Brendan O'Connor was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2001 as the Member for Burke. At the 2004 federal election, Brendan was elected to the newly created electoral division of Gorton.
On 10 December 2006 Brendan was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industrial Relations. Brendan was the Chair of the Federal Labor Parliamentary Industrial Relations Taskforce which reported on the impact of WorkChoices on Australian workers.
Brendan was appointed Minister for Employment Participation upon the election of a Rudd Labor Government in 2007. In 2009, he was appointed Minister for Home Affairs. Following the 2010 federal election, Brendan was given the further responsibilities of Privacy and Freedom of Information to his portfolio. In December 2011, Brendan was appointed as the Minister for Human Services and Minister Assisting on School Education.
Prior to entering Parliament, Brendan was a Union official from 1986 to 2001, most recently Assistant National Secretary of the Australian Services Union from 1993 to 2001.
Brendan holds a BA and a LLB from Monash University, and a Diploma in Industrial Relations from Harvard University.
Electorate Profile
Gorton
State:
VIC
Name Derivation:
Named after former Prime Minister Sir John Gorton, who served as Prime Minister between 1968-71.
Area and Location Description:
Gorton covers an area of approximately 166 sq km. It includes the suburbs of Albanvale, Ardeer, Burnside, Cairnlea, Caroline Springs, Deer Park, Delahey, Derrimut, Hillside (part), Keilor (part), Keilor Downs, Keilor Lodge, Keilor North, Kings Park, Plumpton (part), Rockbank (part), St Albans (part), Sunshine West, Sydenham, Taylors Hill, Taylors Lakes and Truganina (part).
Products/Industries of the Area:
Market gardens along the Maribyrnong River to the north, as well as industrial estates to the south.
First Proclaimed/Election:
2003/2004
Demographic Rating:
Outer Metropolitan
Members:
O'Connor, B (ALP) 2004-