David Prowse (politician)

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David John Prowse (born 10 March 1941) is a former Australian politician who was the first Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, serving from 1989 to 1992. He was elected in the 1989 inaugural ACT election for the No Self-Government Party, later sitting as an Independent, and then joining the Liberal Party.

Born in Cairns, Queensland, Prowse studied at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, earning an Associate Diploma in Electrical Engineering. He worked as an electrical fitter and mechanic, and later as an electrical engineer with the Royal Australian Air Force, rising to the rank of Squadron Leader before retiring after twenty years of service. He then trained as a naturopath and became known as an anti-water fluoridation activist.

In the ACT Assembly, he joined with Duby and Maher to form the Independents Group on 3 December 1989, but left the group on 31 July 1990 and sat as a Liberal for the remainder of his term. At the first Assembly meeting on 11 May 1989, he was elected as the Presiding Officer, a title that would be called Speaker of the ACT Legislative Assembly. He did not seek re-election in 1992. He has six children.