Laurie Brereton

Laurence John "Laurie" Brereton (born 29 May 1946), Australian politician, was a state minister, a federal member of cabinet, and kingmaker in the election of several Australian Labor Party leaders, including Paul Keating and Mark Latham. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the
Australian House of Representatives from March 1990 to October 2004, representing the Division of Kingsford Smith, New South Wales.

Early life

Brereton was born in the Sydney suburb of Kensington, New South Wales, and was educated at Marcellin College, Randwick. He was apprenticed and worked as an electrical tradesman to the Sydney County Council, a former council-owned retailer of electricity in inner Sydney.cite web
title =The Hon. (Laurie) Laurence John Brereton (1946 - )
work =Members of Parliament
publisher =Parliament of New South Wales
url =http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/members.nsf/1fb6ebed995667c2ca256ea100825164/f66aa7a72aaa5159ca256a920007cada!OpenDocument
accessdate = 2007-04-20]

Political career

Brereton served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as member for Randwick from 1970 to 1971 and Heffron from 1973 to 1990. He was Minister for Health 1981-84, Minister for Roads 1983-84 and 1984-87, Minister for Public Works 1984-87 and Minister for Employment 1984.

In the federal Parliament, Brereton was Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister 1991-93, Minister for Industrial Relations 1993-96, Minister for Transport 1993-96, and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Public Service Matters 1993.

Brereton was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry 1996-2001 serving as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. Ably assisted by his adviser, Dr Philip Dorling, Brereton was instrumental in revising Federal Labor policy to support self-determination and independence for East Timor. Brereton was a vocal critic of Prime Minister John Howard who supported East Timor's continued integration in Indonesia. He was also strongly critical of the performance of past Labor Governments, in particular Prime Minister Gough Whitlam who acquiesenced to Indonesia's intentions to invade East Timor in 1975.

During 1998 and 1999 Brereton highlighted evidence of the Indonesian military's involvement in pro-integrationist violence in East Timor and was a strident advocate of United Nations peacekeeping to support East Timor's independence ballot. Brereton was a member of the Australian Parliamentary observer mission that witnessed the conduct of the ballot.

Brereton's break from previous Australian bipartisanship on East Timor policy was an important factor in the Howard Government's eventual decision to change Australian policy and intervene in East Timor in September 1999. According to historian and former Australian Army officer, Dr Clinton Fernandes, "The ALP's change of policy - and the resulting pressure of the [Australian] Government - was a critical factor in the independence of East Timor." [cite book
first=Clinton
last=Fernandes
title=Reluctant Saviour: Australia, Indonesia and the independence of East Timor
publisher=Scribe
location=Melbourne
date=2004p. 32]

Brereton's activism on the East Timor issue was strongly opposed by senior Labor political figures, notably former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and former Foreign Minister Gareth Evans and found little support from Federal Labor leader Kim Beazley. However Beazley was reluctant to challenge the combatative Brereton's handling of the issue and eventually accepted the change in Labor policy.

Following controversy in 1999 over leaked Australian intelligence reports relating to East Timor and the Indonesian military, Australian Federal Police and Defence Security agents raided Dr Dorling's home in September 2000, but no classified material was found.

Taking into account his service in the New South Wales Parliament, Brereton had the longest period of parliamentary service of any member of the Parliament elected in 2001. In June 2004 he announced his retirement from politics at the 2004 federal election. He helped engineer the candidacy of the rock singer Peter Garrett as his successor in the seat.

He survived the political controversy of the "Botany Council" affair in the mid-'70s when he was accused of attempting to influence ALP aldermen who were considering an application to rezone a block of land. He and Geoffrey Cahill, then Labor's NSW general secretary, appeared in court on bribery and conspiracy charges but after 17 days of hearings and evidence from high-powered witnesses, including Rupert Murdoch, all charges were thrown out. [cite news
last =Totaro
first =Paola
title =Brereton's last revenge
publisher =The Sydney Morning Herald
date =June 14 2004
url =http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/13/1087065029724.html
accessdate =2007-04-20 ]

His wife, Justice Tricia Kavanagh, sits on the Industrial Commission. They have two sons.

He is the younger brother of Deirdre Grusovin, whose political career he helped build.

References

Persondata
NAME=Brereton, Laurie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Brereton, Laurence John (full name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH=29 May 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH=Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
DATE OF DEATH=Living
PLACE OF DEATH=