Editing Tim Fischer (section)

===Federal politics===
[[File:Tim Fischer Portrait 2013.jpg|thumb|right|Fischer in 2013]]
In 1984, Fischer won the federal seat of [[Division of Farrer|Farrer]] in the New South Wales far west for the [[National Party of Australia]], as the Country Party had been renamed.<ref>{{cite Au Parliament |mpid=DG4|name=Hon Timothy Fischer |former=yes |access-date=21 August 2022}}</ref> Within a year he was on the opposition frontbench, and soon became a popular figure in both the party and parliament. His sometimes rustic manner and bumbling English concealed a shrewd political brain. In 1990, when an attempt by [[Charles Blunt]] to modernise the Nationals' image ended with him losing his own seat, Fischer succeeded him as leader, defeating the former leader [[Ian Sinclair]].<ref name="obit"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/obituary-tim-fischer-19462019/news-story/cd9ba5c01bca2fe116a1bbe76400bffb |first=Dennis |last=Shanahan |title=Obituary: Tim Fischer, 1946–2019 |newspaper=[[The Australian]] |access-date=22 August 2019 }}</ref>

Fischer was an enthusiastic supporter of the "Fightback" package of economic and tax reforms proposed by the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]] leader [[John Hewson]] in 1991. But he was unsuccessful in persuading the majority of rural voters, particularly in [[Queensland]], that the proposed changes, particularly the [[Goods and Services Tax (Australia)|goods and services tax]], were in their interests, and [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]] under [[Paul Keating]] won the 1993 election. On 23 March 1993, ten days after the election, Ian Sinclair unsuccessfully challenged Fischer for the leadership.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/127203954 |title='Kind' challenge won by Fischer|first=Tom |last=Connors|date=24 March 1993|newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |via=Trove: [[National Library of Australia]] }}</ref>

In January 1994, Fischer suffered head and neck injuries in a car accident {{convert|15|km|mi}} south of his property in [[Lockhart, New South Wales]]. His car [[Side collision|T-boned]] a vehicle that had failed to yield to a give-way sign; the driver and passenger in the other vehicle were killed. Fischer was knocked unconscious in the accident and taken to hospital in [[Wagga Wagga]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/126922053|title=Lucky escape for Fischer after two killed in car accident|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=12 January 1994}}</ref> He took a month off from politics to aid his recovery, with his deputy [[John Anderson (Australian politician)|John Anderson]] acting as party leader in his absence.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/134302080|title=Fischer makes 'bonus days' count|newspaper=The Canberra Times|date=15 February 1994}}</ref>

The Liberals finally regained office under [[John Howard]] in 1996. Fischer became Deputy Prime Minister and [[Minister for Trade (Australia)|Minister for Trade]]. The Liberals had won a majority in their own right in the 1996 election, leaving the Nationals in a much weaker position compared to previous Coalition governments. Nonetheless, Fischer was fairly active. He supported the government introducing tough [[gun control]] measures on automatic and semi-automatic weapons following the [[Port Arthur massacre (Australia)|Port Arthur massacre]] in April 1996 alongside then-prime minister [[John Howard]], measures which were opposed by much of his party's rural base.<ref name="obit" /><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-22/tim-fischer-man-behind-gun-reform-australia-port-arthur-massacre/11439954 |title=Many Australians are alive today because of Tim Fischer |last=Dalzell |first=Stephanie |date=2019-08-22 |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |location=Australia |language=en-AU |access-date=2019-08-22}}</ref>

Fischer also had difficulty with the determination of many Liberals, including the Treasurer, [[Peter Costello]], to carry out sweeping free-market reforms, including abolishing tariff protection for rural industries, deregulating petrol prices and implementing other measures which farmers' organisations regarded as harmful to themselves.

In pushing to permanently extinguish [[Native title in Australia|native title]] rights of [[indigenous Australians]] following the [[Mabo v Queensland (No 2)|Mabo]] and [[Wik Decision|Wik]] decisions, Fischer attracted much criticism.<ref name="obit" />

Further trouble for Fischer and the Nationals came with the rise of [[One Nation (Australia)|One Nation]], a [[right-wing populism|right-wing populist]] party led by [[Pauline Hanson]], a disendorsed Liberal candidate who was nonetheless elected member for the [[Queensland]] seat of [[Division of Oxley|Oxley]] at the 1996 federal election. One Nation had its greatest appeal in country areas of New South Wales and Queensland—the Nationals' traditional heartland. For much of 1997 and 1998, it looked as though One Nation might sweep the Nationals out of existence. In the 1998 election campaign, however, Fischer strongly counter-attacked One Nation, mainly on the grounds of their "flat tax" economic policies, and succeeded in holding the Nationals' losses to one [[Australian Senate|Senate]] seat in Queensland.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/aug/22/tim-fischer-obituary-singular-political-character-who-rose-to-become-australias-deputy-pm |title=Tim Fischer obituary: singular political character who rose to become Australia's deputy PM |work=[[Guardian Australia]] |date=22 August 2019 |access-date=22 August 2019 }}</ref>

In 2001, shortly before the expiry of his last parliamentary term, Fischer made public his support for an [[Republicanism in Australia|Australian republic]] in the future.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Fischer |first=Tim |interviewer=Hamish Robertson |title=Tim Fischer reignites Republican debate with new referendum options |url=http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s336991.htm |publisher=[[Radio National|ABC Radio National]] |location=Australia |date=28 July 2001 |work=[[AM (Australian radio series)|AM]] |access-date=22 August 2019 }}</ref>

As an MP, and later as leader of the Nationals, Fischer often had a rather hectic schedule of visits to various rural National branch meetings, and other relevant functions and gatherings. As a result, he earned the affectionate nickname of "Two-Minute Tim" – often he would arrive, speak to the gathering for a few minutes (i.e. the "Two-Minutes"), grab a quick bite to eat while chatting to some of the attendees, then have to head off to the next stop on his schedule.<ref>{{cite book|last=Davey|first=Paul|title=The Nationals: The Progressive, Country, and National Party in New South Wales 1919–2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpyw6Oncs5QC&pg=PA359|year=2006|publisher=Federation Press|isbn=978-1-86287-526-5|page=359}}</ref>

In 2014 it was revealed on the ABC program ''A Country Road'' that sometime before the 1998 federal election, Fischer, then National Party leader, had met with his deputy [[John Anderson (Australian politician)|John Anderson]] and former minister [[John Sharp (Australian politician)|John Sharp]] for a luncheon at which they were surprised to learn from each other that they all intended to retire at the forthcoming election. They agreed that it was not a good idea for all of them to retire at the same time, as it could give a negative image to the party which at the time was battling against perceptions that its future was uncertain. In the end, only Sharp retired, with Fischer and Anderson delaying their own retirements and successfully recontesting the election.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Episode 3 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/country-road-the-nationals/ |access-date=23 August 2019 |series=A Country Road: The Nationals |first=Heather (presenter) |last=Ewart |network=[[ABC (Australian TV channel)|ABC TV]] |location=Australia |date=15 May 2017 |minutes=59 }}</ref>

In 1999, he surprised his colleagues by resigning as party leader and as a minister, and by announcing that he would retire at the [[2001 Australian federal election|election due in 2001]]. His decision to quit politics was motivated partly by the demands of his family, in particular that his son Harrison has [[autism]] (Fischer himself claimed to have "high functioning" autism, though he was never professionally diagnosed).<ref>{{cite interview |last=Fischer |first=Tim |interviewer=Kieran McLeonard |title=Tim Fischer tells of life with autism |url=http://www.abc.net.au/am/stories/s72724.htm |publisher=[[Radio National|ABC Radio National]] |location=Australia |work=[[AM (Australian radio series)|AM]] |date=13 December 1999 |access-date=29 November 2010 }}</ref>

Fischer is the only person to have served the entirety of his ministerial career as Deputy Prime Minister.