Andrew Theophanous
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Andrew Charles Theophanous (born 24 March 1946) is a
Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...
-born Australian former politician. He was an
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 ...
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 1980 to 2000, and an independent member from 2000 to 2001. He is the author of three books and numerous articles on political theory and philosophy, especially in the areas of multiculturalism and social justice. He spent 21 months in jail for one charge of bribery of $2000, two charges relating to misuse of his position over one visa application, and another immigration matter. Theophanous pleaded not guilty to all charges and has always maintained his innocence. A Petition of Mercy application seeking a retrial on the three convictions is currently awaiting a decision from the Federal Government.


Early life

Theophanous was born in
Polis Chrysochous Polis (or Polis Chrysochous; el, Πόλη Χρυσοχούς or Πόλις Χρυσοχούς, tr, Poli) is a town at the north-west end of the island of Cyprus, at the centre of Chrysochous Bay, and on the edge of the Akamas peninsula nature ...
,
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, on 24 March 1946, to a
Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 r ...
father and a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
mother, a refugee who had fled Nazi occupied Greece. He migrated to Australia at the age of eight, with his mother, brother
Theo Theophanous Theo Charles Theophanous (born 16 June 1948) is a former Australian politician. He entered politics in 1988 as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council. Theophanous served from 1988 to 2006 as one of the two members for Jika Jika Province, ...
and sister; his father had arrived three years earlier. He grew up in
Broadmeadows Broadmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Broadmeadows recorded a population of 12,524 at the 2021 census. Broadmeadow ...
in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, entered
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 ...
and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours. He gained a B.Litt. from
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from
Melbourne University 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 ...
. In 1980, his first book ''Australian Democracy in Crisis: a radical approach to Australian politics'' was published by Oxford University Press. He became a lecturer in politics at Melbourne State College and later in social theory at Melbourne University. He also lectured at the
University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...
, USA, and as Senior Teaching Fellow at
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 ...
.


Political career

Theophanous was first elected as the Labor member for the
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
electorate of
Burke Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...
in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
. He switched to the new safe Labor electorate of Calwell in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
. Theophanous was heavily interested in immigration matters, and from 1989 to 1993, was Chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration. In this capacity, Theophanous' committee produced a number of reports on immigration policy. In one of these reports, 'Australia's Refugee and Humanitarian System: Achieving a Balance between Refuge and Control (1992)', Theophanous strongly supported granting permanent residence to 45,000 Chinese students and their dependents, who had been in Australia at the time of the
1989 Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
in China. This view was later adopted by the Keating Government in November 1993. In March 1993, Theophanous was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Community Services and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health. In December 1993, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Human Services. Also, in December 1993, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister
Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
, who had enjoyed his support in two caucus leadership ballots, which made him unusual in the Left grouping, who mostly supported
Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
. As Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, his main role was the promotion of the Access and Equity program within the Federal government departments. Theophanous also wrote two more books: "''Understanding Social Justice: an Australian perspective''" (1994) ; and "''Understanding Multiculturalism and Australian Identity''" (1995). Both books were officially launched by Prime Minister Keating and were used in a number of academic courses.


Resignation

During 1998, a convicted heroin dealer working as an informant for the
National Crime Authority The National Crime Authority (NCA) was an Australian law enforcement agency established in 1984 and wound up on 31 December 2002. History The NCA was set up in 1984 in the wake of the Costigan Commission, which investigated tax evasion and orga ...
(NCA) alleged that Theophanous was involved in migration fraud, and in July 1998 the NCA launched an investigation, codenamed Operation Legume. The major charge arising out of this was that Theophanous was involved in a conspiracy with the NCA informant to defraud the Commonwealth by making false representations in relation to attempting to bring the NCA’s informant’s Chinese girlfriend to Australia unlawfully. He was also charged with taking an unlawful inducement and soliciting an unlawful inducement. Theophanous resigned from the Labor Party on 18 April 2000. His brother,
Theo Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...
, condemned the resignation, calling it "an action taken by him with which I strongly disagree. I do not believe his actions are an appropriate response". At this time, Andrew Theophanous announced that he would serve out his term as an independent. During this period as an independent, he initiated a number of parliamentary motions on immigration, refugees, multicultural affairs and human rights. He recontested the seat as an independent candidate at the 2001 election. He polled 9.6% of the vote, with the support of the Unity Party, but the seat was won by the new Labor candidate and former staffer, Maria Vamvakinou. Theophanous was jailed in 2002 and sentenced to six years in prison with a minimum of 3.5 years. However, he served only 21 months. His barrister, Stephen Shirrefs SC, successfully appealed the conviction for conspiracy to defraud which resulted in the
Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprises ...
quashing this major charge. The
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions The Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or, informally, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service and government agency within the portfolio of the Attorney-General of A ...
(CDPP) then began a process of reinstituting the conspiracy charge. The pre-trial commenced in early 2006 and continued for three months. In her ruling of July 2006, in the
County Court of Victoria The County Court of Victoria is the intermediate court in the Australian state of Victoria. It is equivalent to district courts in the other states. The County Court is the principal trial court in the state, having a broad criminal and civi ...
, Judge Jeanette Morrish dismissed and permanently stayed the conspiracy charge. She said that Theophanous should not be retried on the charge to defraud the Commonwealth because the former
National Crime Authority The National Crime Authority (NCA) was an Australian law enforcement agency established in 1984 and wound up on 31 December 2002. History The NCA was set up in 1984 in the wake of the Costigan Commission, which investigated tax evasion and orga ...
had withheld evidence crucial to his original case and subsequent appeal. She also said 'the conduct of NCA officers who withheld documents for seven and a half years and despite 20 subpoenas was "grossly inadequate" and ... That conduct seriously calls into question the integrity of all previous proceedings'. The CDPP did not appeal the ruling. As a result of the findings of Judge Morrish, Theophanous applied to the Commonwealth Attorney-General for the Governor-General to grant a retrial on the three remaining convictions under the
Royal prerogative of mercy In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons (informally known as a royal pardon) to convicted persons. The royal preroga ...
process. The FOI process secured additional information being held by the successor of the NCA, the
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) is a law enforcement agency established by the Australian federal government on 1 July 2016, following the merger of the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and CrimTrac. It has specialist ...
, which had not been secured before the Trial, in spite of the subpoenas issued at the time. As of 2021 a decision from the Federal Government on the prerogative of mercy has not been made.


Family

Theophanous is married to Dr. Kathryn Eriksson, an archaeologist and high school teacher. In November 2005, she was elected as a Brimbank Horseshoe Bend Ward Councillor. Theophanous' brother
Theo Theophanous Theo Charles Theophanous (born 16 June 1948) is a former Australian politician. He entered politics in 1988 as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council. Theophanous served from 1988 to 2006 as one of the two members for Jika Jika Province, ...
is a former state Labor politician. His niece Kat Theophanous is the current member for Northcote.


See also

*''
Theophanous v Herald & Weekly Times Ltd ''Theophanous v Herald & Weekly Times Ltd''. is a landmark Australian judgment of the High Court. The matter related to implied freedom of political communication that the High Court has inferred, rests in the Australian constitution. Backg ...
''


References


Further reading

* Theophanous, Andrew C. (1980), ''Australian democracy in crisis : a radical approach to Australian politics'', Oxford University Press, Melbourne. * Lajovic, Misha and Theophanous, Andrew (1984), 'The major political parties and ethnic affairs,' in
James Jupp James Jupp AM (born 1932) was a British-Australian political scientist and author. He was Director of the Centre for Immigration and Multicultural Studies in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University and an A ...
(ed.), ''Ethnic Politics in Australia'', George Allen and Unwin, North Sydney, New South Wales. * Theophanous, Andrew C. (1994)(1993), ''Understanding Social Justice. An Australian Perspective'', Second Expanded Edition, Elikia Books, Carlton South, Victoria. *Theophanous, Andrew C. (1995), ''Understanding multiculturalism and Australian identity'', Elikia Books, Melbourne. {{DEFAULTSORT:Theophanous, Andrew 1946 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Left politicians Australian people of Greek Cypriot descent Cypriot emigrants to Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Burke (1969–2004) Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Calwell Naturalised citizens of Australia Australian politicians convicted of fraud People from Paphos Independent members of the Parliament of Australia 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians People from Broadmeadows, Victoria Politicians from Melbourne Monash University alumni University of Melbourne alumni Monash University faculty University of Melbourne faculty Academics from Melbourne