Wayne Swan

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Wayne Maxwell Swan (born 30 June 1954), Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1993 to March 1996 and again since October 1998, representing the Division of Lilley, Queensland. He was born in Nambour, Queensland, and was educated at the University of Queensland. He was a lecturer at the Queensland Institute of Technology before entering politics.

Swan was an adviser to the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Hayden, 1978-80, to federal Labor ministers Mick Young and Kim Beazley, 1983-84, He was State Secretary of the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party 1991-93. During the period between 1996 and 1998 when he briefly lost the seat of Lilley he was an advisor to Opposition Leader Kim Beazley.

Swan has been a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry since October 1998. He has been Shadow Minister for Family and Community Services since 1998 and Manager of Opposition Business in the House since November 2001. During the 2003 Labor leadership contests he was a close confidante and supporter of Kim Beazley, but retained his positions under the new leader, Mark Latham. After the 2004 election loss, Swan was appointed shadow treasurer.

Swan worked with Beazley and Industrial Relations spokesperson Stephen Smith to devise Labor's response to the Government's 2005/06 budget and tax cuts. The ALP proposed tax relief for low and middle income earners earned mixed responses in the business community and caused many parliamentary members of federal Labor to question his position as Opposition Treasurer during the June 2005 frontbench reshuffle. Swan launched his book, Postcode: The Splintering of a Nation during the same month.

At 48 Swan was disgnosed with prostate cancer but has since fully recovered. He has become an advocate for the prostate cancer public awareness campaign.

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Persondata
NAME Swan, Wayne Maxwell
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH 30 June 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Nambour, Queensland, Australia
DATE OF DEATH living
PLACE OF DEATH