Arthur Thomas Gietzelt, AO (28 December 1920 – 5 January 2014) was an Australian politician and minister. Arthur Gietzelt was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Biography for GIETZELT, the Hon. Arthur Thomas, AO
ParlInfo. of Australian-born parents, and educated at Hurstville High School in south-western

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. He served in the armed forces in New Guinea during World War II from 1941 to 1946GIETZELT, ARTHUR THOMAS
''WW2 Nominal Roll'', 2002. along with his younger brother

Ray Gietzelt Ray Gietzelt AO (29 September 192212 October 2012) was a major figure in the Australian union movement in the latter part of the 20th century. He led the Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union of Australia (FMWU; later known as United Voice) ...

. Later, Gietzelt served 15 years (1956–1971) in local government as a councillor of Sutherland Shire Council; for nine of those years he was shire president or mayor. As part of the council, he opposed the creation of a

second Sydney airport The need for and location of a second airport serving Sydney, Australia was the subject of much debate. The new airport would supplement or replace the city's existing Kingsford Smith Airport. Governments had debated the issue since the 1940s, ...

Towra Point The Towra Point Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve that is located in Sutherland Shire, southern Sydney, New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The reserve is situated on the southern shores of Botany Bay at Kurnell, within the Suthe ...

. He was elected as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

at the 1970 Senate election. In 1976 Gietzelt joined

Jim Cairns James Ford Cairns (4 October 191412 October 2003) was an Australian politician who was prominent in the Labor movement through the 1960s and 1970s, and was briefly Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister in the Whitlam government. He is best re ...

, Barry Egan and Bridget Gilling as a member of the Tribunal on Homosexuals and Discrimination. He was appointed Minister for Veterans' Affairs in March 1983 in the first Hawke Ministry and held that position until July 1987. He was a joint Father of the Senate from 1987 until his departure from parliament. He resigned from the Senate in February 1989. Gietzelt was made an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1992 for "service to the Australian Parliament and to local government". Gietzelt died on 5 January 2014, aged 93. His younger brother was

, a famous Australian trade unionist who led the

Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union of Australia The Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union (F.M.W.U.), commonly known as the 'Missos', was an Australian trade union which existed between 1915 and 1992. It represented an extremely diverse and disparate range of occupations, but its core support ...

(FMWU; later known as

United Voice United Voice was a large Australian trade union, with over 130,000 members. United Voice members worked in a wide range of occupations including hospitality, childcare, teachers' aides, aged care, property services (cleaning, security, maintenan ...

) from 1955 to 1984.

References

1920 births 2014 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Members of the Australian Senate Officers of the Order of Australia Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Labor Left politicians People from San Francisco People from the Sutherland Shire Mayors of places in New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians American emigrants to Australia {{Australia-Labor-senator-stub