Arthur Chesterfield-Evans
Encyclopedia
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 medical practitioner, politician and peace activist who served as a member of the Legislative Council
Legislative Council
A Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures, or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies.A Member of the Legislative Council is commonly referred to as an MLC.- Unicameral legislatures :...
of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
from 1998 to 2007.
Medical career
Graduated MB BSBachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or in Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae , are the two first professional degrees awarded upon graduation from medical school in medicine and surgery by universities in various countries...
Sydney, 1975; FRCS (Eng) London, 1980 and MAppSc
Master of Applied Science
Master of Applied Science is a professional Master's degree...
(OHS)
Occupational safety and health
Occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goal of all occupational safety and health programs is to foster a safe work environment...
University of NSW, 1996. Formerly surgical registrar, Royal North Shore Hospital
Royal North Shore Hospital
The Royal North Shore Hospital is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has approximately 740 beds. It is the referral hospital for Northern Sydney and the Central...
, 1980–81; general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
in Sydney 1982 -3; occupational physician, Sydney Water
Sydney Water
Sydney Water is a New South Wales government owned corporation that provides drinking water, wastewater and some stormwater services to Sydney, Illawarra and the Blue Mountains, in Australia...
, 1983–1994; postgraduate student (Masters by thesis) 1994; medical officer, Department of Veteran Affairs, 1995; occupational physician, self-employed, at Pacific OHS, Burwood 1995-8. In 1994 he served as NSW President of the Doctors Reform Society of Australia
Doctors Reform Society of Australia
The Doctors Reform Society of Australia , set up in 1973, is a medico-political think tank and a medical association of medical practitioners and medical students that has advocated a range of alternative views to those of the Australian Medical Association.Their initial focus was on universal...
, through which he argued for the continuation of Medicare
Medicare (Australia)
Medicare is Australia's publicly funded universal health care system, operated by the government authority Medicare Australia. Medicare is intended to provide affordable treatment by doctors and in public hospitals for all resident citizens and permanent residents except for those on Norfolk Island...
and improvements to the public health system.
Anti-tobacco activism
Dr Chesterfield-Evans was president of the Non-Smokers Movement from 1984 to 1997 and a member of Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy PromotionsBillboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions
Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions, or B.U.G.A. U.P. is an Australian subvertising artistic movement that detourns or modifies with graffiti billboard advertising that promotes something they deem unhealthy....
(BUGA UP), which vandalised tobacco-advertising billboards with satirical graffiti. He was arrested and convicted over these activities but had his sentence remitted on appeal. He hosted an anti-tobacco radio program, Puff Off, from 1980 to 1994. and in 1988 the Drug and Alcohol Unit of TAFE produced an award-winning film of his activities, Confessions of a Simple Surgeon. . He has also served on the Board of NADA (Network of Alcohol and Drug Agencies) .
Peace activism
Dr Chesterfield-Evans has been a leading Australian advocate for the establishment of a ministry or department of peace in Australia. The argument for the establishment of a ministry or department of peace from Dr Chesterfield-Evans was that such a ministry or department would advocate for the implementation of peace-active policies, both at domestic and international level, and act as a counter to the institutionalised power of violence. Just as we now recognize ministries or departments of environment in the formulation of public policy, so too we need ministries or departments of peace. Dr Chesterfield-Evans spoke as an Australian delegate at the World Peace Forum in Canada in 2006 and also at Social Issues Forums with the Centre for Peace and Social Justice of Southern Cross UniversitySouthern Cross University
Southern Cross University is a university based on the North and Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is a regional University with more than 14,000 students. The University's primary campus is in Lismore, with other campuses located at Coffs Harbour and Tweed Heads.The University is...
in the same year.
Political career
Dr Chesterfield-Evans joined the Australian DemocratsAustralian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
in 1986 and was appointed to replace Elisabeth Kirkby
Elisabeth Kirkby
Elisabeth "Liz" Kirkby was an Australia-based theatre and television actress and politician known as a long time member of the New South Wales Legislative Council....
in the New South Wales Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
on her retirement on 25 June 1998. He was re-elected for an 8-year term in 1999
New South Wales state election, 1999
Elections to the 52nd Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 27 March 1999. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election...
and was defeated at the 2007 election, achieving 1.8% of the primary vote, leaving the Democrats unrepresented in the NSW Parliament. As a parliamentarian, he was well known amongst journalists for his fashion sense, including a liking for yellow shirts. .