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Bronwyn Bishop

Australian politician (born 1942)

Bronwyn Bishop

Summary

Australian politician (born 1942)

FieldValue
honorific-prefixThe Honourable
nameBronwyn Bishop
honorific-suffix
imageBronwyn Bishop - Flickr - Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer (1).jpg
captionBishop in 2012
office29th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
deputyBruce Scott
term_start12 November 2013
term_end2 August 2015
predecessorAnna Burke
successorTony Smith
office1Minister for Aged Care
primeminister1John Howard
term_start121 October 1998
term_end126 November 2001
predecessor1Peter Staples
successor1Kevin Andrews
office2Minister for Defence Industry, Science and Personnel
primeminister2John Howard
term_start211 March 1996
term_end221 October 1998
predecessor2Gary Punch
successor2Warren Snowdon
constituency_MP3Mackellar
parliament3Australian
term_start326 March 1994
term_end39 May 2016
predecessor3Jim Carlton
successor3Jason Falinski
office4Senator for New South Wales
term_start411 July 1987
term_end424 February 1994
predecessor4Sir John Carrick
successor4Bob Woods
birth_nameBronwyn Kathleen Setright
birth_date
birth_placeNorth Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
partyLiberal
spouse
residenceNewport, New South Wales
occupationSolicitor and company director
educationCremorne Girls High School
University of Sydney (no degree)

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable | honorific-suffix = University of Sydney (no degree)

Bronwyn Kathleen Bishop (née Setright; born 19 October 1942) is an Australian former politician who served as the 29th speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015, during the Abbott government. Her service of almost 30 years as a member of the federal parliament is the longest of any woman in Australia. A member of the Liberal Party of Australia, she served as a senator for New South Wales from 1987 to 1994 after which she became the member of parliament (MP) for the division of Mackellar from 1994 to 2016. During her time in parliament she served as the minister for Defence Industry from 1996 to 1998 and minister for Aged Care from 1998 to 2001 under Prime Minister John Howard.

Bishop was born in Sydney and worked as a lawyer before entering politics. She served as state president of the New South Wales Liberals from 1985 to 1987, and then won election to the Senate at the 1987 federal election. She became the state's second female senator and the first to be popularly elected. In 1994 Bishop switched to the House of Representatives, winning a by-election for the Division of Mackellar. She was a shadow minister under John Hewson, Alexander Downer, and John Howard.

In 1996 Bishop was appointed Minister for Defence Industry, Science and Personnel in the newly elected Howard government. She was made Minister for Aged Care in 1998, but lost her place in the ministry after the 2001 election. Bishop returned to the shadow ministry after the Liberal–National Coalition lost the 2007 election. In 2013, following the election of the Abbott government, she was elected Speaker of the House, becoming the first non-Labor woman to hold the post. She resigned in mid-2015 after being caught in the centre of a travel-expenses scandal, and was defeated for Liberal preselection at the 2016 election, ending her parliamentary career. Since 2016, she has been a political commentator at Sky News Live.

Early years and education

Bronwyn Kathleen Setright was born on 19 October 1942 at the Mater Hospital in North Sydney. Her father, Thomas Francis Setright (1909–1999), was an engineer, and her mother was Kathleen Annie Congreve (1912–1986), an opera singer who worked as a dramatic soprano at the Australian Opera Company. As a child, Bishop was sent to singing lessons by her mother.

Bishop was educated at Roseville Public School, completing her primary education in 1954. She then attended secondary school at Cremorne Girls High School, graduating in 1959. In 1960, Bishop enrolled in a five-year Bachelor of Laws program at the Sydney Law School, University of Sydney. However, she was deemed ineligible to continue her studies at the university after failing a number of subjects multiple times. Bishop failed a total of 11 subjects over six years. In her first year in 1960, she failed all four core subjects. In 1964, she failed four subjects again and repeated them in 1965, in which she failed three again. The policy of the University of Sydney at the time was that a student was required to show cause why they should be allowed to repeat a subject for a third time, and Bishop was deemed ineligible to continue.

During her university years, Bishop was not involved in student politics but was a member of the Killara branch of the Young Liberals. After leaving university, Bishop used the university subjects she had passed to apply for the Solicitors’ Admission Board (now the Legal Profession Admission Board) and was admitted to practise law as a solicitor in New South Wales in 1967. Bishop first worked as an articled clerk and then as a solicitor from 1967. She played an acting role as a barrister in the 1960s Australian television program Divorce Court.

Politics

Bishop early in her political career

Having formed an ambition to become a politician, she joined the Liberal Party at the age of 17.

Heavily involved in organised politics, Bishop joined Killara Young Liberals in 1961 and during her association with that branch, she became vice-president. She first became a Liberal Party office-holder in 1973 as president of the Balmoral branch and was later elected as the chairman of the Liberal Party Convention Committee from 1981 to 1985 and as the first female president of the NSW Liberals from 1985 to 1987.

She is formerly a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party.

Senator (1987–1994)

At the 1987 federal election, Bishop was elected to the Senate in the fifth position on the Coalition's ticket in New South Wales. She was effectively a one-to-one replacement for Sir John Carrick, who was retiring from politics. She was the second woman to serve as a senator for New South Wales, and the first to be popularly elected; Sue West had been appointed to a casual vacancy a few months earlier, but had failed to retain her seat. Bishop was elevated to the shadow ministry by Andrew Peacock in 1989, as Shadow Minister for Public Administration, Federal Affairs and Local Government (1989–1990). She proved an aggressive debater against the Australian Labor Party, particularly with Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, who during one debate in 1992 exclaimed to the chamber "I am reminded of the exchange I heard recently in Parliament House when someone said, 'Why do so many people take an instant dislike to Senator Bishop?' to which the answer was, 'It saves time'."

Move to the House of Representatives

After politics

Bishop joined Sky News Live as a political contributor in June 2016, making her debut on Speers Tonight on 2 June 2016.

In November 2016, Bishop attended a party at The Rugby Club in Sydney to celebrate the victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election.

On 26 November 2018, her official Speaker's painting was hung in Parliament House. It was painted by Jiawei Shen and was attended by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Speaker of the House Tony Smith, her family and other members of the Liberal Party of Australia including the Liberal Chief Whip, Nola Marino.

Bishop was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours, for distinguished service to the Parliament of Australia, to the people of New South Wales, and to women in politics.

Personal life

Bishop is an amateur actress, having appeared in several charity productions including The Sound of Music (as Baroness Elsa),{{cite news | access-date = 2009-05-19}} and Grease (as the Headmistress).{{cite news | access-date = 2009-05-19 | access-date = 2017-01-31}} Bishop is also a patron of Opera Australia{{cite web | access-date = 2009-05-26 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090927085854/http://www.opera-australia.org.au/oprawr/_assets/main/lib90218/oa_annual_report_08.pdf | archive-date = 27 September 2009 | access-date = 2009-05-26}}

In 1966, she married Alan David Bishop (20 April 1940 – 22 January 2010), with whom she studied law at the University of Sydney. Alan Bishop was a judge of the now defunct Compensation Court and the District Court of New South Wales and was instrumental in the establishment of the WorkCover Authority of New South Wales. He is honoured by the Bishops' alma mater with the Alan Bishop Scholarship for distinguished final-year undergraduate law students. Alan Bishop also served as an alderman of the City of Sydney and was involved in multiple committees and companies, including the public medical research company AGITG.

Bronwyn and Alan Bishop have two daughters; Angela, an entertainment reporter for Network Ten, and Sally. Bronwyn and Alan Bishop divorced in 1992.

References

References

  1. "Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP – Parliament of Australia". Parliament of Australia.
  2. (24 October 1942). "Family Notices". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
  3. (20 July 2015). "Bronwyn Bishop has never welcomed the kind of scrutiny she applies to others".
  4. (3 July 1993). "Bronwyn's Secret Weapon". [[The Age]].
  5. "Full Day Hansard Transcript (Legislative Assembly, 16 March 1994)".
  6. "Roseville Public School Union".
  7. (6 May 2011). "Roseville Public School Union: Memories".
  8. (2 July 1987). "The girls will treasure memories of school". The Northern Herald.
  9. Benns, Matthew. (March 2013). "Camperdown to Canberra". University of Sydney.
  10. David Leser, ''Bronwyn Bishop: A Woman in Pursuit of Power'' (1994, Text Publishing, Melbourne), 21–22.
  11. "Biography for Bishop, the Hon. Bronwyn Kathleen". [[Parliament of Australia]].
  12. "Discussion on Bronwyn Bishop's life before politics and nursing homes". [[Australian Government]]. Department of Health and Ageing. link
  13. (16 September 1987). "First Speech To Parliament – 16/9/1987". [[Commonwealth of Australia]].
  14. (25 March 2002). "Bishop, Bronwyn". [[The Australian]].
  15. Bolt, Andrew. (April 16, 2016). "What kind of party do Liberals want? Of backstabbers? Faction puppets? Labor-liters?".
  16. Wright, Tony. (5 September 2008). "Occupants of warm pink chamber can go feral". [[Fairfax Media]].
  17. (18 August 1992). "QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE - Sexual Harassment Allegation (Sen. Bishop, Sen. Evans, Sen. Alston, Sen. Bolkus)". Parliament of Australia.
  18. (14 February 1994). "Bishop out-rates PM: poll". [[The Canberra Times]].
  19. {{Cite Au Parliament
  20. (10 April 1993). "Hewson bereft of policies and under threat". [[The Canberra Times]].
  21. (27 May 1994). "Smoke Gets in Her Eyes". The Age.
  22. 2001 election]]. On 1 January 2001, Bishop was presented with the [[Centenary Medal]] "For service to Australian society through parliament and government".[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1126255 Centenary Medal], 1 January 2001, itsanhonour.gov.au '''Citation:'''"For service to Australian society through parliament and government"
  23. Koutsoukis, Jason. (16 November 2004). "Victorian takes Speaker's Chair". Fairfax Media.
  24. Marks, Kathy. (8 November 1999). "Australia wakes up to renewed divisions". Independent Print Limited.
  25. (21 October 1999). "Minister unrepentant over anti-republic stand". [[ABC News (Australia).
  26. Bishop, B. ''"Debunking the seven deadly myths of the Republican debate:A speech by the Hon. Bronwyn Bishop"'', 2 February 1999
  27. (10 June 2004). "Background Paper 9 1995–96. The Recent Republic Debate – A Chronology". Commonwealth of Australia.
  28. "Australia's Parliament lifts ban on veiled visitors in public gallery". The Globe and Mail.
  29. [[The Sydney Morning Herald]] 30 August 2005 and 6 September 2005, Global Research 27 September 2005
  30. [[Crikey]] newsletter, 10 November 2005
  31. (6 February 2006). "Art prompts call for flag-burning law change". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  32. "Standing Committee on Family and Human Services: Inquiry into the impact of illicit drug use of families: Report".
  33. Sen. Andrew Murray (2007). Senate Hansard, 18 September 2007, 10:20 pm
  34. Bishop, Bronwyn. (2006). "Protection of the Australian National Flag (Desecration of the Flag) Bill 2006: Explanatory Memorandum". Commonwealth of Australia.
  35. (29 December 2007). "Division of Mackellar". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  36. (19 December 2007). "Australian Electoral Commission summary of Mackellar". [[Australian Electoral Commission]].
  37. (22 September 2008). "Turnbull picks Julie Bishop to lead attack on Wayne Swan". [[The Australian]].
  38. (23 November 2009). "Abbott, Bishop safe". The Manly Daily.
  39. (5 May 2009). "Bronwyn Bishop takes swipe at 'soft' Malcolm Turnbull". News Limited.
  40. http://www.liberal.org.au/_g/Abbott_Shadow_Ministry.pdf{{dead link. (December 2017)
  41. "Department of the Parliamentary Library - Shadow Ministry".
  42. (2011-04-21). "Howard wrong taking ETS to 2007 election".
  43. (2011-04-21). "Howard wrong taking ETS to 2007 election".
  44. Chang, Caris. (16 September 2010). "Bronwyn Bishop will be the Coalition's first female Speaker". [[News Corp Australia]].
  45. Wilson, Janet, & McCann, Dr Joy. (9 July 2014). "Representation of women in Australian parliaments 2014". Parliament of Australia.
  46. ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 17 October 2014, author Fergus Hunter
  47. (23 March 2015). "Why Bronwyn Bishop needs to leave the Speaker's chair". Sydney Morning Herald.
  48. (19 July 2015). "Bishop must resign over incompetence, not bias". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  49. Chan, Gabrielle. (2014-03-27). "Labor pushes for no-confidence vote against 'biased' Bronwyn Bishop". The Guardian.
  50. (25 June 2015). "Speaker Bronwyn Bishop ejects 400th MP from House of Representatives; Labor raises concerns". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  51. Hasham, Nicole. (2015-08-09). "Prime Minister Tony Abbott silent on whether new Speaker should skip party room meetings".
  52. Adam Gartrell. (19 July 2015). "Bishop's press conference is more evidence she's unfit for the Speaker's chair". Sydney Morning Herald.
  53. (16 July 2015). "Bronwyn Bishop agrees to pay back cost of $5,000 helicopter trip". The Guardian.
  54. (15 July 2015). "Bronwyn Bishop job bid leaves taxpayers with huge expense bill". Fairfax Media.
  55. (19 July 2015). "Bronwyn Bishop slugs taxpayers $1000 a day for private limo costs". Fairfax Media.
  56. (22 July 2015). "Bronwyn Bishop expense scandal: Speaker defends trips to the opera". Fairfax Media.
  57. (20 July 2015). "Bronwyn Bishop 'on probation' over helicopter flight, says Tony Abbott". Guardian News and Media Limited.
  58. (18 July 2015). "Transcript Of Abbott's Assault On Slipper Over Parly Expenses Removed From Liberal Party Website".
  59. (12 Apr 2012). "Tony Abbott Doorstop: Peter Slipper MP".
  60. (31 July 2015). "Bronwyn Bishop expenses scandal: Tony Abbott goes to ground as Speaker finally says sorry".
  61. (20 July 2015). "Taxpayers cop $800,000 bill for Bronwyn Bishop's 2014 expenses". [[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney).
  62. (2 August 2015). "Bronwyn Bishop resigns as Speaker, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says". [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].
  63. (3 August 2015). "Standing by Bronwyn Bishop: How Tony Abbott's stubbornness could have prompted his second brush with political death". Sydney Morning Herald.
  64. (30 March 2017). "Bronwyn Bishop cut short participation in expenses review after repaying more than $6700, report reveals". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
  65. (29 March 2017). "Bronwyn Bishop repays nearly $14,000 for travel claims but denies greed". The Guardian.
  66. (10 December 2015). "Bronwyn Bishop wants to stay in Parliament to 'fight terrorism'". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
  67. Kerr, Christian. (16 February 2016). "Tony Abbott man Walter Villatora's tilt at Bronwyn Bishop seat". [[The Australian]].
  68. McDonald, Peta. (16 February 2016). "Tony Abbott, Mike Baird write references for Bronwyn Bishop Liberal preselection rival". [[ABC News (Australia).
  69. Aston, Heath. (18 February 2016). "Alan Jones gives his blessing to "class act" former Wallaby taking on Bronwyn Bishop". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
  70. Maiden, Samantha. (16 April 2016). "Bronwyn Bishop's battle for preselection for seat of Mackellar". [[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney).
  71. Dole, Nick. (16 April 2016). "Bronwyn Bishop dumped as Liberal candidate for seat of Mackellar". [[ABC News (Australia).
  72. Knox, David. (29 May 2016). "Bronwyn Bishop joins Sky News". TV Tonight.
  73. Jabour, Bridie. (2016-11-09). "'We've been oppressed': Australian mates of Trump share his finest hour". The Guardian.
  74. (26 November 2018). "Bronwyn Bishop wants painting to inspire girls". [[SBS World News]].
  75. "The Honourable Bronwyn Kathleen BISHOP". Australian Honours Search Facility.
  76. Caroline Wilson. (3 July 1993.) Brownyn's Secret Weapon, ''The Sunday Age''.
  77. (8 March 2010). "Judge helped start WorkCover". Fairfax Media.
  78. (September 2018). "Alan Bishop Scholarship 2013". Sydney Law School}}{{Dead link.
  79. "The Alan Bishop Scholarship". Sydney Law School.
  80. "Alan Bishop". Sydney's Alderman.
  81. (4 May 2008). "A Mother's Day to remember". Woman's Day.
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