Philip Ross Lightfoot (born 11 August 1936) is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate from 1997 to 2008, representing the state of Western Australia. Early life Lightfoot was born in Port Lincoln, South Australia and was educated at first the Adelaide, and then Kalgoorlie School of Mines. In the 1950s, he spent time as a weekend soldier, as a result of national service. Lightfoot joined the Liberal Party of Australia soon afterwards. He worked as a mounted policeman between 1959 and 1962. In 1972, Lightfoot became a pastoralist and grazier, a line of employment he subsequently occupied for twenty years. Politics Western Australian parliament His political career began in 1986, when Lightfoot won the seat of Murchison-Eyre in Western Australia's Legislative Assembly. It was here that he first caused controversy, when he wrote to United States Secretary of State George Shultz, urging the US Government to dump subsidised wheat in Australia's international wheat markets in Russia and China. He later retracted the statement. He retired from the Legislative Assembly in 1989, but made a comeback in 1993, representing the North Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council. While in state parliament, he also advocated for the secession of Western Australia from the rest of the country. Federal parliament In 1997, Western Australian Senator John Panizza died, and Lightfoot, having been selected to fill the vacancy, moved to federal politics. He soon became a controversial figure within the party, and was rebuked by Prime Minister John Howard for telling the Senate that Aborigines in their native state were the lowest colour on the civilisation spectrum. He was one of a small group of Liberal MPs willing to make a preference deal with controversial MP Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party. However, this was to assist him in gaining re-election in 2001. His comments led to numerous moves to oust him from membership of his own party, but he hung on, as he was seen to represent a movement of rural conservatives in Western Australia. Lightfoot has been an active campaigner for the rights of white Zimbabwean farmers displaced by the regime of Robert Mugabe. In 2002, he made the suggestion that some could be given residency in Australia, but denied that this should apply to black farm workers as well. This was due to Robert Mugabe's "Africa for Africans" policies and not allowing for