Kelvin Thomson

Kelvin Thomson

Kelvin John Thomson (born 1 May 1955), Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Wills, Victoria.

Thomson was born in Coburg, Victoria. He has been active in improving the local environment of Pascoe Vale and north-western Melbourne from a young age. He received a Bachelor of Art and Law from the University of Melbourne and the prestigious Supreme Court Prize for Law. He joined the Australian Labor Party in 1975 and was a public servant and electorate Secretary to Senator Gareth Evans before entering politics. Thomson entered local politics serving as a Councillor in the Coburg City Council from 1981 to 1988 and as Deputy Mayor from 1983 to 1984 and between 1987 and 1988. Thomson was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in October 1988 and as member for Pascoe Vale and was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry 1992-94. He was Manager of Opposition Business 1994.^[1]

In federal Parliament Thomson became a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry in August 1997. He was Shadow Minister for the Environment and Heritage 2003-04. He was Shadow Minister Regional Development and Roads, Housing and Urban Development 2004-05. In June 2005 he was appointed Shadow Minister for Public Accountability and Shadow Minister for Human Services. He was elevated to the position of Shadow Attorney-General after the election of Kevin Rudd to party leadership in December 2006.^[1]

On March 9, 2007 it was revealed that Mr Thomson's office had provided Melbourne gangland figure Tony Mokbel a personal reference, describing Mokbel as a "responsible, caring husband and father". Thomson resigned from Labor's front bench after the reference was revealed in the media. A Tim Colebatch article from the Australian Newspaper later revealed that up until 2000, there had only been one mention of Tony Mokbel in the media; which was a positive article in the Herald Sun about the contributions Mokbel's local businesses in Moreland were for local jobs and the local economy — an indication of how nobody at the time knew what he was actually up to. He has stated his intention to remain the ALP endorsed candidate for the forthcoming Federal election. ^{[2] [3]}

Kelvin Thomson is married to Victorian Labor MP Marsha Thomson and they have two children.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Parliamentary Library. Mr Kelvin Thomson MP, Member for Wills
2. ^ MP resigns over gangland link - The Australian, 2007-03-10
3. ^ ALP law chief quits over crook reference - Sydney Morning Herald, 2007-03-09

External link

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