Peter Kavanagh (Australian politician)

Peter Kavanagh (born 23 February 1959), Australian politician, is the member of the Victorian Legislative Council representing the Democratic Labor Party (DLP).

Kavanagh was born into a family with a long connection with the DLP. His maternal grandfather, Bill Barry was a key player in the Australian Labor Party split that saw the creation of the original Democratic Labor Party - a party from with the current DLP has descended although is legally separate - to the extent the party was informally dubbed "Barry Labor" in its infancy. [ [http://dlpforwestvic.blogspot.com/2007/02/maiden-speech-and-media-commentary.html PETER KAVANAGH: DLP MLC for Western Victoria: Maiden Speech and Media Commentary ] ]

Before entering parliament, Kavanagh attended a Bachelor of Arts and an Bachelor of Laws as well as a Dip. Ed and an Masters in Asian studies at the University of Melbourne. He has worked as both an teacher and as a lawyer.

At the 2006 Victorian election Kavanagh stood as the DLP's lead candidate in the newly formed Western Victorian Region, which elects five members via proportional representation. Despite winning only 2.5% of the vote, Kavanagh was able to win the final seat due to receiving preferences from both of the major parties.

After his victory, Kavanagh was described by both the media and by some politicians as a "right-wing nutter", most notably by The Greens' successful candidate for Northern Metropolitan, Greg Barber. [ [http://uk.gay.com/headlines/10838 GAY.COM: Gay Dating, Personals, News, Local Events and Information ] ] Kavanagh dismissed this assertion, saying that "The DLP remains the only political party in Australia which is pro-family, pro-life and genuinely pro-worker" [ [http://www.newsweekly.com.au/articles/2006may27_l2.html DLP not eclipsed by Family First (letter) - 27 May 2006 ] ] He expressed, surprising many, a willingness to support gay civil unions in Victoria "providing there is a special status retained for marriage". [ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/same-sex-and-the-city/2007/02/19/1171733679309.html?page=fullpage Same sex and the city - In Depth - theage.com.au ] ]

References

External links

* [http://dlpforwestvic.blogspot.com/2007/02/maiden-speech-and-media-commentary.html Peter Kavanagh's maiden parliamentary speech]
* [http://peterkavanagh.blogspot.com/2007/09/dlp-speech-against-cloning-legislation.html Peter Kavanagh's parliamentary speech against cloning legislation]
* [http://peterkavanagh.blogspot.com Peter Kavanagh website]
* [http://www.dlp.org.au DLP website]