Peter Cornelis Spyker (born 7 June 1942) is a Dutch-born Australian politician. He was born in

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

to baker Peter Cornelis Spyker and Cornelia, a factory worker. He emigrated with his family to Australia in 1953, and attended Bentleigh High School and Sandringham Technical School before becoming a

fitter and turner A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who not only operates machine tools, but also has the knowledge of tooling and materials required to create set ups on machine tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling ...

. He worked for Freighter Industries from 1959 to 1974 and Dormans Pty Ltd from 1974 to 1979. He joined the Labor Party in 1963 and was secretary of the

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

branch from 1969 to 1979. He was also an office holder with the Amalgamated Metal Workers and Shipwrights Union. In 1979 he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

as the member for Heatherton, switching to Mentone in 1985. From May to December 1982 he was Minister of Immigration, before holding the portfolios of

Consumer Affairs Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

(1982–87), Ethnic Affairs (1982–88), Property and Services (1987–88), Community Services (1988–90) and Transport (1990–92). His seat was abolished in 1992 and he contested

Mordialloc Mordialloc is a beachside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mordialloc recorded a population of 8,886 at the . ...

, but he was defeated. Spyker was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the

2006 Australia Day Honours The 2006 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2006 by the Governor General of Australia, Michael Jeffrey. The Austr ...

for "service to the Victorian Parliament, particularly as a contributor to the development of multicultural affairs policies and as an advocate for consumer rights, health and welfare services, and migrant communities".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spyker, Peter 1942 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Dutch emigrants to Australia People from Amersfoort Members of the Order of Australia Ministers for Consumer Affairs (Victoria) Ministers of Immigration (Victoria)