List of longest-serving members of the Parliament of Australia

This article lists the longest-serving members of the Parliament of Australia.

Longest total service[]

This section lists members of parliament who have served for a cumulative total of at least 30 years.

All these periods of service were spent in one House exclusively. A number of people have served in both the Senate and the House of Representatives,^[1] but none of them to date has had an aggregate length of service to the Parliament reaching 30 years.

No woman yet appears on this list. Bronwyn Bishop served in the Australian parliament longer than any other woman, in October 2014 outstripping the record of 27 years and 119 days previously held by Kathy Sullivan.^[2] At the end of her term at the 2 July 2016 double dissolution, Bishop had served for 28 years and 274 days.

†= Died in office

Chronological list[]

This section lists the members of parliament (and of each chamber) with the longest continuous service at any given time. The longest-serving MPs in each chamber are sometimes referred to as the "Father of the House" and "Father of the Senate", and very rarely the overall longest-serving MP is called the "Father of the Parliament".

House of Representatives Practice describes the title "Father of the House" as a "completely informal designation" with "no functions attached to it".^[3]

Odgers' Australian Senate Practice notes that the title "Father of the Senate" is "now seldom referred to or used". It further notes that "as no woman senator has ever been in this situation, it is not clear what the title would be in that circumstance".^[4]

Longest-serving members by state and territory[]

State / Territory	Longest-serving members
	House of Reps	Senate	Overall
Australian Capital Territory	Jim Fraser 18 years, 338 days 1951–1970	Margaret Reid 21 years, 285 days 1981–2003	Bob McMullan 22 years, 86 days 1988–1996 (S), 1996–2010 (H)
New South Wales	Billy Hughes 45 years, 354 days 1901–1917, 1922–1952	Stan Amour 26 years, 364 days 1938–1965	Billy Hughes 45 years, 354 days 1901–1917, 1922–1952
Northern Territory	Warren Snowdon 31 years, 350 days 1987–1996, 1998–present	Nigel Scullion 17 years, 232 days 2001–2019	Warren Snowdon 31 years, 350 days 1987–1996, 1998–present
Queensland	Littleton Groom 32 years, 353 days 1901–1929, 1931–1936	Walter Cooper 36 years, 227 days 1928–1932, 1935–1968	Walter Cooper 36 years, 227 days 1928–1932, 1935–1968
South Australia	Norman Makin 36 years, 37 days 1919–1946, 1955–1963	Robert Hill 24 years, 257 days 1981–2006	Norman Makin 36 years, 37 days 1919–1946, 1955–1963
Tasmania	Gil Duthie 29 years, 76 days 1946–1975	Justin O'Byrne 34 years, 0 days 1947–1981	Justin O'Byrne 34 years, 0 days 1947–1981
Victoria	William Maloney 36 years, 151 days 1904–1940	Kim Carr 28 years, 273 days 1993–present	William Maloney 36 years, 151 days 1904–1940
Western Australia	Kim Beazley Sr. 32 years, 145 days 1945–1977	George Pearce 37 years, 93 days 1901–1938	George Pearce 37 years, 93 days 1901–1938

See also[]

• List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service
• List of historical longest-serving members of the United States Congress
• Members of the Malaysian Parliament who have served for at least 30 years
• Members of the New Zealand Parliament who have served for at least 30 years
• Records of members of the Oireachtas (Ireland)
• Records of members of parliament of the United Kingdom

References[]