Ann Kathleen Corcoran (born 21 September 1951) is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 2000 to 2007, representing the Victorian seat of

Isaacs Isaacs may refer to: * The Isaacs, a bluegrass Southern gospel music group * Isaacs (surname) * Isaacs, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra, Australia * Division of Isaacs, a federal electoral division in Victoria, Australia * Divisi ...

for the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

(ALP). She was an accountant prior to entering politics.

Early life

Corcoran was born on 21 September 1951 in

Dandenong, Victoria Dandenong is a list of Melbourne suburbs#Southeastern municipalities and their suburbs, southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the municipal council, council county seat, seat of the City ...

. Her father Robert Corcoran, a published author, was a prominent figure in the ALP split of 1955, giving evidence to the Federal Executive in favour of federal leader

H.V. Evatt Herbert Vere Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a judge of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General of Australia, Attorney-General and Minister for Foreign Aff ...

. Corcoran is a member of

CPA Australia CPA Australia ("Certified Practising Accountant") is a professional accounting body in Australia founded in 1886. As of 31 December 2020, it has 168,736 members working in 150 countries and regions around the world. CPA Australia currently has 1 ...

and holds a diploma in business studies from Swinburne College of Technology and a graduate diploma in business from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

. Prior to entering parliament she held managerial positions in accounting as finance, including deputy manager of general accounting at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

(1988–1992), management accountant at

Frankston Hospital Frankston Hospital (officially Frankston Public Hospital) is a 454-bed public hospital, public hospital located in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston, Victoria, Frankston in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia.Royal Melbourne Hospital The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH), located in Parkville, Victoria, an inner suburb of Melbourne, is one of Australia's leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research. Th ...

(1995–1996), business manager at

Kilvington Grammar School , motto_translation = Not for our own but others' good , established = , type = Independent, co-educational, Christian day school , denomination = Baptist , principal = ...

(1996–1999), and business manager at

Woodleigh School, Melbourne Woodleigh School is an independent, co-educational, K-12 day school located in the Melbourne suburb of Langwarrin South, Victoria, Australia. It has two junior campuses; "Minimbah" located in Frankston South, and "Penbank" located in Moorooduc ...

(1999).

Politics

Corcoran was elected to parliament at the 2000 Isaacs by-election, caused by the death by suicide of the incumbent Labor MP

Greg Wilton Gregory Stuart Wilton (6 November 195514 June 2000) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Isaacs, from 1996 until his suicide at the age of 44. He is the only ser ...

. She was re-elected at the

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

and 2004 federal elections. In parliament, Corcoran served two terms on the

speaker's panel The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The counterpart in the upper house is the President of the Senate. The office of Speaker was ...

and was a member of several parliamentary committees. She was a shadow parliamentary secretary from 2004 to 2006 under opposition leaders of

Mark Latham Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator, currently serving as a member in the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and ...

and

Kim Beazley Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabinet ...

, assisting the shadow ministers for health and immigration. She reportedly voted for Latham against Beazley in the December 2003 leadership election. In March 2006, Corcoran was successfully challenged for

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

Mark Dreyfus Mark Alfred Dreyfus (born 3 October 1956) is an Australian politician and lawyer who has been attorney-general of Australia and cabinet secretary since June 2022, having held both roles previously in 2013 and from 2010 to 2013 respectively. ...

. Her term ended prior to the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

Later life

Corcoran became interim student

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

in November 2007 and was appointed to the permanent position by the university council in early 2009.

References

1951 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Isaacs Monash University alumni Australian accountants Women members of the Australian House of Representatives 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian women politicians People from the City of Greater Dandenong Politicians from Melbourne {{Australia-Labor-representative-stub