Philip Ruddock
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| The Honourable Philip Ruddock MP |
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| In office 7 October 2003 – 3 December 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Daryl Williams |
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| Succeeded by | Robert McClelland |
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| Assumed office 13 March 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Harry Edwards |
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| Born | March 12, 1943 Canberra, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Liberal Party of Australia |
(The Hon.) Philip Maxwell Ruddock (born March 12, 1943), is an Australian politician who served in various ministeries in the Coalition Government of former Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
Ruddock is the longest serving member of the House of Representatives, or the "Father of the House", as well as the only remaining Member of Parliament from the period of the Whitlam Government.
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[edit] Early life
Ruddock was born in Canberra, the son of Max Ruddock, who was a Liberal member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. He was educated at Barker College in the Sydney suburb of Hornsby and the University of Sydney, after which he practiced as a solicitor. He joined the firm Berne, Murray and Tout (which later became Abbott Tout), and was promoted to partner.
[edit] Elected to the House
In 1973, he was elected to the House of Representatives, as a Liberal member for the seat of Parramatta. He shifted to the seat of Dundas in 1977 and to Berowra in 1993. In the 1980s and early 1990s, he was an active member of the parliamentary group of Amnesty International.
Ruddock was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry from 1983 to 1985 and from 1989 to 1996.
In 1988, while Ruddock was still backbencher, the then leader of the opposition John Howard commented that he believed the rate of Asian immigration was too high. The Hawke Labor government sought to embarrass Howard and introduced a bill to ensure that immigration did not discriminate on the basis of race. Ruddock (and a number of other MPs) crossed the floor to support the government's bill, which Howard opposed. (Crossing the floor, or voting against one's own parliamentary party decision is unusual in Australian politics, although more so now than in 1988.) [1][2][3]
[edit] Immigration Minister
In 1996, when the Liberals gained office, Ruddock was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. In this role, he presided over the Howard government's policies on asylum seekers. He maintained and extended the practice of mandatory detention of asylum seekers, and played a key role in both the Tampa crisis and Children overboard affair.
The asylum seekers issue played a role in the Liberal victory at the 2001 election, and Ruddock was subsequently given the additional portfolio of Indigenous Affairs. By 2001 he had become a high-profile figure enjoying considerable support within the Liberal Party, while being strongly opposed by left-wing activists and some human rights advocates. At one point he was one of the few senior ministers (besides the prime minister) to have needed personal security details.[citation needed]
In 1997 Phillip Ruddock made a complaint about Manga Entertainment's Anime, Ninja Scroll. It was released in 1994 by Manga Entertainment's Australian branch and was using Manga's USA version, because the UK's PAL version was cut. The original release classification was rated MA 15+ but then was upgraded to R 18+ because it was shown on SBS and showed the rape scenes.
Areas in Ruddock's portfolio and some of his decisions were highly controversial in Australian politics, and led to Amnesty International's public attempt to distance the organisation from him by asking him to remove his lapel badge.[4] In 2003, Ruddock was accused by the Labor immigration spokesperson, Julia Gillard, of personally intervening to give a Filipino with a criminal record, Dante Tan, favourable treatment in exchange for donations to the Liberal Party. Ruddock acknowledged his role in representing a constituent but strongly denied any linkage between his actions and any financial support for the Liberal Party.[citation needed]
[edit] Attorney General
In 2003 Ruddock was made Attorney-General in a ministerial shakeup. He was responsible for the government's policy on national security, Australia's film and literature classification agency, the OFLC, and has introduced legislation giving greater powers to Australia's security agency, ASIO. He has spoken out against the United States decision to ban torture: "The point the United States has made is that it will not use torture and those instructions have been given to their agencies and that may well limit the capacity of intelligence organisations in the future."[5] His views on the use of sleep deprivation in interrogation, expressed at the same time, are in contradiction to the Australian Defense Departments's "interrogators' handbook" which states that sleep deprivation is against the Geneva Convention.[6]
Ruddock is the longest serving member of the House of Representatives or the Father of the House.
In 2006, Philip Ruddock blocked a gay Australian man from marrying in Europe. Ruddock refused to grant a gay man living in the Netherlands a 'Certificate of No Impediment' document required by some European countries before marriage, to prove foreigners are in fact single. Ruddock decided that such documents were not to be released to gay and lesbian individuals intending to marry overseas.[7] The government made the statement, ""Following the advice of the Australian Attorney-General's Department we herewith certify that Australian law does not allow the issue of a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage to persons wishing to enter into a same-sex marriage." He went on to say that he did not believe there was community support for same-sex marriage.
As Attorney General, Ruddock had also been supportive of the detainment of Australian David Hicks by the American military in Guantanamo Bay. Hicks was held without charge for more than 5 years, spending most of his detainment in solitary confinement. Prior to his guilty plea to the military commission, Hicks also claimed that he was tortured by the American military.
[edit] References
- ^ IMMIGRATION POLICY: Suspension of Standing and Sessional Orders. Parliament Hansard (1988-08-25). Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
- ^ Howard turns dissent into democracy. The Age (2005-06-21). Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
- ^ Speeches by The Hon RJL Hawke AC. UniSA (2001-05-08). Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
- ^ "Ruddock stripped of Amnesty International badge", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 18 March 2000. Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
- ^ "Torture ban 'hinders terror war'", News.com.au, 1 October 2006. Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
- ^ Smiles, Sarah: Army contradicts Ruddock on torture, The Age, 1 November 2006.
- ^ "Govt defends block to same sex marriage", The Age, 18 January 2006. Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
[edit] External links
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Nick Bolkus |
Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs 1996 – 2003 |
Succeeded by Amanda Vanstone |
| Preceded by Daryl Williams |
Attorney-General of Australia 2003 – 2007 |
Succeeded by Robert McClelland |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by Ian Sinclair |
Longest serving member of the Australian House of Representatives 1998 – present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Nigel Bowen |
Member for Parramatta 1973 – 1977 |
Succeeded by John Brown |
| New division | Member for Dundas 1977 – 1993 |
Division abolished |
| Preceded by Dr Harry Edwards |
Member for Berowra 13 March 1993 – present |
Incumbent |
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Ruddock, Philip Maxwell |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Australian politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 12 March 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Sydney, Australia |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
