Don Maisey

Donald William Maisey (6 May 1915 – 20 April 2005) was an Australian wheat farmer and politician. He was a member of the Country Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1963 to 1974, representing the Western Australian seat of Moore.

Early life Maisey was born on 6 May 1915 in Goomalling, Western Australia. He was the son of Albert Maisey, a farmer from Dowerin who served as chairman of the Dowerin Road Board.

Maisey began his education at Dowerin State School and later boarded at Wesley College, Perth. After leaving school he returned to the family property at Dowerin. He was active in the Wheatgrowers' Union and the Primary Producers' Association, which later merged to form the Farmers' Union of Western Australia. He was elected vice-president of the wheat section of the Farmers' Union in 1950, becoming president of the wheat section the following year. He also served as a general vice-president and as a director of the union's newspaper, the Farmers' Weekly.

Politics In October 1963, Maisey won Country Party preselection for the House of Representatives seat of Moore.

Maisey was a prominent opponent of the Gorton government's tariff policies, along with Bert Kelly, and in 1969 published How Tariffs Hit the West, a short pamphlet arguing that "tariffs discriminated heavily against Western Australia and that protected goods produced in the eastern states were being dumped in Western Australia to the cost of local manufacturers". His views brought him into conflict with protectionist Country Party leader John McEwen in 1969, who he publicly criticised over tariff policies and support of wheat quotas. He further accused McEwen of failing to protect the interests of wheatgrowers in the International Grains Agreement negotiations over the international minimum price for wheat. Athol Thomas of The Canberra Times observed that Maisey was "recognised by West Australians as their most outspoken federal representative",

Maisey lost his seat to the Liberal candidate John Hyde at the 1974 election.

Personal life Maisey married Dorrie Wiltshire in 1935. They were divorced in 1970.

Maisey died on 20 April 2005, aged 89.