Ken Aldred

Ken Aldred
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Henty
In office
13 December 1975 – 18 October 1980
Preceded by Joan Child
Succeeded by Joan Child
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Bruce
In office
28 May 1983 – 24 March 1990
Preceded by Billy Snedden
Succeeded by Julian Beale
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Deakin
In office
24 March 1990 – 29 January 1996
Preceded by Julian Beale
Succeeded by Phil Barresi
Personal details
Born 1 August 1945
Nationality Australian
Political party Liberal Party of Australia

Kenneth James Aldred (born 1 August 1945) was an Australian politician who represented the Liberal Party in the Australian House of Representatives between 1975 and 1996.

Aldred was elected to represent the Division of Henty in Victoria in the 1975 federal election and re-elected in 1977, before being defeated by his predecessor in Henty, Labor candidate Joan Child, in the 1980 federal election.

After the resignation of Speaker of the House Billy Snedden following the Coalition's defeat in the 1983 federal election, Aldred successfully stood in the by-election for his seat in the Division of Bruce. He was re-elected in Bruce in the 1984 and 1987 federal elections. Following an electoral redistribution he was elected to represent the Division of Deakin in the 1990 and 1993 federal elections.

Aldred was disendorsed by the Liberal Party for Deakin in 1995 for the 1996 Federal election. As a parting shot and with nothing to lose he used parliamentary privilege to make allegations of involvement in espionage and drug trafficking against a prominent Jewish lawyer and a senior foreign affairs official,[1] using documents that were later found to be forged,[2] which had been supplied to him by Lyndon LaRouche front organisation the Citizens Electoral Council.[3][4][5] He also alleged that the Department of Foreign Affairs had 20 pedophiles in its senior ranks, and named one senior diplomat, who was charged and subsequently exonerated.[6]

In 1999, Aldred presented further false documents to a newspaper alleging that John Howard, Paul Keating and Bob Hawke had taken money from Indonesia to bias foreign policy towards them.[7]

In 2007, controversy ensued when the local Liberal Party branch endorsed Aldred as their candidate for the marginal seat of Holt.[8] However the Administrative Committee of the Liberal Party in Victoria voted unanimously to veto his endorsement.[2] In March 2009, he nominated for the seat of Deakin again, but was once more unsuccessful.[9]

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by
Joan Child		 Member for Henty
1975–1980 		Succeeded by
Joan Child
Preceded by
Billy Snedden		 Member for Bruce
1983–1990 		Succeeded by
Julian Beale
Preceded by
Julian Beale		 Member for Deakin
1990–1996 		Succeeded by
Phillip Barresi

References

  1. ↑ "APPROPRIATION BILL (No. 1) 1995-96: Second Reading". Hansard. 5 June 1995.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Aldred's preselection bid fails". ABC. 22 March 2007.
  3. ↑ http://www.ajn.com.au/news/news.asp?pgID=2805
  4. ↑ Anti-Defamation Commission: "The LaRouche Cult: The Citizens Electoral Council (PDF)
  5. ↑ Grattan, Michelle (20 March 2007). "Senior Libs move on Aldred approval". The Age (Melbourne).
  6. ↑ "No more chances for Ken Aldred". Melbourne: The Age. 22 March 2007.
  7. ↑ Hannan, Ewin (20 March 2007). "Libs rally against right-winger". The Australian.
  8. ↑ "Controversy surrounds endorsement of Liberal MP Ken Aldred". ABC. 20 March 2007.
  9. ↑ Wallace, Rick (24 April 2009). "Ousted right-wing Liberal Ken Aldred trying for preselection". The Australian.

Further reading