Gibbs was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1963 federal election, running for the Liberal Party in the Division of Bowman and defeating the incumbent Labor member Jack Comber. He was re-elected in 1966. In August 1965, he used question time to draw attention to the fact that a senior public servant in the Department of Northern Development was a socialist. Gibbs was one of three Coalition backbenchers who visited the unrecognised state of Rhodesia in 1967, along with Jim Killen and Ian Pettitt. He "championed the Rhodesian cause" in parliament and in letters to newspapers, and in 1968 called the United Nations a "menace to world peace" and a "blot on humanity" that had been infiltrated by communists. Gibbs spoke frequently on health and social services in parliament. He advocated a complete federal takeover of health services from the states, the removal of the means test for pensions, and free medical insurance for people on low incomes. The Canberra Times wrote in 1969 that he had "consistently urged changes in Liberal thinking" and at times had "contrived to sound more like an ALP man than a Liberal". In part due to an unfavourable redistribution, Gibbs lost his seat at the 1969 election. In the lead-up to the election he had crossed the floor to vote with the Labor Party during a debate on electoral redistribution, stating that the electoral commissioners were incompetent.
Later life
After his defeat Gibbs became the executive director of the Australian Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers' Association. He eventually left the organisation due to his desire to remain involved in politics. Gibbs was one of 30 candidates for Liberal preselection at the 1973 Parramatta by-election. He won National Party preselection for his old seat of Bowman at the 1975 federal election, but withdrew. He later joined the libertarian Progress Party prior to the 1977 election, but was not a candidate.
Personal life
Gibbs married Audrey Wald in 1947, with whom he had three sons and three daughters. Their marriage broke up around the time that he lost his seat in parliament; Audrey became a successful artist in later life. They were predeceased by two of their children, Harry in 1979 and Rosamund in 1999.
