John James Mansell Bowler (born 22 September 1949 in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

) is a former Australian politician who was a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

from 2001 to 2013. Bowler, then a member of the Labor Party, was elected to the legislature from the former seat of Eyre in 2001. He transferred to Murchison-Eyre in 2005, and was appointed as Minister for Local Government and Regional Development, Land Information, Goldfields-Esperance and Great Southern following the re-election of the Labor Government at that year's election and added the Sport and Recreation portfolio in November 2005. In February 2006, following the election of Alan Carpenter as premier, he was promoted to the portfolios of Resources and Assisting the Minister for State Development; Employment Protection, Goldfields-Esperance and Great Southern. In December 2006 his portfolios were again reallocated, and he became Minister for Local Government; Employment Protection; Racing and Gaming; Goldfields-Esperance and Great Southern. Only weeks later, however, Bowler became embroiled in a growing scandal when the

Corruption and Crime Commission The Corruption and Crime Commission is an independent anti-corruption agency established on 1 January 2004 to improve the integrity of the Western Australian public sector and investigate allegations of misconduct against public officers. It ...

(CCC) alleged that he had leaked confidential Cabinet information relating to Fortescue Metals Group to disgraced lobbyists and former politicians

Julian Grill Julian Fletcher Grill (born 15 May 1940) is an Australian former politician. Grill was a member of the Parliament of Western Australia between 1977 and 2001. Early life and education Grill was born in Sydney, New South Wales and was brought up ...

and Brian Burke. The CCC also alleged that he leaked a draft parliamentary committee report prior to becoming a Minister. He was subsequently asked to resign from both Cabinet and the Labor Party. Despite calls from Premier Alan Carpenter for his resignation, Bowler remained in Parliament as an independent and won the seat of Kalgoorlie as an independent at the

2008 election This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are ...

. Bowler indicated that he would support the minority Liberal Party government on issues not affecting his electorate. In September 2009 the CCC reported on its earlier allegations of Bowler leaking Cabinet secrets. The CCC concluded that the information Bowler released could not in fact be considered confidential and that his actions in this instance did not amount to misconduct. His former chief of staff, Simon Corrigan, was also exonerated. In November 2009 the CCC released its final report into Bowler in relation to BHP Billiton's Yeelirrie uranium deposit. The report contained an opinion of serious misconduct against Bowler for agreeing to delay terminating an application over BHP's land by Precious Metals Australia, at the request of Brian Burke and

. Bowler retired from parliament in 2013 and now supports the

WA Nationals The National Party of Australia (WA) Inc, branded The Nationals WA, is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity. Since the 2021 state elect ...

, being involved with the 2013 state election campaign of Wendy Duncan, MLA for Kalgoorlie, and the campaign of Chub Witham for the seat of O'Connor at the 2013 federal election. In October 2015, Bowler easily won election as the mayor of Kalgoorlie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowler, John 1949 births Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Living people Independent members of the Parliament of Western Australia People from Kalgoorlie Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Mayors of places in Western Australia 21st-century Australian politicians