (deputy premier) under Majority Leader Goff Letts. Despite that, Tambling was defeated at the 1977 election by Labor Party candidate Pam O'Neil, and began a career in business. He served as the member for the Northern Territory electorate in the House of Representatives from 1980 to 1983, but was again defeated by an ALP rival, John Reeves.[4] He sat with the parliamentary National Country Party like his predecessor Sam Calder.[5]

After four years out of parliament, Tambling was once again elected—this time to the Senate—at the 1987 federal election. He replaced Bernie Kilgariff, who he had earlier replaced as Deputy Majority leader. Unlike Kilgariff who sat with the Liberal Party, Tambling continued to sit with the parliamentary National Party (since renamed from National Country Party), as he did previously as member for Northern Territory. He is the only Territorian to have served in both houses of federal parliament. He was also the deputy National Party leader in the Senate between 10 April 1990 and 23 March 1993, and a second time between 11 May 2000 and 9 November 2001. He also spent almost six years as parliamentary secretary in the Howard government, between 11 March 1996 and 26 November 2001.[6]

Tambling spent fourteen years as a Senator before being disendorsed by the CLP at the 2001 election for voting in favour of anti-Internet gaming legislation.[7] Tambling subsequently retired from politics and worked for two years in private consultancy.

Norfolk Island[edit]

Tambling was appointed as the Administrator of Norfolk Island, for a term lasting from 1 November 2003 to September 2007.

Personal life[edit]

He is married with two children.[4]

Nots[edit]

  1. ^ Tambling was required to resign his party membership from 2003−2007 when he was Administrator of Norfolk Island.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Former Administrator addresses the Norfolk Island Liberal Party" (PDF). Norfolk Island Government. p. 8.
  2. ^ Davey, Paul. "TAMBLING, Grant Ernest John" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2016.
  3. ^ Davey, Paul. "TAMBLING, Grant Ernest John (1943 - )" (PDF). Territory Stories. Northern Territory Library. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "Administrator of Norfolk Island". Archived from the original on 20 March 2008.
  5. ^ Davey, Paul (2017). "TAMBLING, Grant Ernest John (1943– )". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Former Senator Grant Tambling". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  7. ^ Shane, McLeod (4 July 2001). "Grant Tambling shafted". AM Archive. Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). Retrieved 19 January 2023.


Government offices
Preceded by Administrator of Norfolk Island
2003–2007
Succeeded by
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
New seat Member for Fannie Bay
1974–1977
Succeeded by
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Northern Territory
1980–1983
Succeeded by
Preceded by Senator for the Northern Territory
1987–2001
Served alongside: Bob Collins, Trish Crossin
Succeeded by