In 1901, Salmon won election to the new
Australian House of Representatives as the
Protectionist member for
Laanecoorie, holding the seat until its abolition at the 1913 election. He was known for his support of the
White Australia policy, a strong national defence (not including
conscription), and the policy of
New Protection. He served as
chairman of committees from 1904 to 1905. In 1909, when the Protectionists amalgamated with the
Anti-Socialists, Salmon became a member of the resulting
"Fusion" Liberal Party. He was known as "an undistinguished but loyal personal follower" of
Alfred Deakin, who began his third term as prime minister on 2 June. On 23 July, the incumbent speaker
Sir Frederick Holder suffered a fatal cerebral haemorrhage while in the chamber. Salmon was elected as his successor on the same day, defeating
Philip Fysh and
Agar Wynne with the aid of Deakin's personal support. Salmon's term as Speaker lasted less than a year, as the
Labor Party won the
1910 federal election and elected one of its own members to the position,
Charles McDonald. This remained the shortest tenure for a Speaker until
Ian Sinclair's term of 180 days in 1998. Salmon attempted to transfer to the
Senate in 1913 after his seat's abolition, but was defeated; he also declined preselection for the safe seat of
Balaclava. In 1915, however, he won the seat of
Grampians from
Labor in a
by-election and joined the
Nationalist Party upon its formation in 1916. ==Australian Natives' Association==