Bruce Atkinson
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- This article is about the politician. For the poker player, see Bruce "Elvis Senior" Atkinson.
Bruce Norman Atkinson (born May 15, 1953) is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal member of the Victorian Legislative Council since October 1992, representing Koonung Province. He is currently the party's spokesperson for small business, sport and recreation.
Atkinson was born in Melbourne, and attended Mitcham High School. He undertook a cadetship with the Leader group of newspapers after graduating, and worked as a journalist for a period. However, he soon made a move into the business world, first into small business, and later into several more prominent operations, including a stint managing a shopping centre. He has also been a writer for the Foodweek and Inside Retailing publications since 1981, and operates his own business consultancy firm, The Atkinson Group.
However, it was through local government that Atkinson made a name for himself in the political arena. He was elected to the City of Nunawading (now part of the City of Whitehorse) in 1975, and served as a councillor for seventeen years. This also included two terms as mayor in 1981-1982 and 1990-1991.
In the leadup to the 1992 election, Atkinson succeeded in winning Liberal pre-selection for the moderately safe Liberal seat of Koonung Province. He was ultimately elected, and soon nominated for the Family and Community Development Committee, which he served on from 1992 to 1996. In 1996, he was promoted to his first ministerial position, as Parliamentary Secretary for Planning and Local Government by then-Premier Jeff Kennett. However, he was forced to resign from this position in 1998, when conflict-of-interest allegations emerged over Atkinson's continuing work as a private consultant.
In the aftermath of Atkinson's forced resignation, he spent four years on the backbenches, neither serving in any ministerial portfolios or any committees. However, when the party's devastating defeat at the 2002 election (after first losing government three years earlier) wiped out a significant portion of the shadow ministry, the party was suddenly forced to reconsider Atkinson as a ministerial prospect. When the Liberal Party regrouped after the election, Atkinson was appointed as the party's spokesperson for small business. He also began serving on the House and Economic Development Committees, and was appointed as the Deputy Chair of the latter. In January 2004, Atkinson also picked up the added portfolio of sport and recreation.
Atkinson caused some controversy in December 2004, when he publicly voiced support for legalising the sale of X-rated movies in Victoria. He tabled a 5000-signature petition in favour of the move that had been collected at the Sexpo exhibition, and suggested that he would move a Private Member's Bill in an attempt to see this realised. While this saw loud support from groups such as the Eros Association, it received a fiery response from the Australian Family Association. Atkinson's comments surprised many, due to his status as a member of the conservative Liberal Party.
As a result of reforms to the Legislative Council due to come into effect at the next state election, as with many members of the Legislative Council, Atkinson was forced to contest a difficult pre-selection battle for limited winnable positions in a larger electorate. This initially meant that he would have to battle for these three positions against two incumbent members (Richard Dalla-Riva and Andrew Olexander), defeated member and former Kennett government minister Ron Wilson, and several interested potential newcomers. His bid was assisted by Wilson's decision to withdraw from the race and contest a Legislative Assembly seat and an ongoing drink-driving scandal surrounding Olexander, but he also suffered from the circulation amongst party members of an anonymous dirt sheet making allegations about alleged links between Atkinson and the pornography industry. Despite this, Atkinson ultimately emerged successful, taking the easily winnable second position on the ticket behind Dalla-Riva, meaning that he will most likely retain his seat in 2006.
