39-591: Lawrence Robert "Laurie" Connell (died 27 February 1996) was a Western Australian business entrepreneur. As chairman of the Rothwells merchant bank, he was well known for his dealings with the Government of Western Australia and his close relationships with a former premier of Western Australia , Brian Burke , and with entrepreneur Alan Bond , during the WA Inc period in the mid to late 1980s. Laurie Connell
78-673: A General Exhibition for Academic Achievement and the Special Subject Exhibition in economics. In 1965, Lawrence enrolled at the University of Western Australia in Perth . In 1968 she graduated as a Bachelor of Psychology with First Class Honours, having won five prizes including that for the most outstanding graduate throughout the Faculties of Arts, Economics and Commerce, Law, Architecture and Education. In 1968 she
117-428: A crash involving Kingsley Arnold Pickett, a 14-year-old Aboriginal offender in a stolen motor vehicle. Margaret's husband Peter survived, and gained public sympathy through bedside interviews to print and electronic media. A candlelight vigil was organised outside Parliament House on 4 January 1992, and exactly a month later, responding directly to the public call for action, Lawrence and deputy leader Ian Taylor tabled
156-415: A decade later, it was alleged that Hobby was paid over $ 1 million by Connell to travel around the world for several years to avoid returning to Australia and facing an inquiry. Ultimately Hobby did return and Connell was tried and sentenced to five years jail for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice during the investigation into the horse race. Hobby received a three-year term. Found not guilty of fixing
195-405: A few weeks earlier, which had led to a long disqualification for Way. During the 1980s, Connell started acquiring numerous local businesses through aggressive takeovers, before setting himself up as a deposit taker for investors under the name of Rothwells Merchant Bank , which had begun its life as a Brisbane-based menswear chain. Immediately after the 1987 stock market crash , there was a run on
234-734: A mistake. The Act was repealed in June 1994. The other matter which preoccupied the Government was the ongoing construction of the Northern Suburbs Transit System , later to be known as the Joondalup line , which proceeded throughout Lawrence's term as Premier. She officially opened the line on 20 December 1992, with three stations on the line opening initially. On 21 March 1993, the other stations opened. The Perth City Busport (now known as Elizabeth Quay Bus Station)
273-673: A petition to the High Court of Australia to challenge the franchise system for the Western Australian Legislative Council . The system of vote-weighting tended to favour the conservative parties and was a long-term obstacle to the ALP gaining control of the council. On 20 February 1996, the High Court rejected the challenge on the basis that the law was not unconstitutional. On 12 March 1994, following
312-639: A province of the Commonwealth of Australia; being preceded by Rosemary Follett , who became Chief Minister of the ACT on 11 May 1989. On 19 November 1990, Lawrence called a Royal Commission into matters related to the WA Inc deals, after considerable public and media pressure. The commission hearings began on 12 March 1991, and within months, the Labor party became a minority government as three left-wing MPs left
351-592: Is an Australian academic and former politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state. To date she is the only female premier of Western Australia. A member of the Labor Party , she later entered federal politics as a member of the House of Representatives from 1994 to 2007, and served as a minister in the Keating government . Lawrence
390-556: The Crime (Serious and Repeat Offenders) Sentencing Bill 1992 , which was rushed through parliament despite the advice of a committee that it was "unworkable and unsustainable". Peter Blurton established the Margaret and Shane Foundation to channel both his own grief and the immense public sympathy into a workforce to fight for the rights of crime victims. The law, however, turned out to be defective and Lawrence later declared it to have been
429-522: The federal election held on 24 November 2007, thereby retiring from Parliament. She was succeeded as Member for Fremantle by Melissa Parke , also of the ALP. Following her departure from the federal Parliament, Lawrence was engaged for a term, in 2008, as a Professorial Fellow at the University of Western Australia. Her brief was to conduct collaborative research with a focus on the origins of fanaticism and extreme behaviour, including terrorism, under
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#1732791797861468-526: The frontbench until 2002 and then as a backbencher . From 2004 to 2005, she was federal president of the Labor Party, the first person to be directly elected to the position. She returned to academia after leaving politics, as a psychology professor at the University of Western Australia. Lawrence was born in Northam , in the agricultural district of Western Australia and spent her early childhood in
507-460: The Labor Party lost power at the 1993 state election . In 1994, Lawrence entered federal parliament through a by-election for the Division of Fremantle . She was almost immediately appointed to cabinet by Paul Keating , serving as Minister for Human Services and Health and Minister for Women until the government's defeat in 1996. Lawrence remained in parliament until the 2007 election , on
546-575: The Perth racing establishment and, in 1984, he sought election to a position on the committee of The Western Australian Turf Club , with the support of the committee's retiring chairman Sir Ernest Lee-Steere . At the January 1983 AHA Cup in Bunbury , jockey Danny Hobby jumped from his mount Strike Softly . Hobby later claimed he jumped after accepting a bribe of $ 5,000 from Connell to do so. Almost
585-722: The Prime Minister for the Status of Women in the Keating government . In May 1995, Premier Court requested the establishment of a Royal Commission to determine the circumstances of the tabling of the Easton affair petition. On 14 November 1995, the Royal Commission released a report which found that Lawrence had misled the Western Australian Parliament concerning her knowledge of and role in
624-681: The Research and Evaluation Unit of the Psychiatric Services Branch of the Department of Health of Western Australia . During this period, Lawrence joined the Labor Party. She unsuccessfully contested the seat of East Melville at the 1983 election against sitting Liberal Party member Anthony Trethowan , but was more successful in 1986 when she won the seat of Subiaco following the retirement of long-serving Liberal-turned-independent Tom Dadour . In 1988, following
663-539: The auspices of the university's Institute of Advanced Studies. In 2016 Lawrence became president of the Conservation Council of Western Australia , and has campaigned against continuing sponsorship of major sporting clubs by companies involved in fossil fuel extraction. In 2022, Lawrence was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours for "distinguished service to
702-420: The bank by local investors. Connell put together a rescue package involving numerous Australian businessmen, and approached the premier, Brian Burke, who provided a A$ 150 million government guarantee to provide short-term relief. Despite that, after Burke's resignation on 25 February 1988, incoming premier Peter Dowding was required to enter very complicated and controversial dealings in an attempt to protect
741-591: The decision to involve the Government, through WAGH, in the Kwinana petrochemical project as a means of removing the Government's contingent liability for certain of the debts of Rothwells. Electoral advantage was preferred to the public interest. The political fallout from the collapse, as well as other government dealings during the period, dominated media and political discourse in Western Australia during 1990, and premier Carmen Lawrence ultimately called
780-473: The direct election of the party's National President by the party membership (the post had previously been filled by election at the party's National Conference) and a reduction of the unions' representation at party conferences from 60% to 50%. Lawrence emerged as the candidate of the party's Left faction for the post, and the election took place in November 2003. Although she did not win an absolute majority of
819-449: The government's interests. Rothwells ultimately went into liquidation, resulting in heavy losses to the government and Rothwells investors. A royal commission later found that: Mr Dowding, as premier, presided over a disastrous series of decisions designed to support Rothwells when it was or should have been clear to him and to those ministers closely involved that Rothwells was no longer a viable financial institution. This culminated in
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#1732791797861858-592: The government's policy of detaining asylum -seekers (see Tampa affair ). In December 2002 she resigned from the Shadow Cabinet, describing the party's policies on asylum and immigration as "brutal and inhumane". She announced on 29 March 2007 that she would not recontest her seat in the Parliament at the 2007 Australian federal election . During 2002 the Labor Party approved a series of reforms proposed by new Opposition leader Simon Crean , among them
897-530: The party to sit as independents. Coverage of the commission hearings dominated media headlines for most of the period from then until the 1993 election. Between mid-1990 and early 1992, several high-speed chases involving cars stolen by repeat juvenile offenders resulted in the deaths of 10 people, including a businessman and several young parents. All received considerable media attention, most notably from 6PR 's Howard Sattler . On 25 December 1991, 22-year-old Margaret Blurton and her infant son Shane were killed in
936-405: The race, Connell served one year of his sentence in jail before being released. In the 1987 3,200 -metre (two-mile) Perth Cup , Connell's horse Rocket Racer , ridden by leading Western Australian jockey J. J. Miller , won the race by nine lengths and couldn't be pulled up, doing nearly another lap of the course. Connell had backed the horse, initially at long odds, down to a 2/1 favouritism, and
975-418: The resignation of former Federal treasurer and member for Fremantle , John Dawkins , she won a by-election for the seat and entered federal politics. Fremantle is a safe Labor seat which had once been held by Labor Prime Minister John Curtin , and later, Whitlam-era Education Minister Kim Beazley senior . On 25 March 1994, she was appointed Minister for Human Services and Health and Minister assisting
1014-406: The royal commission in November 1990 to investigate. The inquiry became known as the WA Inc royal commission and resulted in the jailing of Connell and a number of other involved parties. Connell died bankrupt. At the date of bankruptcy there was a deficiency of $ 341 million and additional pending claims of $ 60 million. In 1998, the trustee seized artworks which were sold for about $ 30,000. In 2000
1053-419: The so-called " WA Inc " period. In February 1990, Dowding was forced by his colleagues to resign. Lawrence, a prominent opponent within the Labor Party of Brian Burke's Right faction, of which Dowding was a member, replaced him as Premier on 12 February 1990, with Ian Taylor as her deputy. Lawrence was the first female Premier of an Australian State. However, she was not the first female head of government of
1092-402: The sudden departure of Brian Burke as Premier, she was appointed Minister for Education. At the 1989 election , her seat of Subiaco was abolished in a redistribution, and she won the new seat of Glendalough . The Western Australian Labor government was in a state of crisis as a result of corruption allegations against the cabinets of two successive premiers, Brian Burke and Peter Dowding ,
1131-638: The tabling of the petition. Paul Keating denounced the commission as a political stunt and accused the Commissioner, Kenneth Marks QC, of bias. At the 1996 federal election , the Keating government lost office and, following Paul Keating's resignation of the leadership, Kim Beazley , a Western Australian, became the new Leader of the Opposition. Lawrence was appointed to the Opposition frontbench as Shadow Environment Minister. On 21 February 1997, she
1170-429: The towns of Gutha and Dongara . She was one of seven children, six girls and a boy, born to Ernest Richard Lawrence, a farmer, and his wife Mary Norma (née Watson). From the age of six she was educated at various Roman Catholic boarding schools: Marian Convent at Morawa ; Dominican Ladies College at Dongara and Santa Maria College at Attadale from which she matriculated in 1964 with distinctions in six subjects,
1209-544: The trustees raised a further $ 120,000 from sale of artworks. Western Australian Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 226452127 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 11:03:18 GMT Carmen Lawrence Carmen Mary Lawrence AO (born 2 March 1948)
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1248-447: The votes, Lawrence topped the poll and was elected president, taking office on 1 January 2004, shortly after Mark Latham succeeded Crean as party Leader. She used the position to campaign in favour of a policy of better treatment for asylum-seekers entering Australia. Her term as National President ended on 1 January 2005, when she was succeeded by Barry Jones . As foreshadowed in her announcement of March 2007, Lawrence did not contest
1287-809: Was Senior Student in Saint Catherine's residential college . She was politically active from an early stage. While at UWA she lobbied, successfully, to have the Campus Beauty Contest abolished. In Melbourne in the early 1970s she helped to found the Victorian Branch of the Women's Electoral Lobby. She tutored at the University of Melbourne in 1971 and 1972, tutored and lectured at the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT) from 1973 to 1978 and
1326-462: Was a lecturer with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Western Australia from 1979 until 1983. During this period she continued with post-graduate research, having won two scholarships for PhD studies in psychology, and received the doctoral degree in 1983, for her dissertation Maternal Responses to Infant Crying . From 1983 until her election to parliament in 1986, Lawrence was employed in
1365-479: Was believed to have collected $ 500,000 from bookmakers, as well as the $ 210,000 prize money for the win. The horse's performance, and subsequent collapse and death from unknown causes a few weeks later, was never fully investigated or explained, although it is generally assumed that it had been injected with etorphine ("elephant juice"). Rocket Racer was trained by Buster O'Malley, but another Connell-owned horse trained by George Way , had tested positive to etorphine
1404-480: Was born in Northam, Western Australia . She studied psychology at the University of Western Australia , obtaining a doctorate in 1983, and before entering politics worked as a lecturer and researcher. Lawrence was elected to state parliament in 1986, and became a government minister in 1988. She replaced Peter Dowding as premier in 1990, as Australia's second female head of government (after ACT Chief Minister Rosemary Follett ) and first female state premier. She and
1443-616: Was charged with three counts of perjury resulting from the findings of the Marks Royal Commission. She stood down from the shadow ministry pending her trial. She was acquitted on 23 July 1999. In September 2000 Beazley approved her reappointment to the Labor frontbench, and appointed her shadow minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, the Arts and Status of Women. During the 2001 federal election campaign, Lawrence strongly disapproved of Beazley's support for
1482-577: Was opened on 30 November 1991 to centralise services travelling through the central business district. In the election held on 6 February 1993, the Lawrence government was defeated by the Liberal - National coalition and Richard Court, who had replaced Barry MacKinnon as opposition leader just a year earlier, became Premier. Lawrence remained as Opposition Leader until early 1994. In December 1993, Lawrence, Jim McGinty and Geoff Gallop joined in
1521-464: Was the grandson of a long-serving Western Australia Police Commissioner , Robert Connell (1867–1956) commissioner 1913–1933. In 1994, Connell was jailed for conspiring to pervert the course of justice by paying a jockey to leave the country. Connell was reportedly warned off by stewards in 1975 for involvement in a betting scam at the Kalgoorlie races. Despite that, he became well connected in
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