Erik Aldar Locke is an Australian political and business figure, who was the State Secretary of 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) in the state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, a national official for the ALP and a chief of staff in three jurisdictions, as well as having a career in the private sector, in investment banking and entitlements.

Early life and education

Locke was educated at Hollywood Senior High in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, and later at Griffith University. His mother served as a

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

official, and his father an academic and psychologist.

Career

Locke worked for Labor in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, where he was connected to the Subiaco branch, and then Victorian Labor. He was a leading figure within ALP's Socialist Left faction, but has not been active since the mid-2000s. Locke was an adviser and Chief of Staff to

Lynne Kosky Lynne Janice Kosky (2 September 1958 – 4 December 2014) was an Australian politician and senior minister in the Government of Victoria. She represented the electoral district of Altona in the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the Labor Part ...

, the Victorian Education Minister, and later became ALP State Secretary. During his two years as State Secretary, Locke brokered a preference deal between the ALP and the

Family First Party The Family First Party was a Conservatism in Australia, conservative political party in Australia which existed from 2002 to 2017. It was founded in South Australia where it enjoyed its greatest electoral support. Since the demise of the Austral ...

, helping to elect Family First

Steve Fielding Steven Fielding (born 17 October 1960) is a former Australian senator for the state of Victoria and the former federal parliamentary leader of the Family First Party. He was elected to the upper house at the 2004 federal election on two per ...

as Senator ahead of the Greens, which allowed the

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

to form an Upper House majority. He resigned from the State Secretary position in April 2005 amidst factional infighting and in protest of a

branch stacking A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually ...

controversy. Locke was later the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of CPR Communications and Public Relations, a federal Chief of Staff, the lead of

Essential Media Communications Essential Media Communications (EMC), also known as EMC Media Communications or Essential Media, Essential Research, or simply Essential, is an Australian public relations and market research company known for its opinion polls, which are often ...

' union practice and was an unsuccessful candidate for the ALP in the Legislative Council at the

2014 Victorian state election The 2014 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 29 November 2014, was for the 58th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly and 40 seats in the Victorian Legislative Council were up for election. The incumb ...

for

Southern Metropolitan Region Southern Metropolitan Region is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council (also referred to as the upper house) by proportional representation. The region was create ...

. Locke moved to

to become Chief of Staff to the Deputy Premier, Roger Cook. He was cleared by an independent investigation of bullying. He later disclosed he was suffering from anxiety. He received public support from a number of former colleagues. He is now the CEO of Incolink, Australia's largest Workers' Entitlement Fund, and appeared on radio and TV current affairs program as an advocate, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Incolink worked to keep the construction industry open.

References

1971 births Living people {{Australia-Labor-politician-stub