Leonard Joseph Keogh (2 June 1931 – 10 October 2007) was an Australian politician. He was a member 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) and served in the House of Representatives from 1969 to 1975 and from 1983 to 1987. He represented the

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_ ...

seat of Bowman and later served as president of the

Redland Shire Council Redland City, better known as the Redlands and formerly known as Redland Shire, is a local government area and a part of the Brisbane metropolitan area in South East Queensland. With a population of 156,863 in June 2018, the city is spread alon ...

from 1991 to 1994.

Early life

Keogh was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

on 2 June 1931. His father John Keogh was the final mayor of

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west, ...

prior to its amalgamation with the City of Brisbane in 1925. He was educated at

St Laurence's College , motto_translation = To do and to teach , type = Independent primary and secondary school , religion = Catholicism , denomination = Congregation of Christian Brothers , streetaddress ...

, completing his junior certificate in 1947. He worked for Evans Deakin and Company as a structural draftsman, later starting his own concrete company.

Politics

Keogh joined the ALP in 1949 and served on the state executive from 1968 to 1971. He first stood for parliament in the seat of Moreton at the 1966 election, losing to the incumbent

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

MP Jim Killen. Keogh won the seat of Bowman for the ALP at the 1969 election, defeating the incumbent Liberal MP

Wylie Gibbs Wylie Talbot Gibbs (born 26 July 1922) is an Australian former surgeon and politician. He served in the House of Representatives from 1963 to 1969, representing the Liberal Party. Early life Gibbs grew up in Ipswich, Queensland, where his fath ...

. He served on the Commonwealth Immigration Advisory Council and on various parliamentary committees during the Whitlam government, before losing his seat in Labor's landslide defeat at the 1975 election. He was defeated again in 1977 and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, in the meantime working as a real estate agent. Keogh regained his seat in 1983 and was re-elected in 1984, serving as chair of the House Standing Committee on Procedure from 1985 to 1987. In 1986 he delivered a report recommended that parliament extend its sitting time by 40 percent. Keogh was a member of the Centre Left faction of the ALP. In December 1986 he was defeated for ALP preselection by Con Sciacca of the Socialist Left faction, under a factional deal with the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

(AWU). Keogh disputed the result of the ballot, but the ALP's state appeals committee stated that it could not intervene as no appeal was lodged in time. He subsequently threaten to resign from the party and force a by-election if his preselection was not reinstated. In April 1987, Sciacca resigned his candidacy as part of a further factional deal, with a new preselection ballot being ordered. However, the new deal collapsed and the preselection ballot was cancelled, with Sciacca being chosen as the candidate for Bowman directly by the ALP national executive.

Later life

Keogh was elected chairman of the

in 1991. He served until his defeat in 1994. In December 1994, he was controversially appointed to the Veterans' Review Board by Con Sciacca, the federal veterans affairs' minister, who had defeated him for preselection in 1987. Keogh died of prostate cancer in October 2007.

References

* * Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bowman 1931 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Labor-representative-stub