Julian McGauran
Encyclopedia
Julian McGauran Australia
n politician, was a member of the Australian Senate
, representing the state of Victoria
. Elected as a member of the National Party
, he resigned from the Nationals and joined the Liberal Party of Australia
in February 2006. His brother, Peter McGauran, was the National member for Gippsland
until 2008, and was Minister for Agriculture under the Howard government
.
McGauran attended Xavier College in Kew Melbourne
. Before attending university he worked in the stables for racehorse trainer Bart Cummings
at Flemington Racecourse
. At Monash University
he obtained a Bachelor of Economics
, then becoming a Certified Practising Accountant
and then a company director for the McGauran Group of Companies, and a board member of the Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry between 1986 and 1988. He was elected to the Melbourne City Council for three years between 1985 and 1988 representing the Central Business District.
During his time at the Council McGauran called for the popular vote of the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, instead of the traditional means of selection by fellow councillor, in an attempt to curtail the ‘invariable cronyism’ of the Melbourne City Council at the time.
McGauran won National Party preselection for a Senate seat in the 1987 double-dissolution election, and was subsequently elected. In 1990 due to the circumstances of an historic agreement forming a Coalition Senate ticket he was required to step out of Parliament for three years. In 1993 he was re-elected to the Senate on the Coalition Senate ticket.
On 2 November 1989 McGauran introduced the End of War List (Private Members Bill) into the Senate. The Bill was passed unanimously in the Senate, and was aimed at recognising the ‘unsung heroes’ of the Vietnam War. Although unsuccessful in the House of Representatives at the time, in 1999 the Howard Government did establish the War List and more than 80 Vietnam Vets have been honoured for their acts of bravery since this time.
McGauran was a strong advocate for the freedom of East Timor
. He campaigned from 1993 through to 1999 for the East Timor cause against the then-policy of the major parties.
Diagnosed with malaria
following a trek along the Kokoda Trail, McGauran ignored doctor’s orders and flew to Canberra to speak on the controversial Euthanasia Laws 1996 Bill – supporting the Bill to overturn Northern Territory legislation legalising euthanasia
. The debate saw the bill narrowly passed in the Senate. The following day he collapsed in his Melbourne office and spent the next week recovering in hospital.
In November 2000 McGauran called for an inquiry into an incident at the Royal Women’s Hospital where an abortion was performed on on a 32-week-old fetus. He argued a possible breach of the Victorian Crimes Act which creates an offence of child destruction after 28 weeks gestation had occurred.
After years of public debate and argument the issue was investigated by the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria.
In 2001 McGauran became the first Federal MP to join the Australian Army as part of the Federal Government's MP exchange program. He Joined 2RAR on exercise at Jimma training base in Queensland. McGauran documented his experience in a diary later published.
Before the 2004 election, McGauran faced a pre-selection challenge from three party members, including a former staffer to Trade Minister Mark Vaile
. McGauran retained National Party pre-selection after media reports suggested the federal coalition agreement would be endangered if he lost, and thus gained the guaranteed second position on the joint Liberal-National ticket and was re-elected.
On 11 August, after the Liberal-National Coalition narrowly won a vote in the Senate, he gave the finger to Labor Party
senators on the floor of the Senate in response to comments. This prompted calls from Labor senators and Greens
Senator Bob Brown
that he be sacked as Deputy Government Whip in the Senate. Senate President Paul Calvert
ruled that the gesture was "unseemly but not obscene
."
In 2004 the McGauran family bankrolled the Democratic Labor Party’s High Court challenge against the Australian Electoral Commission which was forcing the political party under threat of deregistration to disclose party membership details.
Although the legal challenge was unsuccessful the DLP survived, largely due to the support of Julian McGauran who commented, “We had a serious interest in the outcome of the case, and our heart was with the DLP. I wouldn’t want to see them fade away.”
McGauran’s links to the DLP stem from his first Senate election win in 1987 when DLP preferences were critical in his narrow win over former Communist John Halfpenny.
In 2005 McGauran was accused of releasing to The Age
newspaper the private patient records of a woman who had had an abortion, in breach of a Supreme Court
suppression order; however, he denies this accusation. The Victoria Health Minister, Bronwyn Pike
, is quoted in the article as saying that McGauran was "exploiting this woman in pursuit of his own ideological agenda", describing the act as an assault on the doctor-patient relationship.
On 23 January 2006 McGauran announced that he was resigning from the National Party and would apply to join the Liberal Party. He said there was no longer any significant policy difference between the Nationals and Liberals in Victoria at a federal level, and that he would be best able to represent rural Victorians as a member of the Liberal Party. His application was accepted by the Liberals on 3 February.
In 2009 McGauran was the first to speak up against the Liberal policy supporting the Government's Emissions Trading Scheme
. He said he would not vote for the scheme in any form in defiance of the then-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull
.
In April 2010 McGauran, a long time campaigner on censorship issues, called for the sacking of the Classification Board Chairman, for the Board's release onto DVD of the formerly banned movie Salò. McGauran described the movie as "a paedophile's treat" and a "handbook for deviants".
In the 2010 election, McGauran lost his Senate seat to the DLP. His term in the Senate expired 30 June 2011.
On 12 May 2011 The Age newspaper reported that "Senator Julian McGauran has accused Professor Graham Burrows of giving concocted evidence at the trial of Arthur Freeman, the man serving a life sentence for the murder of his daughter Darcey."
The Age reported on McGauran's speech in the Australian Senate, saying "Senator McGauran said defence lawyers used Professor Burrows as a 'gun for hire' and 'psychiatrist of last resort' and one who will sing whatever song the defence wants".
On 21 June 2011 McGauran delivered his valedictory speech to the Senate, 24 years after giving his maiden speech in the old Parliament House. He referred to his recent performances as an extra in Opera Australia
's season of Pearl Fishers saying "That is the thrill of politics: it is an opera. I hope I played it well. So now I leave the stage and the curtain must fall."
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician, was a member of the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
, representing the state of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. Elected as a member of the National Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
, he resigned from the Nationals and joined the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
in February 2006. His brother, Peter McGauran, was the National member for Gippsland
Division of Gippsland
The Division of Gippsland is anAustralian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the Gippsland region of eastern Victoria, which in turn is named for Sir George Gipps, Governor of New South Wales...
until 2008, and was Minister for Agriculture under the Howard government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
.
McGauran attended Xavier College in Kew Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. Before attending university he worked in the stables for racehorse trainer Bart Cummings
Bart Cummings
James Bartholomew 'Bart' Cummings, AM is one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers. He is known as the Cups King, referring to the Melbourne Cup, as the he has won the 'race that stops a nation' a record 12 times....
at Flemington Racecourse
Flemington Racecourse
Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is most notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup, which is Australia's richest horse race. The racecourse is situated on low alluvial flats, next to the Maribyrnong River...
. At Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
he obtained a Bachelor of Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, then becoming a Certified Practising Accountant
Certified Practising Accountant
Certified Practising Accountant is the title used by members of the CPA Australia accountancy association. Accountants practising in Australia have the choice of becoming members of CPA Australia , joining the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia or the Institute of Public Accountants...
and then a company director for the McGauran Group of Companies, and a board member of the Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry between 1986 and 1988. He was elected to the Melbourne City Council for three years between 1985 and 1988 representing the Central Business District.
During his time at the Council McGauran called for the popular vote of the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, instead of the traditional means of selection by fellow councillor, in an attempt to curtail the ‘invariable cronyism’ of the Melbourne City Council at the time.
McGauran won National Party preselection for a Senate seat in the 1987 double-dissolution election, and was subsequently elected. In 1990 due to the circumstances of an historic agreement forming a Coalition Senate ticket he was required to step out of Parliament for three years. In 1993 he was re-elected to the Senate on the Coalition Senate ticket.
On 2 November 1989 McGauran introduced the End of War List (Private Members Bill) into the Senate. The Bill was passed unanimously in the Senate, and was aimed at recognising the ‘unsung heroes’ of the Vietnam War. Although unsuccessful in the House of Representatives at the time, in 1999 the Howard Government did establish the War List and more than 80 Vietnam Vets have been honoured for their acts of bravery since this time.
McGauran was a strong advocate for the freedom of East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
. He campaigned from 1993 through to 1999 for the East Timor cause against the then-policy of the major parties.
Diagnosed with malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
following a trek along the Kokoda Trail, McGauran ignored doctor’s orders and flew to Canberra to speak on the controversial Euthanasia Laws 1996 Bill – supporting the Bill to overturn Northern Territory legislation legalising euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
. The debate saw the bill narrowly passed in the Senate. The following day he collapsed in his Melbourne office and spent the next week recovering in hospital.
In November 2000 McGauran called for an inquiry into an incident at the Royal Women’s Hospital where an abortion was performed on on a 32-week-old fetus. He argued a possible breach of the Victorian Crimes Act which creates an offence of child destruction after 28 weeks gestation had occurred.
After years of public debate and argument the issue was investigated by the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria.
In 2001 McGauran became the first Federal MP to join the Australian Army as part of the Federal Government's MP exchange program. He Joined 2RAR on exercise at Jimma training base in Queensland. McGauran documented his experience in a diary later published.
Before the 2004 election, McGauran faced a pre-selection challenge from three party members, including a former staffer to Trade Minister Mark Vaile
Mark Vaile
Mark Anthony James Vaile , Australian politician, is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and former leader of the National Party of Australia.-Early life:...
. McGauran retained National Party pre-selection after media reports suggested the federal coalition agreement would be endangered if he lost, and thus gained the guaranteed second position on the joint Liberal-National ticket and was re-elected.
On 11 August, after the Liberal-National Coalition narrowly won a vote in the Senate, he gave the finger to Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
senators on the floor of the Senate in response to comments. This prompted calls from Labor senators and Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
Senator Bob Brown
Bob Brown
Robert James Brown is an Australian senator, the inaugural Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens and was the first openly gay member of the Parliament of Australia...
that he be sacked as Deputy Government Whip in the Senate. Senate President Paul Calvert
Paul Calvert
Paul Henry Calvert, AO , Australian politician, was a Senator for Tasmania from 1987 to 2007, and was President of the Australian Senate from 2002 to 2007....
ruled that the gesture was "unseemly but not obscene
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
."
In 2004 the McGauran family bankrolled the Democratic Labor Party’s High Court challenge against the Australian Electoral Commission which was forcing the political party under threat of deregistration to disclose party membership details.
Although the legal challenge was unsuccessful the DLP survived, largely due to the support of Julian McGauran who commented, “We had a serious interest in the outcome of the case, and our heart was with the DLP. I wouldn’t want to see them fade away.”
McGauran’s links to the DLP stem from his first Senate election win in 1987 when DLP preferences were critical in his narrow win over former Communist John Halfpenny.
In 2005 McGauran was accused of releasing to The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
newspaper the private patient records of a woman who had had an abortion, in breach of a Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Victoria
The Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited jurisdiction within the state...
suppression order; however, he denies this accusation. The Victoria Health Minister, Bronwyn Pike
Bronwyn Pike
Bronwyn Pike is an Australian politician. She was Minister for Education in Victoria in the Brumby Government, and is the State Member of Parliament for Melbourne.-Early life:...
, is quoted in the article as saying that McGauran was "exploiting this woman in pursuit of his own ideological agenda", describing the act as an assault on the doctor-patient relationship.
On 23 January 2006 McGauran announced that he was resigning from the National Party and would apply to join the Liberal Party. He said there was no longer any significant policy difference between the Nationals and Liberals in Victoria at a federal level, and that he would be best able to represent rural Victorians as a member of the Liberal Party. His application was accepted by the Liberals on 3 February.
In 2009 McGauran was the first to speak up against the Liberal policy supporting the Government's Emissions Trading Scheme
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was a proposed cap-and-trade system of emissions trading for anthropogenic greenhouse gases, due to be introduced in Australia in 2010 by the Rudd government, as part of its climate change policy. It marked a major change in the energy policy of Australia...
. He said he would not vote for the scheme in any form in defiance of the then-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
.
In April 2010 McGauran, a long time campaigner on censorship issues, called for the sacking of the Classification Board Chairman, for the Board's release onto DVD of the formerly banned movie Salò. McGauran described the movie as "a paedophile's treat" and a "handbook for deviants".
In the 2010 election, McGauran lost his Senate seat to the DLP. His term in the Senate expired 30 June 2011.
On 12 May 2011 The Age newspaper reported that "Senator Julian McGauran has accused Professor Graham Burrows of giving concocted evidence at the trial of Arthur Freeman, the man serving a life sentence for the murder of his daughter Darcey."
The Age reported on McGauran's speech in the Australian Senate, saying "Senator McGauran said defence lawyers used Professor Burrows as a 'gun for hire' and 'psychiatrist of last resort' and one who will sing whatever song the defence wants".
On 21 June 2011 McGauran delivered his valedictory speech to the Senate, 24 years after giving his maiden speech in the old Parliament House. He referred to his recent performances as an extra in Opera Australia
Opera Australia
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the The Arts Centre in Melbourne...
's season of Pearl Fishers saying "That is the thrill of politics: it is an opera. I hope I played it well. So now I leave the stage and the curtain must fall."