Allan Morris

Allan Agapitos Morris (born 26 July 1940) is an Australian former 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. 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.

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. 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.

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. Prior to the 2007 New South Wales state election, he announced he would support Gaudry's bid for re-election as an independent. He was subsequently expelled from the party.