John Rau
| The Honourable John Rau SC, MHA | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 12th Deputy Premier of South Australia | |
|
Assumed office 7 February 2011 | |
| Premier |
Mike Rann Jay Weatherill |
| Preceded by | Kevin Foley |
| 48th Attorney-General of South Australia | |
|
Assumed office 25 March 2010 | |
| Premier |
Mike Rann Jay Weatherill |
| Preceded by | Michael Atkinson |
| Member of the South Australian Parliament for Enfield | |
|
Assumed office 9 February 2002 | |
| Preceded by | New District |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Robert Rau 20 March 1959 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party (SA) |
John Robert Rau SC (born 20 March 1959) is an Australian barrister and politician. He is the 12th and current Deputy Premier of South Australia since 2011[1] and 48th and current Attorney-General of South Australia since 2010[2] for the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party in the Weatherill cabinet. Rau has been the Labor member of the House of Assembly seat of Enfield since the 2002 election.[3]
Legal career
Rau was admitted as a solicitor and barrister of the Supreme Court of South Australia in 1981. He worked as an adviser to Hawke government ministers Mick Young, Michael Tate and Neal Blewett from 1985 to 1988. He has also served on the ALP State and National Executives.
After concluding his service as a political adviser, Rau worked as a solicitor at Duncan & Hannon and later as a solicitor and barrister at the firm of Johnston and Withers. After becoming a partner at Johnston & Withers,[4] Rau established a private legal practice in Adelaide, specialising in industrial, employment, commercial and personal injuries law. In 1998, he was admitted to the independent bar in South Australia, practising as a member of Murray Chambers.
According to the legal database AustLII, Rau has appeared as counsel 49 times before the South Australian Industrial Relations Commission, 22 times before the South Australian Industrial Relations Court, 15 times before the Supreme Court of South Australia and 7 times before the Federal Court of Australia (including once in his capacity as Attorney-General).[5]
Political career
His first political experience as a Labor candidate occurred at the 1993 federal election, when he stood for the Division of Hindmarsh, where he was narrowly defeated by Liberal Party candidate Christine Gallus by 1.6 percent.
Prior to the 2002 state election, Rau contested Labor preselection for the safe seat of Enfield. The seat had previously been Ross Smith, held by Ralph Clarke, who had recently been deposed as the party's deputy leader. The local party branch chose Clarke who received 60 of 74 votes. However, the party's state executive stepped in and installed Rau as the pre-selected candidate. Clarke ran as an independent Labor candidate, receiving a respectable 23 percent of the vote; however, Clarke narrowly fell short of overtaking Rau and winning the seat on Liberal preferences. Rau easily won the seat with a 35.9 percent primary and 65.9 percent two-party vote. He is aligned with Labor's right faction.[3]
Rau gained publicity in 2004 over his involvement in the Real Estate Industry – Reform bill, which was designed in an attempt to stop industry practices such as dummy bidding at auctions.
The 2006 state election saw Rau retain Enfield with a 63.4 percent primary and 74.5 percent two-party vote. At the 2010 state election, Rau suffered a swing to finish with a 52.6 percent primary and 60.5 percent two-party vote.
Rau became Attorney-General when Michael Atkinson stepped down from the position following the 2010 election. Like his predecessor, Rau has also been described as a social conservative.[6]
Rau expressed approval for the introduction of an R18+ video games classification following the resignation of Atkinson.[7] The issue has been one for which his predecessor Atkinson received significant media attention.[8] Rau appears to be taking a different view to his predecessor and is considering allowing an introduction of an R18+ classification.[9][10]
In February 2011, Rau was elevated to Deputy Premier following the resignation of Kevin Foley from the position.
On 22 November 2016, Rau was appointed a Senior Counsel by the Supreme Court of South Australia.[11]
Current portfolios
In addition to Deputy Premier and Attorney-General, Rau represents the following portfolios in the Cabinet of South Australia:[12]
- Minister for Justice Reform
- Minister for Planning
- Minister for Industrial Relations
- Minister for Child Protection Reform
- Minister for the Public Sector
- Minister for Consumer and Business Services
- Minister for City of Adelaide
Personal life
Rau attended Henley High School[13] in Henley Beach and lives in the same suburb.[14] He was married to Anna Rau, councillor for the City of Charles Sturt.[15][16] Rau enjoys cooking, gardening and reading non-fiction.[4]
References
- ↑ "John Rau is new SA deputy premier". Adelaide Now. AAP. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ↑ Gary Rivett (23 March 2010). "Liberals concede as Rann outlines new team". ABC News Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- 1 2 Owen, Michael (2010-03-23). "Left MP Tony Piccolo refuses to back move on Right's Kevin Foley". The Australian. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
- 1 2 "John Rau". www.premier.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
- ↑ Austlii, accessed at http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinosrch.cgi?query=%22J%20Rau%22%20OR%20%22J%20R%20Rau%22;results=50;submit=Search;mask_world=;mask_path=;callback=on;method=auto;meta=%2Fau;view=database-natural;offset=0
- ↑ Rann's pillars crumble: The Advertiser 12 November 2010
- ↑ Andrew Ramadge (25 March 2010). "John Rau open to R18+ rating, says campaigner". news.com.au. News Limited. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ↑ "ALP 'pledge' to ban R+ games". The Advertiser. News Limited. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
- ↑ SA takes softer line on R18+ game rating: ABC 6 December 2010
- ↑ South Australian Attorney-General John Rau opens door to R18+ games rating: News.com.au 6 December 2010
- ↑ John Rau: Attorney-General named senior counsel in SA Supreme Court appointments: ABC News 22 November 2016
- ↑ Cabinet of South Australia: Premier.sa.gov.au
- ↑ "Premier Jay Weatherill goes back to school". News.com.au. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ↑ Brad, Crouch. "South Australian pollies whose homes are far from their voters". News. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ↑ "Re: Woodville Station Ministerial DPA" (PDF). Community Alliance SA. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ↑ Brian, Littely. "Charles Sturt Council centre of people's uprising" (PDF). Adelaidenow. The Advertiser. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
External links
- Parliamentary Profile: SA Parliament website
- Parliamentary Profile: SA Labor website
- "Enfield: Adelaide Inner Northern Suburbs". ABC News Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- "South Australian House of Assembly Election 2006: Enfield". The Poll Bludger. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- "Ralph Clarke runs as independent". ABC News Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 March 2006. Retrieved 31 January 2011.