Terry Burke

Terry Burke
Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
In office 23 March 1968 – 18 March 1987
Preceded by	Peter Durack
Succeeded by	Ian Alexander
Constituency	Perth
Personal details
Born	Terence Joseph Burke (1942-02-01) 1 February 1942 (age 83) Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Political party	Labor Party
Spouse	Luciana Mary Sepich
Children	4
Parents	Tom Burke (father) Madeline Orr (mother)
Relatives	Brian Burke (brother)
Profession	Public servant

Terence Joseph Burke (born 1 February 1942) is a former member for the seat of Perth in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. He held the seat between 1968 and 1987. In 1974, with the Labor Party in Opposition, he was a member of the Tonkin shadow ministry. He is the elder brother of former premier Brian Burke and both are sons of former federal shadow cabinet member Tom Burke.

Early life

Burke was born on 1 February 1942 in Perth, Western Australia.[1] His parents were Tom Burke, an Australian Labor Party politician in the House of Representatives from 1943 to 1955, and Madeline Muirson Orr.[2][3] Tom Burke had Irish ancestry, and was deeply Catholic.[4] Madeline Orr was of Irish and Scottish ancestry.[5] Terry Burke was the first child out of five: the second child was Anne Burke, the third child was Brian Burke, the fourth child was Frankie Burke, who had down syndrome, and the fifth child was Genevieve Burke.[6][2] He grew up in the middle-class Perth suburb of Wembley, living in a California bungalow set on a quarter acre block.[2]

Political career

Burke joined the Labor Party in 1958. At the 1968 Western Australian state election, he was elected to the electoral district of Perth in the Legislative Assembly.[1] His brother Brian was elected to the electoral district of Balcatta in a 1973 by-election.

Following Labor's 1974 election loss, Burke became a member of the Tonkin shadow ministry. He was the shadow chief secretary, shadow minister for conservation and the environment, and shadow minister for fisheries and fauna until April 1977.[1] His brother became the premier of Western Australia after the 1983 state election.

On 18 March 1987, Burke resigned from parliament.[1]

He was later found to be involved in events related to the WA Inc scandal. A royal commission found that Burke had received a $600,000 commission for fundraising campaign donations paid to his brother and the Labor Party during the 1987 federal election.[7]

Personal life

Burke is Catholic. He married Luciana Mary Sepich on 12 March 1966 at Sacred Heart Church in Highgate. He has two sons and two daughters.[1]

References

1. "Mr Terence Joseph Burke". Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
2. Beresford 2008, p. 5.
3. Bolton, G. C. (1993). "Burke, Thomas Patrick (Tom) (1910–1973)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
4. Beresford 2008, p. 2–3.
5. Hamilton 1988, p. 22.
6. Burke 2017, p. 29.
7. "A role in the fall of a Labor mate conveniently omitted from the eulogies". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 July 2005. Retrieved 27 June 2022.

Bibliography

• Hamilton, John (1988). Burkie: A biography of Brian Burke. St. George Books. ISBN 0867780363.
• Peachey, Brian (1992). The Burkes of Western Australia. Peacheys Holdings. ISBN 9780959426113.
• Beresford, Quentin (2008). The Godfather: The life of Brian Burke. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1741755565.
• Burke, Brian (2017). A tumultuous life. ISBN 9780648009603.
• Kennedy, Peter (2019). Tales from Boom Town: Western Australian premiers from Brand to McGowan (Revised and updated ed.). UWA Publishing. ISBN 9781760800246.