Gerry Kandelaars
Encyclopedia
Gerard Anthony Kandelaars is an Australia
n politician appointed to the South Australian Legislative Council
as a Labor
MLC on 13 September 2011.
parents Leo and Nelly left the Netherlands
after World War II
.
Kandelaars worked in the Telecommunications Industry for over 20 years, including as a Telecommunications Tradesman with the PMG Department and Principal Technical Officer in Telstra
's Forward Planning Section. He moved to the role of State Branch Secretary and then Branch President of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Unions (CEPU) T&S Branch. He was a board member of PEER VEET (a Group Training Company and Registered Training Organisation), and on the Information Industries Training Advisory Board, as well as the Electrotechnology and Water Skills Board. He was also a director on the Board of Telstra Super, Australia's largest corporate superannuation fund with over $11 billion in funds under management and was a member of its Audit, Risk and Management Committee and its Remuneration Committee.
. He was successful in gaining Labor preselection to be appointed to the Legislative Council in a joint sitting of the Parliament of South Australia
on 13 September 2011 to replace outgoing MLC Paul Holloway
. With Holloway re-elected at the 2010 election, Kandelaars will be up for re-election in 2018.
A moderate member of the Labor Right
faction, he advocates gay rights and has a lesbian
daughter. He says "in the eyes of the law, they are second-class citizens, which they are certainly not"... "As a father of a homosexual daughter, I know the anguish that the current laws that prohibit gay marriage cause, not only for Katie and Simone but also for the rest of our tight-knit family" and Australians "need to truly accept that homosexuality is a reality and that homosexual couples should be able to have their relationship and their love recognised under our secular law, just as heterosexual couples can". In regards to same-sex IVF
, he says "parenting is not about gender but about your commitment and devotion to your children and about the love you have for them and about what is in your heart". He is strongly supportive of Labor MLC Ian Hunter
's and federal Labor Senator Penny Wong
's attempts to change Labor's policy in this area to a more progressive stance.
Kandelaars has expressed dismay at prejudice towards migrants in South Australian society and condemned Liberal
Senator Cory Bernardi
for his support of Dutch far-right politician Gert Wilders, saying "Extremist, whether it is Islamic, Christian
, secular or any other ideology, is to be condemned and has no place in our society".
Kandelaars affirmed his commitment to the union movement
, saying "I am still a member of the union today and proud of the difference it and other unions have made and continue to make to the lives of ordinary workers. Despite the thinking of some in this place, unions continue to play an important role in our society".
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 appointed to the South Australian Legislative Council
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
as a Labor
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...
MLC on 13 September 2011.
Early life
Kandelaars was born in Australia after his DutchDutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
parents Leo and Nelly left the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Kandelaars worked in the Telecommunications Industry for over 20 years, including as a Telecommunications Tradesman with the PMG Department and Principal Technical Officer in Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
's Forward Planning Section. He moved to the role of State Branch Secretary and then Branch President of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Unions (CEPU) T&S Branch. He was a board member of PEER VEET (a Group Training Company and Registered Training Organisation), and on the Information Industries Training Advisory Board, as well as the Electrotechnology and Water Skills Board. He was also a director on the Board of Telstra Super, Australia's largest corporate superannuation fund with over $11 billion in funds under management and was a member of its Audit, Risk and Management Committee and its Remuneration Committee.
Politics
Kandelaars was a Community Liaison Officer for Labor MP Robyn GeraghtyRobyn Geraghty
Robyn Kathryn Geraghty has been the sitting Labor member for the electoral district of Torrens in South Australia since 1994.Geraghty has been heavily involved in community issues, as well as introducing various acts in to parliament...
. He was successful in gaining Labor preselection to be appointed to the Legislative Council in a joint sitting of the Parliament of South Australia
Parliament of South Australia
The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government....
on 13 September 2011 to replace outgoing MLC Paul Holloway
Paul Holloway
Paul Holloway is an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party in the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Mitchell from 1989 to 1993, and in the South Australian Legislative Council from 1995 to 2011....
. With Holloway re-elected at the 2010 election, Kandelaars will be up for re-election in 2018.
A moderate member of the Labor Right
Labor Right
The Labor Right, or Labor Unity in some State branches, or Centre Unity in NSW, is the organised faction of the Australian Labor Party that tends to be more economically liberal and socially conservative than Labor Left....
faction, he advocates gay rights and has a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
daughter. He says "in the eyes of the law, they are second-class citizens, which they are certainly not"... "As a father of a homosexual daughter, I know the anguish that the current laws that prohibit gay marriage cause, not only for Katie and Simone but also for the rest of our tight-knit family" and Australians "need to truly accept that homosexuality is a reality and that homosexual couples should be able to have their relationship and their love recognised under our secular law, just as heterosexual couples can". In regards to same-sex IVF
In vitro fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed...
, he says "parenting is not about gender but about your commitment and devotion to your children and about the love you have for them and about what is in your heart". He is strongly supportive of Labor MLC Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (politician)
Ian Keith Hunter is an Australian politician, representing the Australian Labor Party in the South Australian Legislative Council since the 2006 state election...
's and federal Labor Senator Penny Wong
Penny Wong
Penelope "Penny" Ying-yen Wong , is an Australian Labor Party senator for South Australia and the Federal Minister for Finance and Deregulation. Wong was the first Australian Minister for Climate Change and Water. Her appointment was amended on 26 February 2010, by the Prime Minister, to the...
's attempts to change Labor's policy in this area to a more progressive stance.
Kandelaars has expressed dismay at prejudice towards migrants in South Australian society and condemned 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...
Senator Cory Bernardi
Cory Bernardi
Cory Bernardi is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party member of the Australian Senate since 2006, representing the state of South Australia.-Early life:...
for his support of Dutch far-right politician Gert Wilders, saying "Extremist, whether it is Islamic, Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, secular or any other ideology, is to be condemned and has no place in our society".
Kandelaars affirmed his commitment to the union movement
Australian labour movement
The Australian labour movement has its origins in the early 19th century and includes both trade unions and political activity. At its broadest, the movement can be defined as encompassing the industrial wing, the unions in Australia, and the political wing, the Australian Labor Party and minor...
, saying "I am still a member of the union today and proud of the difference it and other unions have made and continue to make to the lives of ordinary workers. Despite the thinking of some in this place, unions continue to play an important role in our society".