Roger Cook (politician)
Encyclopedia
Roger Cook is an Australian Labor Party
politician from Western Australia
. In the 2008 state election
he was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
to the newly formed seat of Kwinana, becoming its inaugural member.
On 16 September 2008, he was elected to the position of deputy leader of the Labor Party under Eric Ripper
.
, completing a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration degree. He was active in student politics and went on to work in a number of Labor Party MP offices including Stephen Smith
, Jim McGinty
and Chris Evans
.
He has been involved in indigenous land rights issues
including time as the CEO of the West Australian Native Title Working Group, as Executive Director of the Native Title Representative Body for the resource rich Pilbara region (Yamatji Marlpa Barna Baba Maaja Aboriginal Corporation)and as Director of government and corporate relations at the 'South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council'. Cook served as national president of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation until the election was called.
Cook is also a former state party secretary and until the election was state manager of public relations firm CPR which is closely associated with the 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...
politician from Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. In the 2008 state election
Western Australian state election, 2008
A general election was held in the state of Western Australia on Saturday 6 September 2008 to elect 59 members to the Legislative Assembly and 36 members to the Legislative Council...
he was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....
to the newly formed seat of Kwinana, becoming its inaugural member.
On 16 September 2008, he was elected to the position of deputy leader of the Labor Party under Eric Ripper
Eric Ripper
Eric Stephen Ripper is the Leader of the Opposition and leader of the Labor Party in Western Australia.He grew up on a wheat/sheep farm near Nyabing. Ripper later attended Churchlands Senior High School and the University of Western Australia, from which he received a Bachelor of Arts and a...
.
Biography
Cook attended Murdoch UniversityMurdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975...
, completing a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration degree. He was active in student politics and went on to work in a number of Labor Party MP offices including Stephen Smith
Stephen Smith (Australian politician)
Stephen Francis Smith , is the Australian Minister for Defence. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993, representing the Division of Perth, Western Australia....
, Jim McGinty
Jim McGinty
James Andrew McGinty is an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1990 to 2009, representing the district of Fremantle. He was Labor Party leader and Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1996...
and Chris Evans
Chris Evans (Australian politician)
Christopher Vaughan Evans is an Australian politician and a member of the Australian Senate for the state of Western Australia, representing the Australian Labor Party.-Early life:...
.
He has been involved in indigenous land rights issues
Native title
Native title is the Australian version of the common law doctrine of aboriginal title.Native title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
including time as the CEO of the West Australian Native Title Working Group, as Executive Director of the Native Title Representative Body for the resource rich Pilbara region (Yamatji Marlpa Barna Baba Maaja Aboriginal Corporation)and as Director of government and corporate relations at the 'South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council'. Cook served as national president of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation until the election was called.
Cook is also a former state party secretary and until the election was state manager of public relations firm CPR which is closely associated with the Labor Party.
Election
He won the seat of Kwinana in a tightly fought contest, winning by 300 votes from independent candidate, and mayor of the Town of Kwinana, Carol AdamsCarol Adams (Australian politician)
Carol Adams is a local government representative from Western Australia.Currently the mayor of the Town of Kwinana, she ran as an independent in the 2008 state election in the newly formed Electoral district of Kwinana...
.