New LM
Which political party did Robin Millhouse belong to from Jun 1976 to Jul 1978?
Robin Millhouse Robin Rhodes Millhouse , QC ( 9 December 1929 – 28 April 2017 ) was , at various times , the 39th Attorney-General of South Australia , the first Australian Democrats parliamentarian , and the Chief Justice of both Kiribati and Nauru and a judge of the High Court of Tuvalu . Early life and career . Millhouse was born in Adelaide , to lawyer Vivian Rhodes Millhouse ( 1902–1963 ) , and Grace Lily ( often Lilly ) Millhouse , née Ayliffe ( 1900–1990 ) . Millhouse gained an LLB from the University of Adelaide in 1951 after attending St Peters College , Adelaide . Political career . While practising as a barrister , Millhouse entered the South Australian House of Assembly on 7 May 1955 as the Liberal and Country League ( LCL ) member for Mitcham , a safe LCL seat in southeastern Adelaide . Millhouse rapidly gained a reputation as both the intellectual driving force behind the LCL and an outspoken spokesperson for the urban middle class faction of the LCL , a group under-represented within the party hierarchy . Millhouse ran for the LCL leadership pre-selection following leader Sir Thomas Playfords retirement , but lost to Steele Hall , another member of the LCLs progressive faction . Instead , following the LCLs return to power at the 1968 election , Millhouse was given the portfolios of Attorney-General , Aboriginal Affairs , Social Welfare , and Labour and Industry . In these roles , Millhouse gained a reputation as a crusader for progressive social change as he sought to position South Australia as a national leader on social issues . During 1969 Millhouse was the architect and the major proponent for abortion on health grounds in South Australia , a decision he would come to regret decades later , claiming it had become abortion on demand . In the wake of the LCLs 1970 election loss , Millhouse was elected Deputy Leader of the Opposition on 2 June . After the LCL also lost the 1973 state election , Millhouse resigned from the party on 18 March 1973 to form the Liberal Movement , along with former premier Steele Hall and a number of other senior LCL members , following growing dissatisfaction at the continuing conservatism of the LCL . He led the Liberal Movement at the 1975 state election , where the party received 18% of the vote , though only winning four seats . In 1976 , all Liberal Movement parliamentary members except for Millhouse returned to what by then had become the South Australia branch of the Liberal Party . Millhouse chose instead to form a new political party , named the New LM ; before merging that with the Australia Party , the Centre-Line Party and other like minded groups to form the Australian Democrats . As a sitting member , he became the first Australian Democrats Member of Parliament in 1977 . As a Democrat , Millhouse retained his seat of Mitcham at the 1977 and 1979 state elections . He continued to campaign for progressive social issues , including the introduction of a bill to legalise prostitution in South Australia . Judicial career . South Australia . Millhouse was made a Queens Counsel in 1979 . He resigned from parliament on 7 July 1982 , sparking a by-election , upon accepting a position as a South Australian Supreme Court justice . He served on the Supreme Court until his retirement due to age in December 1999 . Further judicial appointments . At his retirement sitting , he announced his appointment as Chief Justice of the High Court of Kiribati , a position he held until January 2011 . He was Chief Justice of Nauru from 3 April 2006 to late 2010 . Following his retirement as Chief Justice of Kiribati , he served as a judge of High Court of Tuvalu from February 2014 and March 2015 . Personal life . He married Ann ( died 1992 ) in 1957 and had three daughters and two sons . Millhouse died on 28 April 2017 , aged 87 . Sir Eric Millhouse ( 1891 – 24 February 1950 ) , lawyer and champion of returned soldiers , was an uncle . External links . - Parliament profile - Robin Millhouse’s regret : The Advertiser 16 August 2014