John Hodges

John Charles Hodges (3 October 1937 – 14 November 2024) was an Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs in the Fraser government from 1982 to 1983. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1974 to 1983 and from 1984 to 1987, representing the Queensland seat of Petrie.

Early life Hodges was born in Brisbane on 3 October 1937. He was raised in Cooktown, Queensland. He retained the seat for the Liberal Party at the 1974 election. As immigration minister, he supported the government's official policy of multiculturalism. At a policy forum in August 1982 he stated that Australia had never been a monocultural society, but that "multiculturalism can become a reality only when it is accepted by the nation as a whole".

Hodges lost his seat to the Australian Labor Party (ALP) candidate Dean Wells at the 1983 election. However, he reclaimed Petrie for the Liberal Party at the 1984 election. He supported John Howard against Andrew Peacock in the 1985 Liberal leadership spill. He narrowly lost Petrie a second time at the 1987 election, following the National Party's decision to run a candidate against him in support of "Joh for Canberra" campaign. Hodges died on 14 November 2024, at the age of 87.