Anna Elizabeth Burke (born 1 January 1966) is a former Australian politician and current Member of the

Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is an Australian tribunal that conducts independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT review decisions made by Australian Gover ...

. She was a 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 the ...

from October 1998 to May 2016, representing the

Division of Chisholm The Division of Chisholm is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The division was created in 1949 and is named after Caroline Chisholm, a social worker and promoter of women's immigration. ...

, Victoria. From October 2012 to August 2013, she was

Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The counterpart in the upper house is the President of the Senate. The office of Speaker was ...

Early life

Burke was born in Melbourne and educated at

Presentation College, Windsor , motto_translation = Everything for God , established = 1873 , closed = 2020 , type = Independent, day school , gender = Girls , denomination = , slogan = , principal = Filina Virgato (at closure) , key_people ...

. She graduated 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 ...

in 1988 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree with Honours in English Literature, and later from the

University of Melbourne 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 ...

in 1994 with a

Master of Commerce Master of Commerce (MCom or M Comm; sometimes '' Magister Commercii'' as MagComm or Mag. comm.) is a postgraduate master's degree focusing on commerce-, accounting-, management- and economics-related subjects. Like the undergraduate Bachelor of Co ...

with Honours in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management. Before entering politics, Burke worked as a trade union official and human resources manager. In this capacity, she worked for Victoria Roads from 1988 to 1993 and for Victoria University (then the Victorian Institute of Technology) from 1993 to 1994. In 1994, she joined the

Finance Sector Union The Finance Sector Union of Australia (FSU) is a white collar trade union that represents professionals working in the Banking, Finance, Insurance and Superannuation industries in Australia. The FSU was formed from the amalgamation in 1991 of va ...

as their National Industrial Officer.

Politics

Early years

She had joined the Ashwood branch of the Labor Party in 1986, and in 1997 she was pre-selected for the

by the Labor Party. The division was then held by Liberal Minister for Health and Family Services

Michael Wooldridge Michael Richard Lewis Wooldridge (born 7 November 1956) is an Australian doctor, company director, and former politician. He served as deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 1993 to 1994, under John Hewson. In the Howard Government he held mi ...

. She was not expected to win, but after Wooldridge switched seats she won the seat at the 1998 federal election Retrieved 16 October 2015 against Peter Vlahos of the Liberal Party.

Role as Deputy Speaker and Speaker

After Labor's win at the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

, Burke was elected as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. She successfully defended her seat in the 2010 federal election. On 24 November 2011, she was nominated by the Opposition for the position of

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

, which she declined. However, she accepted the Government's nomination for the position of Deputy Speaker on the same day, and was elected to that position following a ballot. On 22 April 2012 the Speaker,

Peter Slipper Peter Neil Slipper (born 14 February 1950) is a former Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1984 to 1987 and from 1993 to 2013, representing the Division of Fisher in Queensland. He was Speaker of the House of ...

, announced he was standing aside, meaning he would remain Speaker but would not attend sessions of the House, until fraud allegations made against him with respect to travel expenses were resolved. The

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

called for Slipper to stay away from the chamber until sexual harassment charges were resolved as well. As Deputy Speaker, Burke was deprived of her deliberative vote, being able only to vote in the case of a tie. On 9 October 2012, Peter Slipper resigned as Speaker of the House. Later that evening, Burke was nominated and elected the new Speaker 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 ...

unopposed. Her tenure as Speaker ended when her party lost government in 2013. She then sought to become chief opposition whip but was not successful.

Retirement from politics

On 16 December 2015, Burke announced that she would not re-contest her seat at the 2016 federal election. She was replaced as the Member for Chisholm by

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 ...

Julia Banks Julia Helen Banks (born 18 September 1962) is an Australian lawyer and politician. Elected as the member for Chisholm in the Australian House of Representatives at the 2016 federal election, Banks was the only candidate for the governing Li ...

, who was the only

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

candidate to win a seat held by an opposition party in 2016. On 16 January 2017, Burke was appointed as a full-time Member of the General, Freedom of Information, and Veterans' Appeals Divisions of the

, with her term to end on 15 January 2024. In the

2019 Australia Day Honours The 2019 Australia Day Honours are appointments Australian honours system, to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2019 by the Governor General of Australia, Pet ...

Burke was made 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 Gove ...

for "distinguished service to the Parliament of Australia, particularly as Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to the community".

References

External links

Personal website
*
Summary of parliamentary voting for Anna Burke MP on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Anna 1966 births Living people Speakers of the Australian House of Representatives Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Right politicians Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Chisholm University of Melbourne alumni Monash University alumni Women members of the Australian House of Representatives 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians 20th-century Australian politicians Women legislative speakers University of Melbourne women Officers of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian women politicians