Anthony Stephen Burke (born 4 November 1969) is an Australian politician serving asLeader of the House,Minister for Home Affairs andMinister for the Arts. He is a member of theAustralian Labor Party (ALP), and has served asmember of parliament (MP) forWatson since 2004. He held cabinet positions in the governments ofKevin Rudd andJulia Gillard from 2007 to 2013.
Burke is a graduate of theUniversity of Sydney, and worked as a political staffer, company director, and union organiser before entering politics. He was elected to theNew South Wales Legislative Council in 2003, but resigned the following year to enter federal politics. He was included in theshadow ministry immediately after winning a seat at the2004 election. During thefirst Rudd government, Burke held the position ofMinister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, before being given the role ofMinister for Sustainability, Environment, Water and Population in theGillard government, after Gillard replaced Rudd as prime minister. In June 2013, Rudd would in turn replace Gillard as prime minister, and appointed Burke as theMinister for the Arts andMinister for Immigration, Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship in hissubsequent government. He held these positions for less than three months, as Labor was defeated in the2013 federal election.
In opposition, Burke served as theManager of Opposition Business underBill Shorten andAnthony Albanese, and held various positions in theshadow cabinet. After Labor's victory in the2022 election, Burke would become Leader of the House, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for the Arts in theAlbanese government.
Burke was raised in aCatholic family of Irish descent.[1] He attended Catholic schools, Regina Coeli (Beverly Hills, NSW) andSt Patrick's College (Strathfield, NSW), where he was Vice-Captain.[2] He attended theUniversity of Sydney where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts andBachelor of Laws. He was also awarded the Martin Sorensen Trophy for Best Speaker at the 1994Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships.[3]
From 1993 to 1995, Burke worked as a staffer to Labor senatorsGraham Richardson andMichael Forshaw.[4] In 1996, he and two friends from his university debating society established Atticus Pty Ltd., a business that provides training for "clients from the corporate and education sectors in advocacy and communication skills". It was named after the iconic fictional characterAtticus Finch from the novelTo Kill a Mockingbird.[1] He resigned his directorship of the company the following year to join theShop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) as a union organiser.[4] He left the SDA in 2003 to run for theNew South Wales Legislative Council.[5]
At the2003 state election, Burke was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council. He chaired the NSW State Development Committee, conducting inquiries into ports infrastructure and science commercialisation.[5] A view was gradually formed that his talents were being wasted in the New South Wales Legislative Council and he resigned from state parliament on 24 June 2004 to campaign for the New South Walesdivision of Watson. He won the seat at the2004 federal election.[4]
A member ofLabor Right,[6] Burke was elected to theHouse of Representatives at the2004 federal election, replacing the retiringLeo McLeay in the safe Labor seat ofWatson. He and fellow Labor MPLinda Burney are the only members of the Federal Parliament to have always served as a minister or shadow minister. He was immediately promoted to theshadow ministry underMark Latham, as Shadow Minister for Small Business. He was promoted to Shadow Minister for Immigration in June 2005, by which timeKim Beazley had replaced Latham as leader. After the2006 leadership spill, the new leaderKevin Rudd expanded Burke's portfolio to Immigration, Integration and Citizenship.[4]
After the2007 federal election, Burke was appointedMinister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in the newRudd government. He was sworn in by theGovernor-General on 3 December 2007.[4] Burke oversaw the abolition of the Australian bulk wheat export monopoly after theAWB oil-for-wheat scandal.[7] He oversaw the eradication ofthe horse flu in Australia after the2007 equine influenza outbreak.[8]
On 2 April 2010, Rudd appointed Burke asMinister for Population.[4] The appointment came after Rudd stated he was in favour of a "big Australia" in response to demographic projections in the Government's Intergenerational Report showing the population of Australia would increase from 22 million in 2010 to 35 million in 2050.[9] Burke's responsibilities included planning for the growth in Australia's population and coordinating the provision of services accordingly.
Following the2010 federal election, Burke was appointedMinister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. In March 2012, following theALP leadership spill, Burke was also appointedVice-President of the Executive Council.[4]
AsMinister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Burke established the Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network,the largest network of marine protected areas anywhere in the World and the world's second largest conservation determination after the preservation of Antarctica.[10]
Burke also added koalas to the threatened species list in Queensland, NSW and the ACT.[11] He also placed a ban on a controversial Dutch "super trawler" fishing vessel operating in waters off Tasmania.[12]
He acted as a mediator in the long-running dispute between environmental groups and theTasmanian forestry industry, culminating in the signing of the historicTasmanian Forests Intergovernmental Agreement in 2011.[13]
Burke often cites Labor's environmental credentials and the campaign to protect theDaintree Rainforest as the reason he got involved in politics.[1] In government, Burke pushed to protect large areas of the Tasmanian Wilderness and theNingaloo Reef by having them listed asUNESCOWorld Heritage Sites. In 2014, theAbbott government’s application to undo Burke's Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage listing was rejected by theUNESCOWorld Heritage Committee.[14] The Portuguese delegation called the delisting attempt "feeble".[14]
In early 2011, Burke gave approval for the 100 per cent plantation timberBell Bay Pulp Mill in theTamar Valley after imposing stricter environmental conditions on the applicantGunns Limited.[15] Burke said many of the demands made by environmental groups opposed to the development had been addressed.[16]
On 22 November 2012, Burke developed, negotiated and signed into law theMurray Darling Basin Plan, a process more than 100 years in the making, after extensive consultation with irrigators, environmental groups and state governments.[17]
On 25 March 2013, Burke was appointedMinister for the Arts in theSecond Gillard Ministry, in addition to his existing responsibilities.[4] Burke took over the implementation of the Gillard government's Creative Australia policy after the formerMinister for the Arts,Simon Crean, was sacked for his involvement in a failed attempt to return Kevin Rudd to the prime ministership.[18] Following theJune 2013 Labor leadership spill, which saw Gillard lose the Labor leadership, Rudd rejected Burke's offer to resign from the ministry.[19] Burke, a Gillard supporter, had been critical of Rudd's performance during his previous tenure.[19]
Rudd subsequently appointed Burke asMinister for Immigration, Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship in theSecond Rudd Ministry. In this role he oversaw Rudd's resettlement plans with Papua New Guinea and Nauru, which saw an immediate and dramatic reduction in the number of people arriving by boat. During his short time as Minister for Immigration he also sought to release every unaccompanied minor who was in immigration detention.[20]
Following Labor's2013 election loss, Burke was appointed Shadow Finance Minister andManager of Opposition Business.[4]
After the2016 federal election, Burke was appointed Shadow Minister for Environment and Water, Shadow Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Australia, Shadow Minister for the Arts, in addition to his duties as theManager of Opposition Business.[4]
In 2019, he became Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations, ending his roles in Environment and Water, and Citizenship and Multicultural Australia, but retaining the Arts.[21]
Following the2022 federal election, Burke was appointedLeader of the House,Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations andMinister for the Arts in theAlbanese ministry.[4]
On 28 July 2024 it was announced that Burke would become theMinister for Home Affairs,Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs andMinister for Cyber Security, in addition to continuing as theMinister for the Arts andLeader of the House, but would leave the role ofMinister for Employment and Workplace Relations forMurray Watt.[22]
While in opposition, Burke led an unsuccessful bipartisan appeal forclemency to the Singapore High Commissioner to stop the execution of convicted Australian drug smuggler,Van Tuong Nguyen.[1] Seven years after Nguyen was executed Burke spoke at the launch of theSBSBetter Man miniseries about Nguyen's case. At the launch, Burke referred to the meeting with the Singapore High Commissioner as "the worst day" of his political career and "potentially the most troubling day" of his life.[23]
Burke has been a vocal opponent of the Liberal National government's attempts to repeal Section 18C of theRacial Discrimination Act.[24][25] In May 2014, Burke held a march against the changes to Section 18C in the Sydney suburb ofLakemba. The event was attended by more than 1,000 people protesting against the changes, which were subsequently dropped by the Abbott government.[24]
The "Walk for Respect" was held again in 2017 in Lakemba when the Turnbull government again sought to remove certain protections against speech potentially considered to be racially offensive. The Walk was held on the same day the senate rejected the government amendments, this time with 3000 in attendance.[1]
Burke is opposed to the legalisation ofeuthanasia. He has said his opposition stems from the case of a friend who was incorrectly diagnosed with a terminal illness.[26] In the 1990s, Burke served as the executive director of Euthanasia No!, a group that lobbied state and federal governments against altering thestatus quo on euthanasia. In 1996, he and a pro-euthanasia campaigner,Peter Baume, were invited to address theNew South Wales Legislative Assembly before a debate on the subject, one of only a handful of occasions on which non-MPs have been invited to speak in parliament.[27][28] He was later tasked with lobbying Labor senators to vote for what became theEuthanasia Laws Act 1997, which voided theNorthern Territory's euthanasia laws.[29][30]
Burke publicly announced his support ofmarriage equality in May 2015,[31] and voted in favour of theMarriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017.[32] He had previously voted against theMarriage Amendment Bill 2012, citing opposition within his constituency.[33] His division had the second-highest percentage of "No" responses in the 2017Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, with 69.64% of the electorate's respondents to the survey responding "No".[34]
Burke married Cathy Bresnan in 1994; after commencing their relationship in 1989. She subsequently took the surname "Bresnan-Burke". The couple had three daughters together, but separated at the end of December 2012, the separation was not disclosed until the completion of the Federal Election in September 2013. In February 2014,The Australian reported that Burke had recently commenced a relationship with Skye Laris, his former chief of staff.[35] Burke and Laris married in December 2015.[citation needed]
He is also known for his love of music and keeps musical instruments in his Parliament House office.[36]
Burke hascoeliac disease.[37]
| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Watson 2004–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 2007–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities 2010–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice-President of the Executive Council 2012–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Immigration, Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship 2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations 2022–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the House 2022–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Minister for the Arts 2022–present | |
| Preceded by | Minister for Home Affairs 2024–present | |
| Minister for Cyber Security 2024–present | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs 2024–present | |
Prime Minister:Anthony Albanese | ||
| Cabinet | .jpg) | |
| Outer Ministry | ||
| Assistant Ministers | ||
| Resigned | ||
Prime Minister:Kevin Rudd | ||
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Prime Minister:Kevin Rudd | ||
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