Concetto Antonio Sciacca (13 June 1947 – 21 June 2017) was an Australian politician 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 t ...

and 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 ...

from July 1987 to March 1996 and again from October 1998 to October 2004, representing the Division of Bowman,

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 , establishe ...

Early life

Sciacca was born on 13 June 1947 in the village of

Piedimonte Etneo Piedimonte Etneo ( Sicilian: ''Piemunti'') is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about northeast of Catania. Piedimonte Etneo borders the following m ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, Italy. He migrated to Australia with his family in 1951 and settled in Queensland, where his father worked as a canecutter. After completion of his law studies, he became a solicitor in 1970 starting his law practice straight out of law school. He founded the group Sciaccas Lawyers which was taken over by the legal group of

Shine Lawyers Shine Lawyers is an Australian law firm specialising in personal injury compensation law, operating on a no win no fee basis. The firm has expanded into providing professional negligence, coal seam gas and aviation law legal services through a ...

in 2014.

Political career and recognition

Sciacca joined the ALP at the age of 17 and was state president of

Young Labor Australian Young Labor, also known as the Young Labor Movement or simply Young Labor, is the youth wing of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) representing all ALP members aged between 15 to 26. The organisation operates as a federation with independen ...

in 1972. He first stood for parliament at the

1969 Queensland state election Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 17 May 1969 to elect the 78 members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The Country-Liberal Coalition won its fifth consecutive victory since it won government in 1957. It w ...

at the age of 21. He made three unsuccessful bids for the state seat of Redlands beginning in 1977, coming closest at the

1985 Redlands state by-election A by-election was held in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland seat of Redlands on 2 November 1985. It was triggered by the death of sitting National Party member John Goleby. The seat was retained by the National Party with the election of c ...

. Sciacca successfully contested the

1987 Australian federal election The 1987 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 11 July 1987, following the granting of a double dissolution on 5 June by the Governor-General Sir Ninian Stephen. Consequently, all 148 seats in the House of Representatives as well ...

and won the Division of Bowman. He consecutively won the next two elections of

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

and

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

. He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Security from 1990 to 1994, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Arts and Administrative Services 1993–94, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Administrative Services 1994,

Minister for Veterans' Affairs The Minister for Veterans' Affairs is an Australian Government position. In the Government of Australia, the minister oversees income support, compensation, care and commemoration programs for more than 400,000 veterans and their widows, widowe ...

1994–96 and Minister Assisting the Treasurer for Superannuation 1995–96. He thus served in the Fourth Hawke Ministry, the First Keating Ministry, and the Second Keating Ministry. Sciacca was defeated by

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 ...

candidate Andrea West in the 1996 election. After his re-election in 1998, Sciacca was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry 1998–2001. After a redistribution made Bowman notionally Liberal, Sciacca contested the new

Division of Bonner The Division of Bonner is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland, located in the eastern suburbs of Brisbane, including the suburbs of Chandler, Carindale, Manly, Mount Gravatt, Wishart and Wynnum. Geography Federal electoral divis ...

at the 2004 election, but was narrowly defeated by Liberal candidate

Ross Vasta Ross Xavier Vasta (born 8 October 1966) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2010, representing the Division of Bonner for the Liberal Party. He previously held the same seat from 2004 to 2007. ...

. In 1992, Sciacca's son Sam died of

Ewing's sarcoma Ewing sarcoma is a type of cancer that forms in bone or soft tissue. Symptoms may include swelling and pain at the site of the tumor, fever, and a bone fracture. The most common areas where it begins are the legs, pelvis, and chest wall. In about ...

at the age of 19. Thereafter he started the Sam Sciacca Travelling Fellowship through which health experts would visit Australia and present lectures on the latest developments in research and technology. In 2006, Sciacca was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

(AO) for "service to ex-service personnel, cancer research institutions and service to the Australian parliament". He dedicated the award to his deceased son.

Health and death

Sciacca was suffering from cancer and in February 2015 was reported to have been cleared of it after an operation performed in 2014. In April 2015 he was operated on by ophthalmologist

Bill Glasson Bill Glasson may refer to: *Bill Glasson (golfer) (born 1960), American golfer *Bill Glasson (politician) (1925–2012), Australian politician *Bill Glasson (surgeon) William John Glasson (born 2 January 1953) is an Australian ophthalmologist. ...

for

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble ...

s in both his eyes. Sciacca died on 21 June 2017, aged 70, after prolonged suffering from cancer at St Vincent's Private Hospital in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. He had frequently been admitted to the hospital in the last six months for his deteriorating health.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sciacca, Con 1947 births 2017 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Right politicians Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal Italian emigrants to Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bowman Deaths from cancer in Queensland People from Redland City 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians