Nick Bolkus
Encyclopedia
Nick Bolkus is a former Australian Labor Party
politician. He was a member of the Senate
from July 1981 to 2005, representing the state of South Australia.
and was educated at the University of Adelaide
. He was very briefly a lawyer in 1974 and 1975. He moved into political advising and became a research officer for a number of Australian Labor Party
(ALP) members including Clyde Cameron
. He unsuccessfully ran for the seat of Adelaide in 1976. He entered politics as a Senator for South Australia following the Australian federal election, 1980
.
and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs (1993–96).
After the end of the Keating
Government (due to its election defeat in 1996), Bolkus was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry from March 1996 to November 2001. He remained on the back bench for the final four years of his career in Parliament.
). Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott
accused Bolkus of having breached the legal requirements of accepting a political donation
. Abbott also accused Bolkus of money laundering, however it became clear that the matter was in fact not a breach of any regulations regarding political donations.
However, later that year, the South Australia ALP (and significantly the left faction) advised Bolkus that they would not support his bid for another term in office. Those who opposed his bid included Penny Wong
, Jay Weatherill
and then-LHMEU Branch Secretary (and later Member of Federal Parliament) Mark Butler
. They claimed that Bolkus' reputation had been scarred by the allegations of impropriety and that another term would only damage the ALP. They pointed to the significant media coverage of the scandal and argued that even if no law had been broken, Bolkus had publicly and knowingly socialised with a known corporate criminal. However, some commentators have suggested that the ALP had no real concerns regarding Tan. Rather, the negative media coverage was exploited as an opportunity to remove a politician who the ALP, for various reasons, wanted to get rid of. An aggrieved Bolkus (in some sense rightfully aggrieved as he had in fact not broken any laws) pursued Nationwide News for defamation. He was successful in the District Court of South Australia
in Bolkus v Nationwide News.
Government.
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...
politician. He was a member of the 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 July 1981 to 2005, representing the state of South Australia.
Early career
He was born in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and was educated at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
. He was very briefly a lawyer in 1974 and 1975. He moved into political advising and became a research officer for a number of Australian 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...
(ALP) members including Clyde Cameron
Clyde Cameron
Clyde Robert Cameron, AO , Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 31 years from 1949 to 1980, a Cabinet minister in the Whitlam government and a leading figure in the Australian labour movement for forty years.-Biography:Cameron was born in Murray Bridge,...
. He unsuccessfully ran for the seat of Adelaide in 1976. He entered politics as a Senator for South Australia following the Australian federal election, 1980
Australian federal election, 1980
Federal elections were held in Australia on 18 October 1980. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Malcolm Fraser with coalition partner the National Country Party led by Doug...
.
Parliamentary career
Bolkus stayed on the back bench for his first seven years in Parliament. Bolkus was eventually promoted to the outer Ministry as Minister for Consumer Affairs and Minister Assisting the Treasurer for Prices (1988–90). Bolkus became a Cabinet Minister for five years, as Minister for Administrative Services (1990–93) (a Ministry which was later relegated out of Cabinet), and then Minister for Immigration and Ethnic AffairsMinister for Immigration and Citizenship (Australia)
In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is responsible for overseeing the Department of Immigration and Citizenship....
and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Multicultural Affairs (1993–96).
After the end of the Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
Government (due to its election defeat in 1996), Bolkus was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry from March 1996 to November 2001. He remained on the back bench for the final four years of his career in Parliament.
Dante Tan scandal
In 2003, it became apparent that Bolkus had failed to declare donations made by Dante Tan (a corporate criminal from the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
). Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
accused Bolkus of having breached the legal requirements of accepting a political donation
Political donations in Australia
The term political donations refers to gifts to a politician, a political party, or an election campaign.In Australia, the majority of political donations come in the form of financial gifts from corporations, which go towards the funding of the parties' election advertising campaigns. Donations...
. Abbott also accused Bolkus of money laundering, however it became clear that the matter was in fact not a breach of any regulations regarding political donations.
However, later that year, the South Australia ALP (and significantly the left faction) advised Bolkus that they would not support his bid for another term in office. Those who opposed his bid included 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...
, Jay Weatherill
Jay Weatherill
Jay Wilson Weatherill is an Australian politician and current Premier of South Australia. He has represented the electoral district of Cheltenham in the South Australian House of Assembly as a member of the Australian Labor Party since the 2002 election.-Early life:Born in the western suburbs of...
and then-LHMEU Branch Secretary (and later Member of Federal Parliament) Mark Butler
Mark Butler
Mark Christopher Butler has been the Australian Labor Party representative for the electoral division of Port Adelaide in north-western Adelaide, South Australia since the 2007 federal election, succeeding prior Labor MP Rod Sawford....
. They claimed that Bolkus' reputation had been scarred by the allegations of impropriety and that another term would only damage the ALP. They pointed to the significant media coverage of the scandal and argued that even if no law had been broken, Bolkus had publicly and knowingly socialised with a known corporate criminal. However, some commentators have suggested that the ALP had no real concerns regarding Tan. Rather, the negative media coverage was exploited as an opportunity to remove a politician who the ALP, for various reasons, wanted to get rid of. An aggrieved Bolkus (in some sense rightfully aggrieved as he had in fact not broken any laws) pursued Nationwide News for defamation. He was successful in the District Court of South Australia
District Court of South Australia
The District Court of South Australia is South Australia's principal trial court. It was established as a court of record by the District Court Act 1991...
in Bolkus v Nationwide News.
Life after politics
Since retiring from public life, Bolkus appears to have engaged in some minor lobbying work through his contacts in the RannMike Rann
Michael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election...
Government.