Bernie Finn | |
|---|---|
 Finn in 2023 | |
| Member of theVictorian Legislative Council forWestern Metropolitan Region | |
| In office 25 November 2006 – 26 November 2022 | |
| Member of theVictorian Legislative Assembly forTullamarine | |
| In office 3 October 1992 – 18 September 1999 | |
| Preceded by | District created |
| Succeeded by | Liz Beattie |
| Leader of theDemocratic Labour Party in Victoria | |
| In office 2 June 2022 – 6 August 2023 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Bernard Thomas Christopher Finn (1961-04-14)14 April 1961 (age 64) Colac, Victoria, Australia |
| Political party | Family First (2023−) |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic Labour (1980, 2022−2023) Independent (2022) Liberal (1981−2022) |
| Occupation |
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| Website | www |
| This article is part ofa series on |
| Conservatism in Australia |
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Bernard Thomas Christopher Finn (born 14 April 1961) is a former Australian politician who was a member of theVictorian Legislative Council representing theWestern Metropolitan Region from the election of November 2006 until he lost in theNovember 2022 election.[1] He was previously the member for theelectoral district of Tullamarine in theVictorian Legislative Assembly from October 1992 until September 1999.
Finn was originally a member of theDemocratic Labor Party (DLP). In 1980, aged 19, he was the DLP candidate for the federal seat ofCorangamite.[2] Soon after, he left the DLP and joined theLiberal Party. In 1983 he was the Liberal candidate for the federal seat ofBurke.[3]
Finn was the Member for the District of Tullamarine from 1992 until 1999 when he lost his seat in the Steve Bracks led victory over the Kennett Liberal Government.
Finn was the number one candidate on the Liberal Party of Australia ticket in the Western Metropolitan Region from 2006 to 2018. He was first elected to the Legislative Council in 2006 and re-elected in 2010, 2014 and 2018.[1]
During the period of theBaillieu andNapthine governments, Finn served as Chairman of theVictorian Parliament's Electoral Matters Committee.[4]
Finn previously served on theCoalition frontbench as the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary forautism spectrum disorder, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Electoral Integrity and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Melbourne's West.[1]
In 2018 Finn was involved in a controversy where he returned to vote on a bill despite having been granted a "pair" to be absent from voting due to religious observation.[5]
In May 2022, Finn was expelled from theVictorian Liberal Party for "a series of inflammatory social media posts", including calling for abortion to be made illegal in all circumstances, and comparing the Victorian premier toAdolf Hitler.[6][7][8]
On 2 June, Finn rejoined the Democratic Labour Party and announced he would recontest the2022 Victorian state election as the leader of the party.[9][10] Finn was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election in 2022. Despite winning 5.16% of the vote, after preference distribution Finn narrowly missed out on re-election in the Western Metropolitan Region by only 210 votes, with Legalise Cannabis Party preferences instead electing a third Liberal candidate.[11]
On 6 August 2023, Finn left the Democratic Labour Party and joinedFamily First Party.[12][13] He is running as a Victorian senate candidate in the2025 Australian federal election.
Finn has drawn controversy for his political views. He has criticisedabortion and been rebuked for his remarks that rape victims should not be allowed an abortion; formerpremierDenis Napthine, who like Finn voted against the 2008 abortion bill,[14] called Finn's views "inappropriate."[15][16] Finn is a strong opponent ofsame sex marriage,adoption,[17][18] andIVF. Finn suggested during the 2012Australian Open that some ‘gay activists’ had "embarked on a program of rainbow fascism."[19][20][21]
Finn is aclimate change denier and was a critic of the Gillard government'scarbon pricing scheme, stating in the Victorian Parliament in 2013 that "there has been no global warming for 17 years". He has attacked the climate change documentaryAn Inconvenient Truth, as well as reports on the subject in the British newspaperThe Guardian.[22] He has claimed thatglobal warming is an invention of the "international left", saying that "it raised a few dollars and promoted its own political interests. It came up with a thing called global warming", which he labelled "nonsense". He went on to say that "we have to come to a conclusion that climate change is not so much a scientific thing as it is a political thing". Finn also told Parliament that "This is a con; the whole thing is a con. Today we are in the Parliament of Victoria wasting our time on something that is largely an invention of the left".
Finn supports reintroducingcapital punishment for serious offences, including serious drug trafficking.[23]
Finn is a regular panellist on conservative television channelSky News Australia and a frequent critic of theBlack Lives Matter movement, climate science and members of what he views as ‘the left’, including American Democrats and theAustralian Labor Party. Finn is a supporter of former US PresidentDonald Trump and a believer of theBig Lie conspiracy.[24] In January 2021, Finn was criticised for sharing conspiracy theories to his private Facebook page, falsely claiming Donald Trump was being "improperly" removed from office.[25] Finn also falsely suggested thatantifa were behind thestorming of the US Capitol and repeated unsubstantiated claims ofelection fraud about the 2020 presidential election.[25][26]
In February 2021 Finn,addressing the Reignite Democracy Australia Facebook group, criticised theCOVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures imposed by the Victorian government, saying that maybe they were about hardline socialists' dislike of small businesses.[27]
In May 2022, Finn expressed onFacebook that he is “praying” forabortion to be banned in Australia, following the release of theSCOTUS draft decision written by JusticeSamuel Alito inDobbs (19-1392).[28]
Before entering Parliament, Finn was a small businessman, broadcaster and a media and ministerial adviser toChris Pearce.[1] He is married with six children.[29]
Liberal MP Bernie Finn has sparked fierce debate about same-sex couples adopting children after posting controversial anti gay-adoption comments on his Facebook page. Last week, state Labor voted in favour of changing the law, which could pave the way for homosexual couples to adopt if Daniel Andrews wins November's election. However, Mr Finn, MP for the Western Metropolitan Region, who is a Richmond supporter, said he'd join the Collingwood cheer squad before he'd ever support gay adoption, while in another post he asked for "proof" that having two mothers or two fathers wouldn't hurt children. Labor today lashed out at Mr Finn, saying the outspoken MP has offended hundreds of loving parents.
| Victorian Legislative Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| District created | Member forTullamarine 1992–1999 | Succeeded by |
