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Bill Heffernan

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Bill Heffernan
Bill Heffernan in April 2010
Senator for New South Wales
Assumed office
September 1996
Personal details
Born (1943-03-03) 3 March 1943 (age 81)
Junee, New South Wales
NationalityAustralian
Political partyLiberal Party of Australia
ProfessionMember of Parliament

William Daniel Heffernan, more commonly known as Bill Heffernan, (born 3 March 1943),[1] Australian politician, has been a Liberal Party member of the Senate, representing the state of New South Wales, since September 1996.

Early life

Heffernan was born in Junee, New South Wales and attended St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill. He has qualifications in wool classing and welding from Wagga Wagga Technical College[1] and has been a farmer in the Junee area for 30 years.[2] Heffernan lives with his wife Margaret.

Career

Heffernan was a member of the Junee Shire Council 1981–96 and was President of the Council 1989–90 and 1991–93. He was active in the Liberal Party for many years and was the party's NSW State President 1993–1996.[1]

In September 1996 the NSW parliament chose Heffernan to replace the long-serving Liberal Senator Michael Baume, whose resignation created a casual vacancy. He had been a long-time friend and supporter of then Prime Minister John Howard in the NSW Liberal Party, and in October 1998, after he was elected in his own right to a six-year term in the Senate, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet, a position giving him easy access to the Prime Minister. He has since been reelected twice, in 2004 and 2010, and is currently the Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Agricultural and Related Industries,[3] Rural & Regional Affairs Policy Committee,[4] Member of Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport[5] and Member of the Joint House Committee.[4] His current Senate term expires on 30 June 2017.

2002

On 12 March 2002, speaking in the Senate under parliamentary privilege, Heffernan made accusations against a judge.[6]

Only at the end of this speech did Heffernan make it clear that the judge he was referring to was Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court of Australia. Senators John Faulkner and Robert Ray (Labor) and Aden Ridgeway (Australian Democrats) each alleged that Heffernan had deliberately structured his speech this way in order to conceal the fact that he was violating parliamentary standing orders.[6] (Standing Order 193 prohibits senators from making 'imputations of improper motives or personal reflections' on currently-serving judicial officers.)

Heffernan's allegations against Kirby included the inappropriate use of a Commonwealth car to solicit sex from an under-age male prostitute,[7] and to support these claims he produced what appeared to be a driver's log book recording the alleged trip. The documents were found to be a forgery.[7]

Heffernan came under prolonged political pressure as a result of this episode, and was eventually asked by Prime Minister John Howard to resign his post as Parliamentary Secretary, which he did.[8] On 19 March he made a statement to the Senate in which he withdrew the claims. Immediately following this statement, Heffernan was censured unanimously by the Senate.[8] The Prime Minister was also censured for his involvement in the episode by an amendment to the censure motion which passed 31–30, with Coalition government senators voting against it. He did not resign his Senate seat, and has since been reelected twice.

2005

In a public lecture given on 27 September 2005, political opponent Mark Latham accused Heffernan of engaging in the "politics of personal destruction", and quoted John Hewson (a former Liberal Party leader) as saying that John Howard had used Heffernan to distribute dirt and to run his agenda against individuals "for almost as long as I have known him".[9]

2006

On 7 February 2006, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Heffernan had been forced to apologise to National Party senator Fiona Nash after a public altercation at Canberra Airport the previous day, during which he had told her to "blow it out her backside". Senator Heffernan said the airport altercation with his fellow Coalition Senator was just "a bit of colour and movement".[10] But National Party MP De-Anne Kelly described the incident as "workplace harassment", saying "workplace harassment is not acceptable anywhere".[10] On 7 July 2006, the ABC programme Stateline in NSW aired claims that Heffernan was involved in the downfall of former NSW opposition leader John Brogden. Alex McTaggart, independent member for Pittwater, his wife Denise, and Peter Jones, a member of McTaggart's campaign team, claimed on the program that Heffernan contacted them and said that he was the Prime Minister's [Howard's] right hand man, and did his 'dirty work'. The McTaggarts claimed that Heffernan told them he had a dirt file on Brogden, said that Brogden needed to be 'paid back', and tried to lure them into publicising material damaging to Brogden's character. Heffernan denied these claims, and was quoted on the programme saying that they were 'bullshit'.[11]

In October 2006, Heffernan called for "someone's arse to get kicked" because of delays to the construction of the final major link in the dual carriageway between Sydney and Melbourne. According to Heffernan, a "colony of whatever they are that live in the edge of the bank of the creek" (platypus) was causing the delay and it was a problem that could be fixed "in ten minutes". He called for consultants to be axed who were "wasting taxpayers' money".[12]

2007

Bill Heffernan was appointed Chairman of the Prime Minister's Taskforce to examine the potential and opportunities for further land and water development in Northern Australia.[4]

During the New South Wales 2007 State Election, Heffernan was accused of stealing Greens how-to-vote cards and misrepresenting Greens policies to voters. He was reported as shouting "If you want to decriminalise drugs for your children, vote Green". Police were called but he was not arrested.[13]

In an interview with The Bulletin magazine in May 2007, Senator Heffernan repeated previously-stated views that priests should be able to marry because "...priests, like the rest of us, wake up with a horn at four in the morning." [14]

In the same Bulletin interview, Heffernan caused widespread outrage by suggesting the unmarried and childless Deputy Leader of the Opposition Julia Gillard was unfit for leadership because she was "deliberately barren".[14] He continued: "I mean anyone who chooses to remain deliberately barren ... they’ve got no idea what life’s about."[15] Heffernan was later forced to apologise for the remarks.[16]

According to The Age newspaper, Bill Heffernan posed as an ASIO agent in a telephone call to John Grabbe, a farm manager in New South Wales. Under the Crimes Act it is an offence to impersonate a Commonwealth officer.[17]

The Bulletin published an interview which quoted Bill Heffernan as stating that Australia had to "settle the north" because millions of people in Asia may find it a "very attractive proposition" if climate change leaves them water-poor.[18] Heffernan later denied he had made such claims, but The Bulletin stood by the accuracy of its report, citing an audio recording of the Heffernan interview.[19]

Heffernan is also reported to have impersonated Senator Barnaby Joyce during a telephone conversation with one of his constituents.[17]

2008

On 17 March 2008, Senator Heffernan announced the establishment of a Senate Inquiry looking at the implications for Australian farmers of world chemical and fertiliser supply and pricing arrangements, monopolistic and cartel behaviour and related matters.[20] In the same month Bill Heffernan announced the establishment of a Senate Inquiry into Meat Marketing.[21] The Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport will look at the need for effective supervision of national standards and controls and the national harmonisation of regulations applying to the branding and marketing of meat.[22]

On 12 November, Senator Heffernan announced that a Senate Inquiry would be launched to examine gene patents, saying: "Patents should be for inventions, not for naturally occurring genes."[23] The Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs will inquire into the granting of patent monopolies in Australia over human and microbial genes and non-coding sequences, proteins and their derivatives.[24]

Senator Heffernan said "the granting of gene patents has the potential to have a detrimental impact on healthcare costs, medical research, provision of training and accreditation for healthcare professionals as well as the health and wellbeing of all Australians."[25]

"Patents should be for inventions not for naturally occurring genes, these patents will disrupt future breast and prostate cancer testing and research." Senator Heffernan said.[25]

Following the launch of the Senate inquiry into Gene Patents by Senator Heffernan, Mervyn Jacobsen, founder and 40 per cent shareholder of the Melbourne company Genetic Technologies, which holds the patents for BRCA1 and BRCA2, backed down from threatened legal action.[26]

2010

On 30 August 2010, Heffernan admitted being the caller who rang NSW independent MP Rob Oakeshott, and introduced himself as "the devil". The phone call was answered by Oakeshott's wife, who assumed it was a prank call and hung up, before Heffernan gave his name. Oakeshott accused the Liberal-National Coalition of dirty tactics and described the introduction as "Rambo-style". Heffernan said he had been introducing himself as such for a while.[27]

2011

At a Senate Estimates Hearing in Canberra, Heffernan called the Irish-born head of Qantas, Alan Joyce, an "an old Irish bomb maker", saying "Mr Joyce if the power was yours, you know from being an old Irish bomb maker, if you had the choice, what would be the ideal pilot training?"[28] During the hearing he also made comments about having a beer in a three-minute break and there being no whiskey in the water.[28] He made similar comments to Liberal party member Julian McGauran, saying "Senator McGuaran are you, do you come from a long line of Irish bomb-makers, do you?"[28]

2012

At a May branch meeting it is alleged that Bill Hefernan struck a fellow Liberal party member so hard that he was toppled onto a chair, before allegedly whispering to him "I didn't know you were a poofter."[29] [30]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Biography for HEFFERNAN, the Hon. William (Bill) Daniel". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  2. ^ "Find Your Local MP". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Q & A. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  3. ^ Membership of Committees, Member of Senate Committee, Australian Government Retrieved on 2008-11-27.
  4. ^ a b c Introducing Senator the Hon. Bill Heffernan Retrieved on 2008-11-27.
  5. ^ Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport, Senate Committee, Australian Government Retrieved on 2008-11-27.
  6. ^ a b Official Hansard, Senate of Australia, 12 March 2002. Cite error: The named reference "hansard1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Jennett, Greg (2002-03-19). "Heffernan apologises to Kirby". Lateline. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  8. ^ a b Official Hansard, Senate of Australia, 19 March 2002.
  9. ^ Latham, Mark: 10 Reasons Why Young Idealistic People Should Forget About Organised Politics (public lecture), The University of Melbourne, 27 September 2005.
  10. ^ a b "Backside Slur Just Bill Being Bill". Sydney Morning Herald, 7 February 2006.
  11. ^ "The Brogden File", Stateline New South Wales (ABC), 7 July 2006.
  12. ^ Road execs blasted over platypus hold up, The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 October 2006.
  13. ^ Heffernan thwarts Greens, The Daily Telegraph, 25 March 2007.
  14. ^ a b "Heffernan targets 'barren' Gillard". The Bulletin. 1 May 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-05-05.
  15. ^ Sorry seems to be the easiest word, News Ltd, 3 May 2007.
  16. ^ Howard forces Senator to apologise over 'barren' remark, New Zealand Herald, 3 May 2007.
  17. ^ a b 'ASIO agent' Heffernan makes some odd calls, The Age, 24 June 2007.
  18. ^ "Climate of fear". News Ltd. 2007-10-02. Archived from the original on 2007-10-05.
  19. ^ Peter Veness (2007-10-03). "Magazine stands by MP's Asian invasion quotes". News Ltd. Retrieved 2011-05-21.
  20. ^ Senate Inquiry into fertilisers Retrieved on 2008-11-27.
  21. ^ Senate Inquiry into Meat Marketing Retrieved on 2008-11-27.
  22. ^ Inquiry into Meat Marketing, Senate Committees, Australian Government Retrieved on 2008-11-27.
  23. ^ "Senate to Examine Gene Patents". The Age. Fairfax Media. 2008-11-12. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  24. ^ Inquiry into Gene Patents, Senate Committees, Australian Government Retrieved on 2008-11-27.
  25. ^ a b Senate Inquiry into Human Gene Patents Retrieved on 2008-11-27.
  26. ^ Robotham, Julie (2008-11-21). "Experts denounce gene patents". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  27. ^ Coorey, Phillip (2010-08-30). "Liberal identified as making 'Rambo-style' devil call". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  28. ^ a b c "Heffernan calls Qantas chief a 'bomb maker'". ABC. 2010-02-25. Retrieved 2011-05-21.
  29. ^ "Labor has called for Bill Heffernan to stand aside while he is investigated by police". The Australian. 2012-05-20. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  30. ^ "Senior Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan accused of gay hate attack on staff member Ray Carter". The Herald Sun. 2012-05-20. Retrieved 2012-05-20.

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