John Saunderson
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Aston
In office
1 December 1984 – 24 March 1990
Preceded byNew seat
Succeeded byPeter Nugent
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Deakin
In office
5 March 1983 – 1 December 1984
Preceded byAlan Jarman
Succeeded byJulian Beale
Personal details
Born (1948-05-31) 31 May 1948 (age 75)
Berkshire, England
NationalityAustralian
Political partyAustralian Labor Party
OccupationTechnical officer

John Saunderson (born 31 May 1948) is a former Australian politician and trade unionist. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1983 to 1990, representing the electorates of Deakin (1983–84) and Aston (1984-90).

Early life

Saunderson was born on 31 May 1948 in Slough, England. He was a senior technical officer for Telecom from 1964 to 1980, state president of the Australian Telecommunications Employees Association from 1976 to 1980, and an industrial officer for the union from 1980 until 1983.[1]

Political career

In 1983, Saunderson was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for Deakin, and in 1984 successfully contested the new seat of Aston. A convenor of the Labor Left faction in the later years of the Hawke government, Saunderson was a consistent opponent of attempts to privatise government assets, opposed uranium sales to France, played a significant role in the defeat of the Australia Card by opposing his own government's bill as a member of the select committee into it, supported restricting negative gearing to assist first-home buyers, heavily criticised the Cain state government over its handling of tramway disputes, supported broadcasting legislation reform in response to the Alan Bond scandal, opposed liberalising foreign ownership of television stations, and supported the introduction of pay television.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

He was defeated by Liberal candidate Peter Nugent at the 1990 election amidst a large anti-Labor swing related to the collapse of the State Bank of Victoria.[19][20]

Later activities

After his defeat, Saunderson returned to his old union, which became the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union, as a policy and research officer and then industrial officer.[21][22]

References

  1. ^ "Biography for SAUNDERSON, John". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  2. ^ "POLITICS". Tribune. No. 2483. New South Wales, Australia. 19 August 1987. p. 3. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Airline sale not on, says Left". The Canberra Times. Vol. 63, no. 19, 516. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 March 1989. p. 5. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Privatisation debate 'diverting' the ALP". The Canberra Times. Vol. 62, no. 19, 144. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 March 1988. p. 3. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Hawke told to leave Telecom a public utility". The Canberra Times. Vol. 64, no. 20, 155. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 18 June 1990. p. 2. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Cook and Punch make Ministry but no surprises in Hawke's first reshuffle since last election Richardson, Duffy in Cabinet". The Canberra Times. Vol. 62, no. 19, 099. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 20 January 1988. p. 1. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Left's uranium move 'will fail'". The Canberra Times. Vol. 62, no. 19, 094. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 January 1988. p. 7. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "CIVIL LIBERTIES". Tribune. No. 2450. New South Wales, Australia. 19 November 1986. p. 2. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "ID card gets caucus go-ahead". The Canberra Times. Vol. 60, no. 18, 509. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 June 1986. p. 1. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "ID card seems doomed". The Canberra Times. Vol. 60, no. 18, 508. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 4 June 1986. p. 30. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Labor MPs to meet over interest rates". The Canberra Times. Vol. 63, no. 19, 632. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 9 July 1989. p. 3. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "Media trustee plan for Bond". The Canberra Times. Vol. 63, no. 19, 588. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 26 May 1989. p. 1. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "ABT options on Bond licences 'ludicrous'". The Canberra Times. Vol. 63, no. 19, 509. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 March 1989. p. 5. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Media-ownerships proposal canned". The Canberra Times. Vol. 64, no. 20, 024. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 February 1990. p. 3. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "Plan to change Broadcasting Act". The Canberra Times. Vol. 64, no. 20, 023. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 6 February 1990. p. 3. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "Labor MPs angry over moves on TV". The Canberra Times. Vol. 64, no. 20, 020. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 3 February 1990. p. 3. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Cain under siege over trams". The Canberra Times. Vol. 64, no. 19, 998. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 12 January 1990. p. 3. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ "Parliament". The Canberra Times. Vol. 64, no. 17, 777. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 December 1989. p. 10. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 17 July 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  20. ^ Green, Antony. "2019 Election Guide: Aston". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Sharing the 6th channel?". Filmnews. Vol. 22, no. 2. New South Wales, Australia. 1 March 1992. p. 3. Retrieved 17 July 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  22. ^ "Details of Meetings". Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committees. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
Parliament of Australia Preceded byAlan Jarman Member for Deakin 1983–1984 Succeeded byJulian Beale Preceded byNew seat Member for Aston 1984–1990 Succeeded byPeter Nugent


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