Dick Adams (Launceston)

Long standing member for the seat of Lyons on the wild western Tasmanian coast, Dick Adams is also the parliament's last surviving shearer. Dick wrestles a 20kilogram salmon into a stainless steel poacher as Annabel counters with dessert Tarte Tatin. Labor backbencher Dick Adams welcomes Annabel into his historically-notorious home to talk salmon, mutton birds, cheese, wine, and custom-built cookware. A former shearer, Adams explains how he made the journey through various trades, illiterate until well into his twenties, and ultimately became a member of parliament. While a prodigiously-sized salmon simmers away on the stove, Dick shares the secrets of egg mayonnaise while recounting some of the challenges of his political career, involving his definitive clash with former leader Mark Latham over Tasmanian forestry, in which he defied his own party’s election policy.