James Bernard Keeffe (20 August 1919 – 15 May 1988) was an Australian politician who served in the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

as a Labor Senator for Queensland.

Early life

Born in Atherton,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, he was educated at state schools before becoming a farm labourer and forestry worker. After serving in the military 1942–1945, he became an insurance and real-estate salesman. He became state secretary of the Coopers' Union, before serving as secretary of the Queensland Labor Party between 1960 and 1965, and as federal president from 1962 to 1970.

Senator

In 1964, he was elected to the

as a Labor Senator for Queensland, taking his seat in 1965. He remained a Senator until his retirement in 1983. In 1978, Keeffe ran a petition supporting the wishes of the

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

on Palm Island to retain their Aboriginal council. However the council was sacked by

Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005), known as Joh Bjelke-Petersen, was a conservative Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, during ...

's government in July 1978. This followed moves by the Queensland Government to hand over control of Palm Island to Townsville Council. The government ran a counter-petition, which, it was reported, carried forgeries and duplication of names; both petitions contained many of the same people's signatures.

Later life and death

In May 1988, Keeffe visited

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

for the opening of the New Parliament House. On 15 May, he was found dead by his son when his returning train pulled into the station in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

References

1919 births 1988 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Members of the Australian Senate Australian people of Irish descent 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Labor-senator-stub