Alan Peter Steedman (born 7 December 1941) is a former Australian politician. He represented 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) in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1983 to 1984, holding the Victorian seat of Casey.

Early life

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

Steedman edited '' Farrago'', the

Melbourne University Student Union The University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) is one of two student organisations at the University of Melbourne, Australia. UMSU, incorporated as University of Melbourne Student Union, Inc. (UMSU) provides representation and services for all ...

paper. He also edited ''

Lot's Wife In the Bible, Lot's wife is a figure first mentioned in . The Book of Genesis describes how she became a pillar of salt after she looked back at Sodom. She is not named in the Bible but is called "Ado" or "Edith" in some Jewish traditions. She ...

'' at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

. After leaving university he joined ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' as "editor of a section aimed at the youth market".

Politics

In September 1982, Steedman won ALP

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 ...

for the

Division of Casey The Division of Casey is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was created in 1969 and is named for Richard Casey, who was Governor-General of Australia 1965–69. The division is located in the outer easte ...

. He was elected to the

at the 1983 federal election, defeating 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 Peter Falconer. However, a redistribution made his seat marginally Liberal, and as a result he was defeated at the 1984 election by Liberal Bob Halverson. Steedman used

parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. ...

on several occasions to allege that members of the Liberal and

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

parties were

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

s, notably accusing Senator

Florence Bjelke-Petersen Florence Isabel Bjelke-Petersen (née Gilmour; 11 August 1920 – 20 December 2017) was an Australian politician and writer. She was a member of the Australian Senate from 1981 to 1993, and was the wife of the longest-serving Premier of Queensl ...

of associating with a man he described as "one of Australia's most notorious Nazis and Hitler lovers". Steedman was an unsuccessful candidate for ALP preselection at the

1986 Scullin by-election A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Scullin in Victoria (Australia) on 8 February 1986. This was triggered by the resignation of Labor Party MP and Speaker Harry Jenkins to become Australian Ambassador to Spa ...

. His candidacy brought him into conflict with former state secretary Bill Hartley, who made public comments disparaging him. He was later defeated by

Jenny Macklin Jennifer Louise Macklin (born 29 December 1953) is an Australian former politician. She was elected to federal parliament at the 1996 federal election and served as the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2001 to 2006, unde ...

for preselection in

Jagajaga The Division of Jagajaga is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and lies north of the Yarra River. It covers an area of approximately 104 square kilometres and co ...

prior to the 1996 federal election. Steedman remained involved in the ALP as a delegate to state and national conferences. In 1990 he argued against the Hawke Government's proposed privatisation of

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...

and

Trans Australia Airlines Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), renamed Australian Airlines in 1986, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its merger with Qantas in September 1992. As a result of the "COBRA" (or Common Brand ...

, stating that Treasurer

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...

had "systematically and knowingly stuffed the airlines up and starved them of funds" as part of a strategy to "sabotage them".

Other activities

Steedman was the executive director of Ausmusic from 1988 to 1996. The organisation was established with financial assistance from the federal government to support the Australian music industry. It was sold in March 1998 to Entertainment World Limited (EWL). Steedman later coordinated a campaign to revive the

Healesville railway line The Healesville railway line, in Melbourne, Australia, was the non-electrified continuation of the suburban Lilydale line, extending into the Yarra Valley. The line closed in the 1980s, but a heritage railway group, the Yarra Valley Railway, is ...

as a tourist line servicing the

Yarra Valley The Yarra Valley is the region surrounding the Yarra River in Victoria, Australia. The river originates approximately east of the Melbourne central business district and flows towards it and out into Port Phillip Bay. The name Yarra Valley ...

Personal life

Steedman previously owned a property in

Hurstbridge, Victoria Hurstbridge is a town in Victoria, Australia, 28 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shire of Nillumbik local government area. Hurstbridge recorded a population of 3,554 at the 2021 census. Hurst ...

, with his wife Julie Reiter, a potter. He bought the property in the 1970s from playwright

David Williamson David Keith Williamson Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 24 February 1942) is an Australians, Australian dramatist and playwright. He has also written screenplays and teleplays. Early life David Williamson was born in Melbourne, Vi ...

, a university friend.

References

1941 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Casey Members of the Australian House of Representatives 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Labor-representative-stub