Stanhope was born in Gundagai,New South Wales. He was one of nine children of schoolteacher parents who had emigrated from England.[2] At age 5 he injured his knee,which developed into osteomyelitis,resulting in one leg being 2.5 inches longer than the other. He walked with a pronounced limp until the issue was corrected surgically at age 16.[2] Much of his junior education was spent at one-teacher schools in country NSW.[2] He attended Mullumbimby Public School[citation needed] and Bega High School[citation needed] before coming to Canberra to undertake studies at the Australian National University,graduating as a Bachelor of Laws.[2]
Between 1979 and 1987,Stanhope held a range of community roles including:
President ACT Council for Civil Liberties
Original co-convener of Racial Respect in the ACT
President ACT Hospice and Palliative Care Society
ACT convener of the National Coalition for Gun Control[2]
Between 1987 and 1991,Stanhope was Secretary of the House of RepresentativesStanding Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs;[2] and between 1991 and 1993,Deputy Administrator and Official Secretary of Norfolk Island.[2] From 1993 to 1996,Stanhope worked as Senior Adviser and Chief of Staff for the Federal Attorney-General,Michael Lavarch,and between 1996 and 1998,advised the then Federal Opposition Leader,Kim Beazley,on native title.[2]
On 13 January 2003,Stanhope helped rescue a helicopter pilot who had crashed in a dam during a firefighting operation. Stanhope,who was in a second helicopter with crew and the ACT head of the bushfire services,Peter Lucas-Smith,had responded to the stricken pilot's Mayday call. The man had suffered serious head injuries and was taken to the Canberra Hospital in a critical condition. After the rescue Stanhope praised the emergency services:"It provided to me a very stark awareness of the enormous risks that many in our community take,the extent to which so many people put their lives on their line to ensure the protection of our communities".[6]
Hills near suburban Canberra engulfed in flames
Canberra was hit by bushfires in January 2003. Four people died and 500 houses were destroyed. Stanhope faced a no-confidence motion in the Assembly from the Liberal opposition,which if passed meant he would have been forced to resign as Chief Minister. Instead,the motion was downgraded to a censure motion by the combined vote of the ALP and the Democrats and passed in the Assembly. The coronial inquest into the bushfire was released in mid-December 2006,and found significant bureaucratic failings contributed to the devastation,although it also claimed shortcomings at a political level.[7]
At the 2004 ACT general election,Stanhope led the Labor Party to win sufficient seats to form a majority government,the first such government in the Territory's history.[2]
As Chief Minister,he introduced a Human Rights Act,in 2004,the first jurisdiction in Australia to do so.[2] In 2005,Stanhope published the confidential draft of the Federal Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005 on his website.[8] Citing concerns about the removal of basic human rights,Stanhope later refused to sign a revised version of the legislation,becoming the only state or territory leader to do so.[2][9]
In June 2006 Stanhope came under fire over the 2006–07 ACT Budget which was crafted to address ongoing budget deficits. The budget included massive rate rises,across the board fee hikes,a change in the ACT's emergency services management and the proposed closure of 38 schools and colleges through consolidation. The budget outcome led to ratings agency Standard &Poor's having to add qualification before reaffirming the ACT's AAA credit rating. Additionally the decision regarding distribution of the education budget prompted outcry in one Australian newspaper,with the Sydney-based Daily Telegraph labelling him "Stanhope-less" and an "economic vandal" on the front page of a special ACT edition.[citation needed]
Soon after the budget the ACT's Civil Unions Act,to allow formal recognition of same-sex relationships,was overturned by the Federal Howard government despite the objections of the ACT Government and its federal senators.[10][11] The Rudd Government had advised it was not Labor policy to stifle state legislation,and that it would not block attempts by the ACT government on this issue.[12][13] Despite this,the Rudd Government later threatened to override any laws introduced in the ACT that legislated for same-sex ceremonies.[14] As a result,the Stanhope Government removed provisions for ceremonies in its proposal,and ultimately allowed for civil partnerships that did not include legislated ceremonies. The Stanhope Government reported that the number of new civil partnerships entered into "exceeded expectations".[15]
In 2006 Stanhope became the ACT's longest serving Chief Minister,exceeding the record previously held by Kate Carnell.
On 26 November 2007,following the resignation of the Northern Territory's Clare Martin,Stanhope became Australia's longest-serving incumbent state or territory leader. When Kevin Rudd was sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia on 3 December 2007,replacing John Howard,Stanhope became the country's longest-serving incumbent head of government.[16]
At the 2008 ACT general election,Stanhope led the Labor Party to win sufficient seats to form a minority government,again with a hung parliament.[17][18] After almost two weeks of deliberations,the Greens chose to support a minority Labor government.[19]
During his time in office,Stanhope also held the office of Attorney-General from 14 November 2001 to 18 April 2006.[20] During this period,he sponsored a significant rewrite of the civil law of the ACT - including the passage of the Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002,[21] the Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003[22] and the Civil Law Property Act 2006.[23]
On 9 May 2011,Stanhope announced his intention to resign as Chief Minister and as a member for Ginninderra.[24][25] He formally resigned as Chief Minister on 12 May,and as a Member of the Legislative Assembly on 16 May 2011.[26][27] The casual vacancy in the Assembly,caused by Stanhope's resignation,was filled by Chris Bourke.[28]
On 17 August 2012,Stanhope was appointed Administrator of the Indian Ocean Territories (Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island) by Governor-General Quentin Bryce.[3] His two-year term ended in October 2014,and he was replaced by Barry Haase.[30]
Gary John Joseph Humphries is a Deputy President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. He was a member of the Australian Senate representing the Australian Capital Territory for the Liberal Party of Australia from 2003 to 2013. He was the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 2000 to 2001;and was elected to the first parliament of the Australian Capital Territory,in 1989,later representing the Molonglo electorate until 2003.
The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Square,close to the centre of the city of Canberra.
Anthony Stephen Burke is an Australian politician serving as Leader of the House,Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for the Arts. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP),and has served as member of parliament (MP) for Watson since 2004. He held cabinet positions in the governments of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard from 2007 to 2013.
Katherine Ruth Gallagher is an Australian politician who has been serving as the Minister for Finance,Minister for Women,Minister for the Public Service and Vice-President of the Executive Council in the Albanese Government since 2022 having formerly served as the 6th Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 2011 to 2014. She has been a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory since the 2019 federal election,as a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She previously served in the Senate from 2015 to 2018.
Trevor Thomas Kaine,was an Australian politician who served as Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 1989 to 1991. Kaine was elected into a multi-member single electorate in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly,from 1989 to 2001,initially as a member of the Liberal Party and later as an independent.
Andrew James Barr is an Australian politician who has been serving as the 7th chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory since 2014. He has been a Labor Party member in the ACT Legislative Assembly since 2006,after being elected on a countback to replace former Treasurer Ted Quinlan,who resigned mid-term. Barr was immediately promoted to Cabinet upon his election. On 11 December 2014 he was elected as Chief Minister after his predecessor,Katy Gallagher,resigned and announced her intention to run for the Senate. In addition to being Chief Minister,he holds the portfolios of Treasurer;Climate Action;Trade,Investment and Economic Development;and Tourism.
Wayne Bruce Berry,former Australian politician,was a member of the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 2008,representing the electorate of Ginninderra for the Labor Party. Berry served as Deputy Chief Minister from 1991 to 1994,Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 1998 and Speaker of the Assembly from 2001 to 2008.
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday,16 October 2004. The incumbent Labor Party,led by Jon Stanhope,was challenged by the Liberal Party,led by Brendan Smyth. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single transferable vote method,known as the Hare-Clark system. The result was a clear majority of nine seats in the 17-member unicameral Assembly for Labor. It marked the first and so far only time in the history of ACT self-government that one party was able to win a majority in its own right. Stanhope was elected Chief Minister at the first sitting of the sixth Assembly on 4 November 2004. The election was conducted by the ACT Electoral Commission and was the second time in Australia's history that an electronic voting and counting system was used for some,but not all,polling places,expanding on the initial trial of the system at the 2001 ACT election.
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday,18 October 2008. The incumbent Labor Party,led by Jon Stanhope,was challenged by the Liberal Party,led by Zed Seselja. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single transferable vote method,known as the Hare-Clark system. The result was another hung parliament with Labor winning seven seats,the Liberals six seats and the Greens finishing with four seats,giving the Greens the balance of power in the 17-member unicameral Assembly. On 31 October 2008,after almost two weeks of deliberations,the Greens chose to support a Labor minority government. Consequently,Labor was re-elected to a third consecutive term of government in the ACT. Stanhope was elected Chief Minister at the first sitting of the seventh Assembly on 5 November 2008. The election was conducted by the ACT Electoral Commission.
Shane Stephen Rattenbury,is the Attorney-General of the ACT and former Speaker of the ACT Legislative Assembly,and a member of the multi-member district unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Molonglo from 2008 to 2016 and the electorate of Kurrajong since 2016 for the ACT Greens. He was the first Speaker in any Parliament in the world representing a Green political party.
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Same-sex marriage is legal in the Australian Capital Territory,and in the rest of Australia,after the Federal Parliament legalised same-sex marriage in December 2017.
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Bernard Joseph Edward Collaery is an Australian barrister,lawyer and former politician. Collaery was a member of the Australian Capital Territory's first Legislative Assembly for the Residents Rally party,from 1989 to 1992. He served as Deputy Chief Minister and Attorney-General from 1989 to 1991 in the Kaine Alliance Government.
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly occurred on Saturday,20 October 2012. The 11-year incumbent Labor Party,led by Chief Minister Katy Gallagher,won a fourth term over the main opposition Liberal Party,led by opposition leader Zed Seselja.
Christopher John Bourke is an Australian politician,a Labor member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Ginninderra from 2011 to 2016. He was the first Indigenous Australian elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly. He filled the casual vacancy created by the resignation of former Chief Minister Jon Stanhope.
A general election for the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly was held on Saturday,15 October 2016.
The 2020 Australian Capital Territory general election was held on 17 October 2020 to elect all 25 members of the unicameral ACT Legislative Assembly.
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1 2 "New Administrator for Indian Ocean Territories" (Press release). Office of The Hon Simon Crean MP Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government Minister for the Arts. 17 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012.
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