Douglas Niven Cameron (born 27 January 1951) is a retired Australian politician and trade unionist. He served as a Senator 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 ...

from 2008 to 2019, representing 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 t ...

(ALP).

Early life

Cameron was born in Bellshill, Scotland, just outside

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. His mother's parents were born in Lithuania. He left school at 15 to take up an apprenticeship as a fitter at a local chain-making factory. Shortly after completing his apprenticeship the factory closed, and Cameron emigrated to Australia in 1973, at the age of 22. He initially worked at the Garden Island Dockyard in Sydney, before moving to the Liddell Power Station in

Muswellbrook Muswellbrook ( ) is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney basin, bordering the New Engla ...

in 1975, where he worked as a maintenance fitter.

Union movement

After seven years working at the power station Cameron was elected as the Hunter Valley/

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

regional organiser for the Amalgamated Metal Workers and Shipwrights Union (AMWSU). In 1986 he became the Assistant State Secretary of the union (by then known as the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union) in NSW, and later the Assistant National Secretary. Cameron served as National Secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union from 1996 to 2008.

Politics

Cameron was first elected to the Senate at the 2007 federal election. He won Labor preselection by mounting a successful challenge to an incumbent senator, George Campbell, with the support of the

Labor Left The Labor Left, also known as the Progressive Left or Socialist Left, is political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It competes with the more economically liberal Labor Right faction. The Labor Left operates autonomously in each s ...

faction. In the Senate, he was known for his heavy Scottish accent. During the period of leadership tensions between Julia Gillard and

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

, Cameron was a vocal Rudd supporter. In the second Rudd ministry, which held office from June to September 2013, he served as Parliamentary Secretary for Housing and Homelessness. In October 2013, Cameron was appointed Shadow Minister for Human Services in the Shadow Ministry of Bill Shorten. He was instead made Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness and Shadow Minister for Skills and Apprenticeships in July 2016. Cameron announced on 24 July 2016 that he would retire at the end of his current term, and not contest the 2019 election.

References

External links

Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Doug Cameron on TheyVoteForYou.org.au

Parliamentary biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Doug 1951 births Living people People from Bellshill People who lost British citizenship Naturalised citizens of Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Australian democratic socialists Australian trade unionists Australian people of Lithuanian descent Scottish emigrants to Australia Scottish people of Lithuanian descent Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian politicians Politicians from North Lanarkshire