Melissa Parke

Melissa Parke MP
Member of the Australian Parliament for Fremantle
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 November 2007
Preceded by	Carmen Lawrence
Personal details
Born	11 August 1966 (1966-08-11) (age 45) Donnybrook, Western Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Alma mater	Murdoch University University of New South Wales
Occupation	Politician United Nations Lawyer
Website	http://www.melissaparke.com.au

Melissa Parke (born 11 August 1966) is an Australian Labor parliamentarian representing the Division of Fremantle, Western Australia, in the Australian House of Representatives. She was elected to office in November 2007 and re-elected in August 2010. Parke has been notable for her principled positions on human rights, refugees, animal welfare, public service^{[disambiguation needed ]} integrity, and foreign policy.

Prior to entering politics, Parke worked as a lawyer for the United Nations. Between 1999 and 2007 she worked for the UN in Kosovo, Lebanon, Gaza, and New York. She also worked as a law lecturer at Murdoch University, the principal solicitor at the Bunbury Community Legal Centre, and in private legal practice in Sydney and Western Australia.

Early Life

Parke grew up in the south-west of Western Australia on her parents' apple farm in Donnybrook. She attended public schools in Donnybrook and Bunbury and completed a Bachelor of Business (with Distinction) at Curtin University in 1989. This was followed by a law degree at the University of New South Wales and subsequently in 1998 a Master of Laws (LLM) in Public International Law at Murdoch University where she lectured in 1999.

From 1990 to 1994 Parke worked in law offices in Sydney and Bunbury and from 1994 to 1997 as Solicitor-in–charge at the Bunbury Community Legal Centre. It was during this period that she unsuccessfully contested the WA Legislative Assembly seat of Mitchell for the Australian Labor Party at the 1996 election.

United Nations

Parke began her employment as an international lawyer with UNMIK, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Kosovo from 1999 to 2002 and subsequently worked in Gaza with UNRWA the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East from 2002 to 2004.

In 2004 Parke became a legal adviser in the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management in the UN headquarters, New York. In this role, Parke was responsible for aspects of management reform and for the provision of advice and oversight in respect of the UN system of justice administration.

In 2005 and 2006, Parke was seconded from the Department of Management to establish the new UN Ethics Office, laying the foundations for a permanent unit within the UN that would eventually serve 29,000 personnel worldwide in relation to issues of ethics, transparency and good governance.

From mid-2006 to early 2007, Parke worked as the deputy Chief of Staff and legal adviser in the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) in Beirut, Lebanon, investigating the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and other terrorist attacks in Lebanon.

Parke returned to her post in New York in early 2007 and left the United Nations in June of that year to return to Fremantle, Australia in order to stand for parliament.

Political Career

Melissa Parke was elected as the Federal Member for the Division of Fremantle in the November 2007 Australian Federal Election^[1] and again in the August 2010 Australian Federal Election.^[2] Some notable achievements include negotiating the return of Cantonment Hill from the Australian Defence Force to the City of Fremantle^[3] and organising a Community Cabinet Forum in Fremantle in March 2011 attended by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and key Cabinet Ministers.^[4] In June 2011 Parke publicly raised concerns about the government’s proposal to send asylum-seeker children to Malaysia and in July 2011 Parke was one of nine backbencher MPs to raise concerns about the government’s decision to resume the live export of cattle to Indonesia after the ABC Four Corners program exposed cruel and inhumane treatment of Australian cattle in Indonesian abattoirs.^[5]

Parke currently sits on the Joint Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence, & Trade (Member since 18 February 2008^[6]), the Joint Standing Committee for Treaties (Member since 18 February 2008),^[7] and the Joint Statutory Committee: Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (Chair from 28 September 2008^[8]).

When Parke was pre-selected as the ALP's candidate for Fremantle in May 2007, there was some initial disquiet; she was seen by some party members as an "outsider", notwithstanding the fact that she had been a party member since 1995 and contested the State seat of Mitchell for the ALP in 1996.^[9] Parke was also President of Labor Lawyers in Western Australia for several years.^[10] In September 2007, former Prime Minister Bob Hawke campaigned with Parke in Fremantle and said that she was "a lady of extreme talent and she's got the experience of dealing with practical situations which will stand her in very good stead in the Parliament".

Other Activities

Over the years Parke’s community activities have included acting as a Western Australian representative on the National Council of the Australian Conservation Foundation, as the spokesperson for the Communities for Coastal Conservation, and serving on the management committee of the Waratah Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Carmen Lawrence	Member for Fremantle 2007–present	Incumbent

References

1. ^ "WA Division - Fremantle". AEC. http://results.aec.gov.au/13745/website/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-13745-240.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-30. 
2. ^ "WA Division - Fremantle". AEC. http://results.aec.gov.au/15508/Website/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-15508-240.html. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 
3. ^ "Contonment Hill Returned". ALP. http://www.alp.org.au/federal-government/news/cantonment-hill-returned-people/. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 
4. ^ "Community Cabinet Meeting". DPMC. http://www.dpmc.gov.au/community_cabinet/meetings/fremantle.cfm. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 
5. ^ "Backbencher revolt over lifting live export ban". Australian Broadcasting Corporation(ABC). http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201107/s3263961.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-20. 
6. ^ "Joint Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence, & Trade". Australian Parliament House. http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jfadt/members.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 
7. ^ "Joint Standing Committee for Treaties". Australian Parliament House. http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/jsct/members.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 
8. ^ "Joint Statutory Committee: Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity". Australian Parliament House. http://www.directory.gov.au/osearch.php?ou%3DAustralian%20Commission%20for%20Law%20Enforcement%20Integrity%20-%20Parliamentary%20Joint%20Committee%2Cou%3DJoint%20Statutory%20Committees%2Cou%3DParliamentary%20Committees%2Co%3DCommonwealth%20Parliament%2Co%3DCommonwealth%20of%20Australia%2Cc%3DAU&changebase. Retrieved 2011-05-19. 
9. ^ "Speech Melissa Parke MP". Melissa Parke MP. http://melissaparke.com.au/Speeches/house-debates-statements-by-members-mr-steve-gianola-150609.html?&template=melissaparkempprinttemplate. Retrieved 2011-07-21. 
10. ^ "John Curtin Library Profile". John Curtin Library. http://john.curtin.edu.au/fremantle/parke.html. Retrieved 2011-07-21. 

External links

• "Starting Operations, New UN Ethics Office Fields Staff Requests For Advice", Global Policy Forum, 17 January 2006.
• University of New South Wales Faculty of Law Alumni
• Murdoch University Annual Report 1999: See "Rebuilding Kosovo"
• 14 December 1996, WA State General Election for the District of Mitchell.
• ELAW Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law. Articles by Melissa Parke http://pandora-test.nla.gov.au/parchive/2001/Z2001-Feb-26/www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/indices/author/160.html
• ABC News 25 September 2007 [1]
• 2007 Election Result for Fremantle http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/frem.htm
• CV page for Parke at Curtin University's historical site for the Fremantle electoral division.
• Official Website http://www.melissaparke.com.au/

Persondata
Name	Parke, Melissa
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	11 August 1966
Place of birth	Donnybrook, Western Australia
Date of death
Place of death