holding was elected to the victorian legislative assembly for the seat of richmond in 1962. he was a strong supporter of indigenous australian rights (including land rights) and national aid for schools. in 1977, he was elected to the house of representatives as member for melbourne ports. when bob hawke became prime minister in 1983, he put holding in charge of aboriginal affairs. during his term, holding tried to make federal laws for aboriginal land rights. but brian burke, the labor premier of western australia, did not want this, because it would have upset the mining and agricultural industries, which were very important to his state. holding was forced by hawke to drop the proposal. in 1987, he was moved to the ministry of employment services and youth affairs. the next year, he was made minister for transport, and then later minister for immigration.