Julia Claire Irwin (; born 8 November 1951) is a former Australian politician. She represented 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 ...

(ALP) in 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 1998 to 2010, holding the New South Wales seat of Fowler.

Early life

Irwin was born in Sydney on 8 November 1951. Her father Alan Welsh served on the

Parramatta City Council The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a local government area located west of central Sydney in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between the City of Ryde and Cumberland, where the Cumbe ...

and her mother Lois Welsh was the secretary of the New South Wales Labor Women's Committee. She joined the ALP at the age of 15 and began her involvement in the

labour movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

with the

Sheet Metal Working Industrial Union Sheet or Sheets may refer to: * Bed sheet, a rectangular piece of cloth used as bedding * Sheet of paper, a flat, very thin piece of paper * Sheet metal, a flat thin piece of metal * Sheet (sailing), a line, cable or chain used to control the cle ...

. She was also involved in

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 independ ...

where she met her future husband Geoff Irwin. In 1975, Irwin became the electorate secretary to Jack Ferguson, who became the

Deputy Premier of New South Wales The Deputy Premier of New South Wales is the second-most senior officer in the Government of New South Wales. The deputy premiership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1932, and the deputy premier is appointed by the Governor on the advice ...

the following year. She later worked as a staffer for Richard Klugman,

Ross Free Ross Vincent Free (born 7 March 1943) is a former Australian politician who served as a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the seat of Macquarie from 1980 until 1984, then Lindsay from 1984 until 1996. He ser ...

, and Ted Grace.

Parliament

Following Ted Grace's retirement, Irwin won ALP

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...

for his seat of Fowler. She retained the seat for Labor at the 1998 federal election, and was re-elected on three further occasions. In 2005 Irwin was involved in a controversy over comments she made about Israel. On 13 September she made a speech in parliament characterising Israel's policies as "ethnic cleansing" and

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Lebanon * Ghazzeh, a village in ...

as a "concentration camp". After criticism from Jewish groups and by members of both the Liberal and Labor parties, she issued an apology for her "offensive" language. In October 2008 Irwin publicly criticised the

Rudd Government Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) * Rudd government (2013) {{Dab ... * Rudd gov ...

's education policy, accusing it of "locking in the Coalition's favouritism of private schools". Irwin announced in September 2009 that she would not recontest her seat at the 2010 federal election.Retiring MP takes aim at factional warlords: ABC News 14/9/2009
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References

External links

*Parliamentary Library �
BiographyPersonal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Julia 1951 births Living people 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 Fowler Women members of the Australian House of Representatives 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian women politicians