Rob Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Road Safety | |
| In office 23 September 2008 –29 June 2012 | |
| Member of the Western Australian Parliament for Hillarys | |
| In office 14 December 1996 –11 March 2017 | |
| Preceded by | New creation |
| Succeeded by | Peter Katsambanis |
| Member of the Western Australian Parliament for Whitford | |
| In office 6 February 1993 –14 December 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Pam Beggs |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 October 1943 London,England |
| Nationality | English–Australian |
| Political party | Liberal (to 2016) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (from 2016) |
| Profession | Company chairman |
Robert Frank Johnson OAM (born 17 October 1943) is an Australian former politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1993 to 2017. He was elected as a member of the Liberal Party,and served as a minister in the government of Colin Barnett from 2008 to 2012,but resigned from the party in April 2016 to sit as an independent [1] . He was defeated at the 2017 election.
Johnson was born in London,England. At the age of 35,he was elected as a councillor for the London Borough of Sutton and subsequently became Mayor. [2]
Soon after emigrating to Australia in 1988,he was elected as a councillor to the City of Wanneroo in 1991. The following year he was elected Mayor. [2]
Johnson was elected as the member for Whitford in 1993 and,following a re-distribution of boundaries,was re-elected for the seat of Hillarys in 1996. [3]
From December 1999 until February 2001,Johnson served in the Court Coalition government,as Minister for Works,Services,Citizenship and Multicultural Interests. [2] He became Minister for Police,Emergency Services and Road Safety with the return to power of the Coalition in September 2008. [3]
Johnson supports reintroducing the Death Penalty,in 2007 he lobbied the Western Australia liberal party to adopt a policy on capital punishment. [4]
In his first two years as minister in the new Barnett government,Johnson introduced 16 bills into the Legislative Assembly. [5] Many of them were controversial and high-profile, [6] including increasing the impounding period of a vehicle for anyone convicted of a "hoon" offence. [7] Other measures were to ensure motorists with a blood alcohol reading of 0.08 or above lost their licence immediately at the roadside, [8] that all revenue from speed and red light cameras would go to road safety projects, [9] and a proposal for Australia's first online sex offender register. [10]
Investigations following a major bushfire in the Perth hills in February 2011,with the loss of 71 homes, [11] [12] and another in the Margaret River area,resulted in severe criticism of Johnson,and he was removed from the Emergency Services portfolio. [13]
In May 2012,federal Liberal MP for Canning,Don Randall,attacked Johnson in Federal Parliament,labelling him bumbling,weak and incompetent. [6] In turn,Johnson called for Randall to be sacked over the misuse of travel expenses. [14]
After a cabinet reshuffle by premier Colin Barnett in June 2012,Johnson was removed from the Police and Road Safety portfolio. [3] [15] [16] At the 2013 Western Australian state election,he was re-elected to the seat of Hillarys. [17]
After arriving in Australia,Johnson started a family business incorporating an investment firm and a national computer distributorship. [2]
He is a former chair of Radio Lollipop (Australia),a charity that cares for children in hospital. [2]