John Reginald "Wacka" Williams (born 16 January 1955) is an Australian politician. He was a
Nationals member of the
Australian Senate from July 2008 to June 2019, representing the state of
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 ...
.
Williams was first elected to the Senate at the
2007 federal election
This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not ...
.
This followed his victory over incumbent Senator
Sandy Macdonald in preselection for the National Party's one winnable spot on the
Coalition Senate ticket in New South Wales.
Williams was born in
Jamestown, South Australia
Jamestown is a town in the Mid North region of South Australia north of Adelaide. It lies on the banks of the Belalie Creek and on the Crystal Brook-Broken Hill railway line between Gladstone and Peterborough, and ultimately on the main line l ...
. Prior to entering politics, he was a truck driver, a farmer, a sheep shearer and a small business owner.
Williams' vote was the third out of five votes required to give
Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who served as the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia under Malcolm Turnbull from 2016 to 2018 and under Scott Morrison from 2021 to 2022. He was the leader of the ...
the Senate leadership in September 2008.
Williams is consulted by the media in relation to the
being one the earliest and strongest advocates for such an inquiry. He was the sole Government Senator to cross the floor to vote against his party on a number of occasions in support of a Royal Commission into banking prior to 2017. Most critically, he had gathered sufficient supporters in his party by December 2017 for a Parliamentary Inquiry into Banking such that the Government was facing certain defeat in the House of Representatives. At this time, the Banks themselves wrote to the Government requesting a Royal Commission although they had always been opposed. As a result, the Government acceded to the Banks' request and thus avoided a House vote defeat.
Referring to the ministerial resignation of
Jamie Briggs
Jamie Edward Briggs (born 9 June 1977) is a former Australian politician, who represented the House of Representatives seat of Mayo for the Liberal Party of Australia from the 2008 Mayo by-election to the 2 July 2016 federal election. Briggs w ...
in December 2015, Williams said "With Briggs leaving, it means there will be no deterioration in the overall quality of the ministry, in fact it should improve."
In May 2016 he said that his current term, due to expire on 30 June 2019, would be his last.
He is a public opponent of
same sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
, and was one of twelve senators who voted against the 2017 bill.
References
External links
Williams' personal web pageSummary of parliamentary voting for Senator John Williams on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
1955 births
Living people
National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
Members of the Australian Senate
Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales
People from Jamestown, South Australia
21st-century Australian politicians
{{Australia-National-politician-stub