Gary Thomas Johns (born 29 August 1952) is an Australian writer and former politician. He was a member of 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 1987 to 1996, holding the Queensland seat of

Petrie Petrie is a surname of Scottish origin which may refer to: People * Alexander Petrie (died 1662), Scottish minister * Alistair Petrie (born 1970), English actor * Andrew Petrie (1798–1872), Scottish-born builder, architect and first free settle ...

for 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). He served as a minister in the Keating Government.

Early life

Johns was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

on 29 August 1952. He is the youngest of four sons born to Doris () and Claude Johns; his father was a painter. He holds the degree of

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; the ...

and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from

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 ...

. He tutored in geography at

Melbourne State College The Melbourne Teachers' College was an Australian tertiary training institution located on Grattan Street, Carlton. It was renamed the Melbourne State College and then the Melbourne College of Advanced Education. In 1989 it became part of the Un ...

Political career

Johns joined the ALP in 1972. He worked as an organiser with the national secretariat of the ALP from 1978 to 1982, working under national secretaries

David Combe Harvey David Mathew Combe (26 April 1943 – 21 September 2019) was National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), a political consultant and lobbyist, an Australian Trade Commissioner, a Senior Vice-President International of Southcor ...

and

Bob McMullan Robert Francis McMullan (born 10 December 1947) is an Australian former politician who represented the Australian Labor Party in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. He was the first person to represent the Australian Capital Terr ...

. Johns was elected as the member for

in 1987, and held it for the

until his defeat in 1996. He served as Assistant Minister for Industrial Relations from December 1993 and

Special Minister of State The Special Minister of State (SMOS) in the Government of Australia is a position currently held by Don Farrell since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022. The minister is responsible for various parliamentary, elector ...

and

Vice-President of the Executive Council The Vice-President of the Executive Council is the minister in the Government of Australia who acts as the presiding officer of meetings of the Federal Executive Council when the Governor-General is absent. The Vice-President of the Executiv ...

from March 1994 until the defeat of the Keating government in 1996, in which he lost his seat to

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 ...

candidate

Teresa Gambaro Teresa Gambaro (; born 29 November 1958) is a former Australian politician. She served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1996 to 2007 and 2010 to 2016, representing the Liberal Party. She was a parliamentary secretary in the How ...

Later career

Since his defeat, Johns has drifted from the ALP and has been critical of his old party. Johns told Brett Evans that he might still be a member of the ALP but Evans says that in Johns' heart he has moved on from the ALP. From 1997 to 2006, he was a senior fellow at the

neo-liberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

the

Institute of Public Affairs The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) is a conservative non-profit free market public policy think tankAbout the IPA
...

(IPA). Within the IPA, he was head of the

Non-Government Organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s unit. From 2006-2009 Johns worked with a consultancy firm, ACIL Tasman. In 2009 he was appointed Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Australian Catholic University's Public Policy Institute. In 2012 he was appointed visiting fellow at QUT Business School. He was president of the Bennelong Society, an organisation that advocated the provision of welfare for

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

s under the same rules as for all other Australians. From 2002-2004 he was appointed Associate Commissioner of the Commonwealth

Productivity Commission The Productivity Commission is the Australian Government's principal review and advisory body on microeconomic policy, regulation and a range of other social and environmental issues. The Productivity Commission was created as an independent ...

, an Australian government policy research and advisory body, with the responsibility for an inquiry into the national

workers’ compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

and

occupational health and safety Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...

framework. He was awarded a PhD in political science in 2001 from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, in 2002 the Fulbright Professional Award in Australian-United States Alliance Studies,

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, and in 2003 the Centenary Medal for ‘service to Australian society through the advancement of economic, social and political issues’. He is a columnist for ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' newspaper, the author of numerous papers and books: ''Waking up to Dreamtime''. Media Masters (2001), ''Aboriginal Self-determination''. Connor Court (2011), ''No Contraception, No Dole.'' Connor Court (2016), ''The Charity Ball''. Connor Court (2014), ''Right Social Justice''. Connor Court (2012), ''Really Dangerous Ideas''. Connor Court (2013), and ''Recognise What?'' Connor Court (2014). In 2017 Johns was appointed by the Turnbull Government as the commissioner of the

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is the regulatory authority for charities and not-for-profit organisations within Australia. The Commission was established in December 2012 as part of the ''Australian Charities ...

. His appointment was publicly criticised by David Crosbie, the CEO of the Communities Council for Australia, who said he had made "numerous public statements that clearly indicate he is opposed to many charities and their work". He resigned in June 2022 following the Albanese Government's election to office.

Lobby for the tobacco-industry

As a director of the conservative '

think-tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental org ...

' the Australian Institute for Progress, Johns was an advocate for the

tobacco industry The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...

. Around 2016, he also worked for the International Tax and Investment Center (ITIC), a policy institute that received funding from the tobacco-industry. As a consultant for the ITIC Johns was scathing of the anti-smoking Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, calling it "an instrument of the

World Health Organisation The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

Bibliography

Books

* *''Aboriginal Self-determination: The Whiteman's Dream''. Connor Court, 2011. *''Right Social Justice''. Connor Court, 2012. *''Really Dangerous Ideas''. Connor Court, 2013. *''Recognize What?'' Connor Court, 2014. *''The Charity Ball''. Connor Court, 2014. *''No Contraception, No Dole: Tackling Intergenerational Welfare''. Connor Court, 2016. *''Throw Open the Doors: The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.'' Connor Court, 2016. *''"Your Body Belongs to the Nation" & Other Public Health Lobby Errors.'' Connor Court, 2016. *''The Burden of Culture.'' Quadrant Books, 2022.