Anna Burke facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anna Burke
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| 28th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives | |
| In office 9 October 2012 – 5 August 2013 |
|
| Deputy | Bruce Scott |
| Preceded by | Peter Slipper |
| Succeeded by | Bronwyn Bishop |
| Deputy Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives | |
| In office 24 November 2011 – 9 October 2012 |
|
| Preceded by | Peter Slipper |
| Succeeded by | Bruce Scott |
| In office 12 February 2008 – 28 September 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Harry Jenkins |
| Succeeded by | Peter Slipper |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Chisholm |
|
| In office 3 October 1998 – 9 May 2016 |
|
| Preceded by | Michael Wooldridge |
| Succeeded by | Julia Banks |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Anna Elizabeth Burke
1 January 1966 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Political party | Labor Party |
| Spouse |
Stephen Burgess
(m. 1994) |
| Children | Two |
| Residence | Box Hill South |
| Education | Presentation College, Windsor |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne Monash University |
| Occupation | Union representative, Politician |
Anna Elizabeth Burke is an Australian former politician. She was born on 1 January 1966.
She served as the 28th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from October 2012 to August 2013. Before that, she was the Acting Speaker from May to October 2012. Anna Burke was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She was a member of parliament (MP) for the area called Chisholm from 1998 to 2016.
Before becoming a politician, Burke worked as a representative for a trade union. She was the second woman to become Speaker of the House. She held this important job until the 2013 federal election.
While she was in parliament, Anna Burke spoke out against keeping refugees in special centres offshore. This was a policy that most major parties supported at the time. She retired from politics in 2016. Today, she is a member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). She has also served on the boards of several groups and companies.
Contents
Anna Burke's Early Life and School
Anna Elizabeth Burke was born in Melbourne on 1 January 1966. She was one of five children in her family. Her father worked as an electrician, and her mother was a kindergarten teacher.
Burke went to Presentation College, Windsor. When she was in grade 5, she found out she had dyslexia. This meant she took her high school exams by speaking them instead of writing them. In 1988, she earned a degree in English Literature from Monash University. Later, in 1994, she received another degree from the University of Melbourne. This one was in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management.
Anna Burke's Career Journey
Before she became a politician, Anna Burke worked in different jobs. She was a trade union official and a human resources manager. She worked for VicRoads from 1988 to 1993. Then, she worked for Victoria University from 1993 to 1994. In 1994, Burke joined the Finance Sector Union. There, she helped organize campaigns and spoke for the union.
How Anna Burke Entered Politics
In 1996, Burke joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in Ashwood, Victoria. In 1997, the Labor Party chose her to run for the area of Division of Chisholm. At that time, a Liberal Party minister named Michael Wooldridge had held this seat for over 11 years.
Most people did not expect Burke to win. But Wooldridge decided to run in a different area. So, at the 1998 Australian federal election, Anna Burke won the seat. She won against the Liberal Party candidate, Peter Vlahos. This was a big win for Labor in that area.
Anna Burke's Time in Parliament
In 2005, Anna Burke suggested a new law to parliament. This law was an early idea for the "Do Not Call Register." This register allows people to stop getting unwanted calls from telemarketers.
After the Labor Party won the election in 2007, Burke was chosen as the Deputy Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives. The Deputy Speaker leads the House when the Speaker is not there. In 2008, during a parliament session, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was away. Some opposition members brought a cardboard cut-out of him into the chamber. Burke asked for the "offensive article" to be removed. When one member refused to leave, Burke stopped the parliament meeting.
While she was Deputy Speaker, Burke also spoke about banning websites that encourage eating disorders. She continued to raise awareness about eating disorders throughout her time in parliament.
In 2011, the Speaker, Harry Jenkins, decided to step down. The government then chose Peter Slipper to become the new Speaker. On the same day, Anna Burke was chosen as the Deputy Speaker again.
In April 2012, Slipper stepped aside from his Speaker role while some accusations against him were being looked into. In October 2012, Slipper officially resigned as Speaker. Later that evening, Anna Burke was chosen as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives. She was the second woman to hold this important job, after Joan Child.
As Speaker, Burke asked members to call her "Speaker" instead of "Madam Speaker." She also became known for being "straight-talking" and for using a "death stare" to keep order.
In May 2012, a Member of Parliament named Craig Thomson voted with the Opposition by surprise. To stop this vote from being counted, some Opposition members tried to leave the room. But Burke had already asked for the doors to be locked. This stopped the members from leaving.
While Speaker, Burke also spoke out against child beauty pageants. In August 2012, she removed Opposition leader Tony Abbott from the House for one hour. This was because he refused to take back something he said. Removing an opposition leader was very rare.
In 2013, people in the public viewing area interrupted parliament several times. They called Prime Minister Julia Gillard a liar. Burke then said, "This is Question Time. It is not a football match." Several people were removed from the gallery. In August 2013, Burke's office in Melbourne was damaged with graffiti and broken windows. This was a protest against the government's policy on asylum seekers.
In the 2013 Australian federal election, Burke was re-elected for Chisholm. Her time as Speaker ended when the government changed. Bronwyn Bishop became the new Speaker. Burke then tried to become the chief Opposition whip, but she was not successful. She said that qualified women were not being chosen for important roles in her party.
In 2015, Burke announced she would not run for her seat again in the 2016 Australian federal election. She was replaced by Julia Banks.
Anna Burke's Career After Politics
Anna Burke's official portrait as Speaker was painted in 2015 by artist Jude Rae. This was the first time a portrait in Parliament's collection was both of a woman and painted by a woman. The portrait was shown at Parliament House, Canberra, in 2017.
In 2019, Burke was given an award called "Officer of the Order of Australia." This was for her great service to the Australian Parliament, especially as Speaker.
From 2016 to 2018, Burke was the head of Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia. As of 2024, she is a board member for the Institute for Breathing and Sleep. She is also a board member for RedR Australia and the head of the Monash University Accident Research Centre.
In 2017, Burke was appointed a full-time member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. This is a group that reviews government decisions.
Anna Burke's Political Views
Views on Refugee Policy
Burke has openly criticized the Labor Party's policy on asylum seekers. She does not agree with keeping people in offshore detention centres. This was a policy supported by all major parties when she was in parliament.
Burke did not support the "Malaysian Solution" deal. This deal would have sent 800 asylum seekers from Australia to Malaysia. She also felt "deeply uneasy" about using Manus Island for offshore detention. She said she was "not in favour of mandatory detention, particularly of women and children." She felt her role as Speaker stopped her from speaking out more strongly in parliament.
In 2014, after an asylum seeker died on Manus Island, Burke wrote an article. She called for an end to offshore detention. She also worked with another Labor politician, Melissa Parke, to try and stop sending asylum seekers to Manus Island and Nauru. This idea was not successful.
When Burke announced she was leaving parliament in 2016, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten called her a "fearless and tireless advocate for the rights of asylum seekers." In her final speech to parliament, Burke called offshore detention centres a "festering wound."
Views on Food Allergies
Anna Burke's son has a severe peanut allergy. Because of this, she became very interested in policies about food allergies. In 2014, Burke suggested creating a National Allergen Register. In 2015, she helped start the Parliamentary Allergy Alliance. She worked with Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale and ALP MP Tony Zappia on this.
Anna Burke's Personal Life
In 1994, Anna Burke married Stephen Burgess. They have two children. In 1999, when her first child was born, Burke became the second woman to give birth while she was a sitting Member of the Australian Parliament. Her second child was born in 2002.
Images for kids
-
A photograph of Anna Burke
See also
In Spanish: Anna Burke para niños
