John Andrew Quirke (born 9 September 1950) is a former Australian politician. He served 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

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

from 1997 to 2000, 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 the f ...

(ALP). He previously served in the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

from 1989 to 1997, holding the seat of Playford.

Early life

Quirke was born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, England, the son of Mary () and William Patrick Quirke. His father was a fitter at a shipbuilding company on the

Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

. The family immigrated to Australia as

Ten Pound Poms Ten Pound Poms (or Ten Pound tourists) is a colloquial term used in Australia and New Zealand to describe British citizens who migrated to Australia and New Zealand after the Second World War. The Government of Australia initiated the Assisted ...

in 1959. They settled in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, where Quirke attended Elizabeth High School. He subsequently graduated from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

with a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Education. From 1973 to 1977 Quirke was a history teacher at Craigmore High School. He then transferred to Concordia College, a Lutheran school.

Politics

Early involvement

Quirke joined the ALP in 1979 and served as president of its

Mount Lofty Mount Lofty (, elevation AHD) is the highest point in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about east of the Adelaide city centre, within the Cleland National Park in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. The mountain's sum ...

branch. He was elected to the state executive in 1986 and was a delegate to the

Australian Labor Party National Conference The Australian Labor Party National Conference (sometimes referred to as the Federal Conference) is an internal body of the Australian Labor Party, one of the major political parties in Australia. It is the highest representative body of the party ...

. He first stood for parliament at the 1984 federal election, losing to

Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United King ...

in the

Division of Mayo The Division of Mayo is an Australian electoral division located to the east and south of Adelaide, South Australia. Created in the state redistribution of 3 September 1984, the division is named after Helen Mayo, a social activist and the fir ...

. He then stood unsuccessfully for the seat of

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

at the 1985 South Australian state election. In the same year he joined the staff of Senator Dominic Foreman.

State politics

Quirke was elected to the

at the 1989 state election, retaining the seat of Playford for the Labor Party following the retirement of Terry McRae. As a

backbencher In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

he was known as a strong opponent of the

Multifunction Polis The Multifunction Polis (MFP) was a controversial scheme for a planned community in Australia proposed in 1987 and abandoned in 1998. From the Greek word "polis", meaning "city", it was imagined as a place where work and leisure, lifetime edu ...

development. He was re-elected at the 1993 election, which saw the defeat of the incumbent ALP government, and subsequently joined

Mike Rann Michael David Rann, , (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and Australian am ...

's shadow cabinet. He held numerous portfolios, including that of Shadow Treasurer from February 1994. Quirke was originally a member of the party's Centre Left faction, but joined the

Labor Right The Labor Right, also known as Modern Labor, is a political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) at the national level that is characterised by being more economically conservative and, in some cases, more socially conservative. The Labor ...

faction in 1995 as part of a mass defection following a

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

dispute. He was known as a factional powerbroker.

Senate

In September 1997, Quirke resigned his seat in the House of Assembly in order to be appointed to the Senate, filling a

casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...

caused by the resignation of Dominic Foreman. He was elected in his own right at the 1998 federal election and was subsequently elected as a deputy whip. Quirke chaired the Select Committee on the Socio-Economic Consequences of the National Competition Policy, which was established in 1998 and reported in 2000. He supported the "Yes" vote in the

1999 Australian republic referendum The Australian republic referendum held on 6 November 1999 was a two-question referendum to amend the Constitution of Australia. The first question asked whether Australia should become a republic with a President appointed by Parliament foll ...

. Quirke resigned from the Senate due to ill health in August 2000, following a collapse at an ALP conference.

Geoff Buckland Geoffrey Frederick Buckland (born 10 November 1947), was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate from 2000 to 2005, representing the state of South Australia. Buckland was selected by the Parliament of South Australia to fill ...

was chosen as his replacement.

Later career

Quirke and his wife operate a lobbying firm called Pallidon. The firm gifted the

some $11,000 in 2010 while employed by two major corporations seeking public works contracts. In 2016, the

Australian Tax Office The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuati ...

applied to wind up Pallidon. Quirke also served as a non-executive director of copper miner

Hillgrove Resources Hillgrove Resources () is an Australian mining company. Its principal activity has been the Kanmantoo copper mine which was forecast to reach the end of its economic life. Mine life has since been extended, however to a further 6-10 years. Hill ...

from 2005 to 2013.

Personal life

Quirke has four children with his wife Davina. He suffers from

Type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, ...

References

External links

Parliamentary Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quirke, John 1950 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Members of the Australian Senate Politicians from Adelaide English emigrants to Australia Australian people of Irish descent Members of the South Australian House of Assembly 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of South Australia