Joseph Warrington Bullock (born 13 April 1955) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

for the state of Western Australia from 2013 to 2016, representing 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 ...

Education and career

Bullock was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and was educated at Trinity Grammar, an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

school, and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. He was a friend of former Australian Prime Minister

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...

and suggested Abbott join 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 ...

. Bullock moved to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and became Assistant Secretary of the

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) is the largest private sector trade union in Australia, representing retail, fast-food and warehousing workers, and has branches in every state and territory. Its membership is pre ...

(SDA) in 1986. He became Western Australian state secretary of the union in 1996. He was National Vice-President of the union from 2004 to 2014. The SDA is one of the largest unions affiliated to the Labor Party and is influential in the party's right-wing faction.

Political career

As state secretary of the SDA, Bullock wielded considerable power in the WA branch of the Labor Party. He was influential in blocking Labor support of Sunday trading in WA, which the SDA opposes. He also unsuccessfully opposed changing Labor's policy to support

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

. Bullock ran for the state Legislative Assembly at the 1994 Helena by-election, caused by the resignation of former Labor minister Gordon Hill. The Labor Party suffered a negative swing of 2.3 points, which was enough to cost them the seat.

Richard Court Richard Fairfax Court (born 27 September 1947) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and as Australian Ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Liberal Party, ...

's Liberal government became the first state government since 1943 to increase their majority at a by-election. In the lead-up to the

2013 Australian federal election The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party of Aus ...

Bullock reportedly secured a deal with the secretary of

United Voice United Voice was a large Australian trade union, with over 130,000 members. United Voice members worked in a wide range of occupations including hospitality, childcare, teachers' aides, aged care, property services (cleaning, security, maintenan ...

, Dave Kelly, whereby Bullock would take the number one position from left-aligned Senator

Louise Pratt Louise Clare Pratt (born 18 April 1972) is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for Western Australia since 2016, and previously from 2008 to 2014. She is a member of the Labor Party, and served as a member of the Western Australian ...

in exchange for Kelly's choice of

Sue Lines Susan Lines (born 15 December 1953) is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for Western Australia since 2013, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the current President of the Australian Senate, having previously bee ...

to fill the Senate seat vacated by Chris Evans. Bullock was elected to the Senate as the lead candidate on Labor's ticket in Western Australia, but in February 2014 the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

ruled the election void. A special election to elect Western Australia's senators was held on 5 April 2014, with Bullock again being elected. His term commenced on 1 July 2014. On 1 March 2016, Bullock announced that he was resigning from the Senate after less than two years in the parliament. He cited the Labor Party's policy to bind parliamentary members to voting to support

after 2019, among other reasons, for his resignation. Bullock tendered his resignation to Senate President Stephen Parry on 13 April 2016.

Controversy

The Labor member for Perth

Alannah MacTiernan Alannah Joan Geraldine Cecilia MacTiernan (born 10 January 1953) is an Australian politician. Since 1988, she has served in politics at a federal, state, and local level, including as a minister in the Western Australian state governments of G ...

criticised Bullock for the power which he and other union secretaries wielded within the party, at the expense of ordinary members and union delegates. The former Labor member for Bassendean,

Martin Whitely Martin Paul Whitely (born 19 October 1959 in Perth, Western Australia, is a mental health researcher, author and was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, ...

was also critical of Bullock for allegedly turning his back on a "welcome to country" ceremony, as well as his undue influence within the party, saying in Parliament "I frankly do not believe that Joe Bullock does much that is motivated by the interests of his members; I think Joe does what is in Joe's best interests". Whitely quit the Labor party in 2013 in protest over Bullock's pre-selection for the federal Senate election that year. During the campaign for the 2014 WA Senate election, details of Bullock's speech given at a function in November 2013 were made public. In the speech, Bullock criticised fellow senate candidate Louise Pratt and described some members of the Labor Party as "untrustworthy" and "mad." Bullock issued an apology before the election. Bullock was blamed by figures from Labor's left faction for the party's poor showing in the Senate re-vote.

, a left-wing union, called for Bullock to resign his Senate place. Alannah MacTiernan accused Bullock of costing the party votes. "There are booths that six months ago we were leading and now we're coming third," she said. "We need people who can sell the message; we need to make sure we have people capable of inspiring people." Former Senator Chris Evans said "there's no question that the Labor Party has a serious problem with its preselection processes, particularly in Western Australia." Pratt issued a statement saying: "It is a blow to progressive voters that I would be replaced in the Senate by someone who I have known for many years to be deeply

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...

, to be anti-choice and, thas recently emerged, disloyal to the very party he has been elected to represent. Far from my views on these issues being fringe as he has claimed, it is Joe Bullock and other members of the SDA leadership who are on the fringe of mainstream views."

Personal life

Bullock is a member of the

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

. His wife, Helen Bullock, represented the Mining and Pastoral region in the

Legislative Council of Western Australia The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

from 2009 to her retirement in 2013. Unusually for a Labor Party politician, Bullock is opposed to

Australian republicanism Republicanism in Australia is a popular movement to change Australia's system of government from a constitutional parliamentary monarchy to a republic, replacing the monarch of Australia (currently Charles III) with a president. Republicanism ...

, and spoke at the 2014 national conference of the

Australian Monarchist League The Australian Monarchist League (AML) is an incorporated nonprofit organisation, headquartered in Sydney, Australia, promoting and educating on the Australian Constitution and monarchy. The organisation was part of the "no" campaign in the ...

.Nick Butterly (13 November 2014)
"Bullock speaks against republic push"
– ''The West Australian''. Retrieved 18 February 2015. In May 2018, Bullock moved to

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...

and joined the

References

External links

Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Joe Bullock on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullock, Joe 1955 births Living people Australian Anglicans Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Australian monarchists Australian trade unionists University of Sydney alumni Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia 21st-century Australian politicians