Michael Keith Organ (born 22 September 1956) is a former Australian politician and archivist. He was an
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...
member of the
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia.
The term of members of the ...
between 2002 and 2004, representing the
Division of Cunningham
The Division of Cunningham is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.
History
The division was created in 1949 and is named for Allan Cunningham, a 19th-century explorer of New South Wales and Queensland.
The div ...
,
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 ...
. He was the first member of the Greens to win a seat in the House of Representatives, having won
a by-election which the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
did not contest.
Life and education
Organ was born in
Bulli, New South Wales. His mother was a hospital domestic and his father was a brickworker.
[Meet Michael Organ, the boy from Bulli who brought a breath of fresh air to the Cunningham electorate](_blank)
Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
, 26 October 2002 He studied geology at the
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...
and completed a post-graduate diploma in archive administration at the
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...
, where he subsequently took up a post as an archivist.
He was employed at the University of Wollongong library, as an archivist (1996–2002) and, , manager, repository services until 1 November 2020.
Three months prior to the Cunningham by-election, he unsuccessfully contested the local government election for the lord mayoralship of Wollongong.
In 2005, Organ discovered a print of the 1927 film
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
containing missing scenes.
This print was used to create a restored version of the film, which re-premiered in 2010.
He has four children, Andrew (b. 1991), Kyle (b. 1993), India (b. 2008) and Emma (b. 2011).
Electoral history
Cunningham by-election
The federal
division of Cunningham
The Division of Cunningham is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales.
History
The division was created in 1949 and is named for Allan Cunningham, a 19th-century explorer of New South Wales and Queensland.
The div ...
has been a safe
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the la ...
seat since its creation in 1949. On 16 August 2002, the sitting member, Dr
Stephen Martin, unexpectedly resigned, causing a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
.
The ALP preselected a TAFE teacher,
Sharon Bird
Sharon Leah Bird (''née'' Reed, born 15 November 1962) is a former Australian politician. Sharon Bird served as an Australian Labor Party (ALP) member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Cunningham in New S ...
, by decision of the party executive rather than the usual rank-and-file nomination procedure, and the
Liberal party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
opted not to contest the by-election.
Organ was endorsed by the South Coast Labour Council and received strong preference flows from two popular independent candidates, David Moulds and Peter Wilson. He gained 23% of the primary vote and 52% after allocation of preferences, defeating Bird and becoming the first Green elected to the House of Representatives, at the same time making Cunningham a marginal seat.
During his term, he was one of three Greens federal parliamentarians (with Senator
Bob Brown
Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasman ...
and Senator
Kerry Nettle
Kerry Michelle Nettle (born 24 December 1973) is a former Australian Senator and member of the Australian Greens in New South Wales. Elected at the 2001 federal election on a primary vote of 4.36 percent with One Nation and micro-party pref ...
).
Subsequent elections
Organ ran for a full term as member for Cunningham in the
2004 general election. He received 20.1% of the primary vote, placing third behind the Labor (39.6%) and Liberal (28.8%) candidates. This was a swing of 13.5% to the Greens compared to the 2001 federal election, but a 2.9% swing away from Organ compared to the 2002 by-election. Organ was eliminated on the ninth count, with his voters' preferences flowing overwhelmingly to Labor's Sharon Bird, allowing her to win with a 61.5% two-party-preferred vote.
He was again selected as the Greens candidate for Cunningham in the
2007 federal election, but failed to regain the seat from Bird, who was re-elected on first preferences. Organ won 14.6% of the primary vote.
For the
2022 election, Organ was preselected as Greens candidate for rural
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 ...
seat of
Riverina
The Riverina
is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...
. The seat is a change from the coast, centred on the agricultural region of
Riverina
The Riverina
is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...
, including the towns
Wagga Wagga
Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...
and
Parkes Parkes may refer to:
* Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation
Named for Henry Parkes
* Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town
* Parkes Observatory, a radi ...
.
Political positions
Sandon Point
In his
first speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.
Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...
, Organ credited his win to community opposition to a planned development by the
Stockland Trust Group at
Sandon Point.
[First speech](_blank)
, on personal website, February 2003 The campaign included a
tent embassy by the local
Dharawal
The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, s ...
nation centred around the burial site of the Kuradji (similar to a shaman), and a community blockade of around 300 people which was confronted by a force of around sixty police officers and police dogs. Organ said that the development was inappropriate, threatened European and Indigenous cultural heritage, threatened
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s and a
green corridor
A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...
.
Economy
Organ supports
free tertiary education and opposes the privatisation of public utilities like
Telstra
Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 ...
, as well as what he calls "two decades of Canberra's obsession with
economic rationalism
Economic rationalism is an Australian term often used in the discussion of macroeconomic policy, applicable to the economic policy of many governments around the world, in particular during the 1980s and 1990s. Economic rationalists tend to favour ...
".
Iraq war
In his first speech, Organ condemned the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
as unjust, in breach of United Nations resolutions, and likely to lead to higher risks of terrorism.
Tibet
Organ co-authored a Greens policy on
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, which supported the right of Tibetans to self-determination and the
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
's Middle Way approach. He participated to the Save Tibet Asia Pacific Forum in Tokyo 1 –3 July 2008.
SAVE TIBET: ASIA-PACIFIC FORUM sent out the resolution to G8 leaders
/ref>
Marriage Equality
Organ was the only member of the House of Representatives to propose anti-discrimination amendments to the Howard Government's amendments to the Marriage Act in 2004.
See also
* List of Australian Greens parliamentarians
*2002 Cunningham by-election
The 2002 Cunningham by-election was held in the Australian electorate of Division of Cunningham, Cunningham in New South Wales on 19 October 2002. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the sitting member, the Australian Labor Party ...
References
External links
Michael Organ personal web site
(2021)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Organ, Michael
1956 births
Living people
Australian Greens members of the Parliament of Australia
Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Cunningham
University of New South Wales alumni
21st-century Australian politicians