He subsequently worked as a graduate engineer at the Altona Refinery and also as a jackaroo outside of Port Augusta, South Australia, before returning to manage the family property at Apsley.
[1] After Fraser announced his retirement from politics amid the Coalition's heavy defeat in the 1983 federal election, Hawker won the seat in a May 1983 by-election.
Some of Hawker's rulings, from motions put by the Australian Labor Party Opposition, were somewhat controversial early in his term, with one session of Question Time on 1 December 2004 resulting in twelve points of order, some continuously raised, to Brendan Nelson's response to a question on school funding raised by Sophie Mirabella, in that it was seen by the Opposition to anticipate debate.
Likewise, a motion of dissent on 28 November 2005 to a ruling that the Member for Perth resume his seat, having twice ignored an instruction to desist in argument across the chamber, was voted down.
A 2006 ruling made by Hawker after an incident during a heated exchange in the House brought further motions of dissent from the Opposition, and drew criticism of the Speaker's impartiality from the media.
Later, the Speaker assumed the Chair, but it was only after the Opposition attempted to move a dissent motion that Abbott withdrew "unconditionally any imputation or offensive words against the member for Wills".