Santo Santoro
Encyclopedia
Santo Santoro Australia
n politician, was a Liberal
member of the Australian Senate
from October 2002 to March 2007, representing the state of Queensland
.
Born in Sicily
, Italy
in 1956, Santoro emigrated to Australia with his family at the age of 5. Santoro was educated at Marist College Rosalie
in Brisbane
before attending the University of Queensland
where he was awarded the degrees of Bachelor of Arts
and Bachelor of Economics with honours.
as Member for Merthyr
in Brisbane
from 13 May 1989 until 19 September 1992. He was then elected as State Member for Clayfield
from 19 September 1992 until he was defeated on 17 February 2001 by Liddy Clark
. From 26 February 1996 to 26 June 1998, he was the State Minister for Training and Industrial Relations.
He was also the deputy leader of the State Liberal Party from 1992 to 1995.
who had resigned from the Senate to become Australia's Ambassador to Ireland.
As a senator, Santoro was a strident critic of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
, using parliamentary privilege in 2003 to accuse the national broadcaster of "sloppy and shoddy" journalism, and disloyalty to Australian soldiers serving in Iraq
, after an internal memo to ABC news staff instructed them to refrain from referring to soldiers as "our troops".
Santoro was sworn in as Federal Minister for Ageing in John Howard
's government on 27 January 2006.
, until he sold them in January 2007 after realising three months earlier that there might be a conflict of interest. Initially Prime Minister John Howard
and other government ministers defended the breach on the grounds that it was inadvertent.
However, further controversy arose over the fate of the profits derived from the sale of the shares in question. Santoro claimed he had donated the proceeds of the sale to a "charity," the Family Council of Queensland. Although this organization is registered as a non-profit entity, it is not registered as a charity.
It was subsequently found during an audit of his finances that Santoro had failed to declare 72 other share trades, and he resigned from the ministry on 16 March 2007 and was replaced as Minister for Ageing by Christopher Pyne
. The failures to declare his share trading were in breach of Australian Senate
's requirement that Senators' interests be registered, viz: "Any alteration to a senator’s registrable interests, or those of the senator’s spouse or partner, or dependent children, must be notified to the registrar within 35 days of the change occurring."
On 20 March, Santoro announced he would resign from the Senate, and federal politics altogether, saying "I've advised the prime minister tonight, and I wish to advise the Senate, that I will shortly resign from this august institution." He was replaced by Sue Boyce
, according to changes made by the 1977 Australian referendum
to section 15 of the Constitution, in the same way that he was appointed to the Senate in the first place.
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 Liberal
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...
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,...
from October 2002 to March 2007, representing the state of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
.
Born in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1956, Santoro emigrated to Australia with his family at the age of 5. Santoro was educated at Marist College Rosalie
Marist College Rosalie
Sacred Heart College, also known as Marist Brothers Rosalie, was a Catholic boys' college located in Paddington, an inner western suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
before attending the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
where he was awarded the degrees of Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and Bachelor of Economics with honours.
Queensland state politics
Santoro was elected to the Queensland Legislative AssemblyQueensland Legislative Assembly
The Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...
as Member for Merthyr
Electoral district of Merthyr
Merthyr was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland from 1912 to 1992.First created for the 1912 state election, the district was based in inner Brisbane centred on the suburb of New Farm, covering areas that previously belonged to the district of...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
from 13 May 1989 until 19 September 1992. He was then elected as State Member for Clayfield
Electoral district of Clayfield
The district of Clayfield is an electoral division of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. It is centred around the inner northern suburb of Clayfield in the state capital of Brisbane....
from 19 September 1992 until he was defeated on 17 February 2001 by Liddy Clark
Liddy Clark
Elizabeth Anne Clark is an Australian actor and former Australian Labor Party politician.-Acting career:...
. From 26 February 1996 to 26 June 1998, he was the State Minister for Training and Industrial Relations.
He was also the deputy leader of the State Liberal Party from 1992 to 1995.
Australian Senate
On 29 October 2002, Santoro was selected by the Queensland Parliament to replace Senator Hon Dr John HerronJohn Herron (Australian politician)
Dr. John Joseph Herron , Australian politician, ambassador and surgeon, was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate from 1 July 1990 to 5 September 2002, representing Queensland. From 2002 to 2006 he was the Australian Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See.Dr...
who had resigned from the Senate to become Australia's Ambassador to Ireland.
As a senator, Santoro was a strident critic of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, using parliamentary privilege in 2003 to accuse the national broadcaster of "sloppy and shoddy" journalism, and disloyalty to Australian soldiers serving in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, after an internal memo to ABC news staff instructed them to refrain from referring to soldiers as "our troops".
Santoro was sworn in as Federal Minister for Ageing in John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
's government on 27 January 2006.
Share trading scandal and resignation
On 14 March 2007, Senator Santoro disclosed that he had breached the government's ministerial code of conduct by holding shares in CBio, a biotechnology company related to his portfolio. Santoro claimed he had received the shares in January 2006, had failed to declare or divest them when he became Minister for AgeingMinister for Ageing (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Mental Health and Ageing is Mark Butler, who was appointed on 14 September 2010, following the Labor Party's win at the 2010 election...
, until he sold them in January 2007 after realising three months earlier that there might be a conflict of interest. Initially Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
and other government ministers defended the breach on the grounds that it was inadvertent.
However, further controversy arose over the fate of the profits derived from the sale of the shares in question. Santoro claimed he had donated the proceeds of the sale to a "charity," the Family Council of Queensland. Although this organization is registered as a non-profit entity, it is not registered as a charity.
It was subsequently found during an audit of his finances that Santoro had failed to declare 72 other share trades, and he resigned from the ministry on 16 March 2007 and was replaced as Minister for Ageing by Christopher Pyne
Christopher Pyne
Christopher Maurice Pyne, MP , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since 13 March 1993, representing the Division of Sturt, South Australia.-Early years:...
. The failures to declare his share trading were in breach of 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,...
's requirement that Senators' interests be registered, viz: "Any alteration to a senator’s registrable interests, or those of the senator’s spouse or partner, or dependent children, must be notified to the registrar within 35 days of the change occurring."
On 20 March, Santoro announced he would resign from the Senate, and federal politics altogether, saying "I've advised the prime minister tonight, and I wish to advise the Senate, that I will shortly resign from this august institution." He was replaced by Sue Boyce
Sue Boyce
Suzanne Kay "Sue" Boyce , Australian politician, businesswoman and disability advocate, is a member of the Australian Senate for Queensland. She was selected by the Liberal Party in Queensland to replace Santo Santoro in the Senate, and endorsed by the Parliament of Queensland. She is Queensland's...
, according to changes made by the 1977 Australian referendum
Australian referendum, 1977 (Senate Casual Vacancies)
The referendum of 21 May 1977 approved an amendment to the Australian constitution concerning the filling of casual vacancies in the Senate. Technically it was a vote on the Constitution Alteration 1977 which, after being approved in the referendum, became law on 29 July of the same year.Prior to...
to section 15 of the Constitution, in the same way that he was appointed to the Senate in the first place.