Kim Wilkie

Kim Wilkie
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Swan
In office
3 October 1998 – 24 November 2007
Preceded byDon Randall
Succeeded bySteve Irons
Personal details
Born (1959-06-03) 3 June 1959 (age 65)
Perth, Western Australia
Political partyLabor
OccupationFarmer
Prison officer
Employment officer

Kim Wilkie (born 3 June 1959) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007, representing the Western Australian seat of Swan for the Australian Labor Party (ALP).

Early life

Wilkie was born in Perth on 3 June 1959. He worked a number of jobs before entering politics, including as a farmer, prison officer and employment officer with the YMCA in Victoria Park.[1]

Politics

Wilkie served on the South Perth City Council from 1993 to 1998. He was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1998 federal election, winning the seat of Swan for the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from the incumbent Liberal MP Don Randall.[1]

In parliament, Wilkie was "heavily involved in international affairs as a member of the Joint Standing Committee for Treaties and the Joint Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade".[2] He was also a member of the speaker's panel from 2002 to 2007.[1] Wilkie reportedly supported Kevin Rudd against incumbent leader Kim Beazley in the 2006 Australian Labor Party leadership spill.[3] In September 2006 he and Warren Snowdon were suspended from parliament in a heated debate on the Liberal government's proposed abolition of the permit system used by remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.[4]

Wilkie's seat was marginal throughout his time in parliament. He won Swan by just over 100 votes at the 2004 election.[5] The losing Liberal candidate Andrew Murfin had a request for a recount denied by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC).[6] Wilkie was in turn defeated by Liberal candidate Steve Irons by just over 150 votes at the 2007 election. He was the only incumbent Labor MP defeated at the election.[7]

Later life

In 2010, Wilkie was appointed chief executive of the Confederation of Meningitis Organizations.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Mr Kim Wilkie AM". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Appointments". BusinessNews. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  3. ^ Mitchell, Alex (27 November 2007). "Don't forget 39 Labor MPs didn't want Kevin Rudd". Crikey. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  4. ^ Peatling, Stephanie (13 September 2006). "Aboriginal permits reviewed". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Labor claims another knife-edge seat". Sydney Morning Herald. 23 October 2004. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  6. ^ "AEC refuses Swan recount". 27 October 2004. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  7. ^ Perpitch, Nicolas (13 December 2007). "Kim Wilkie may challenge in Perth seat of Swan". Retrieved 7 August 2024.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Swan
1998–2007 		Succeeded by