Phil Cleary

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Philip Ronald Cleary (born 8th December 1952) is an Australian commentator on politics and sport, particularly Australian rules football.

1 Football playing career
2 Political career
3 Post-politics
4 External links

[edit] Football playing career

Cleary first came to notice as a prominent player and coach in Victoria's second-level Australian rules football competition, the then Victorian Football Association (now VFL), for Coburg Football Club (now the Coburg Tigers, affiliated with the Richmond Football Club). He debuted with the club in 1975.

[edit] Political career

Cleary was elected as an independent to the Australian House of Representatives for the Division of Wills in a by-election on 11th April 1992, following the resignation of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, from a field of 22 candidates, becoming the only non-Labor member to have ever held the seat. However, his election was successfully challenged in the High Court and declared void on 25th November, as Cleary was on unpaid leave from the state education system, and the Australian Constitution forbids people employed by the Crown from standing for election. At the subsequent general election (no by-election was held) on 13th March 1993, he stood again and won. Described as left-leaning and a socialist, Cleary himself eschewed labels. He lost the seat to Labor at the next general election on the 2nd March 1996.

While advocating an Australian Republic, he broke with the Australian Republican Movement (ARM) over disagreement about how the President of Australia should be chosen, forming a group called "Real Republic", which advocated direct election of the President as opposed to the model advocated by Malcolm Turnbull of the ARM, under which the President would be chosen by a joint sitting of the Parliament, and which was the model proposed in the 1999 referendum.

[edit] Post-politics

Cleary's most prominent position is now a job at Australian Broadcasting Corporation, as a match-day commentator on the ABC's coverage of what is now known as the Victorian Football League. He is also an advocate for action to prevent violence against women, after his sister was murdered by a former partner of hers.

He currently works as communications manager for the Electrical Trades Union.