The Hon Brendan O'Connor MP

Recent Speaker

Minister for Home Affairs and Justice Minister for Privacy and F.O.I.

November 28, 2011

11.30am - 1.30pm

"Supporting Industry, Supporting Jobs – Streamlining Australia’s Anti-Dumping System"

In June, the Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor and Trade Minister Craig Emerson announced the most significant overhaul of Australia’s anti-dumping regime in more than a decade. The 29 changes are improving the anti-dumping system’s effectiveness, while reaffirming Australia’s commitment to world trading rules.

Legislation putting in place the first tranche of changes passed Parliament last month and legislation implementing the next tranche will be introduced to Parliament this week (23 Nov). The Minister will provide an update on how the new reforms are working, the meetings of the International Trade Remedies Forum and its working groups, and a new Customs operation to monitor compliance with anti-dumping measures and trade controls.

The Minister will also explain how the coalition’s anti-dumping policy would put Australia at risk of retaliatory action from other trading nations.

Brendan O'Connor was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2001.

From November 2005 he chaired Labor's Industrial Relations Taskforce enquiring into the Howard Government's controversial Work Choices legislation, producing a report entitled “Work Choices: A

Race to the Bottom”

On 10 December 2006, Brendan was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industrial Relations. 

Following the election of the Rudd Labor Government, Brendan was appointed as Minister for Employment Participation. As Minister he fundamentally reformed employment services replacing Job Network with Job Services Australia, with a greater emphasis on providing tailored services to the long term unemployed. On June 6 2009, Brendan was appointed as Minister for Home Affairs.

Following the election of the Gillard Labor Government he was appointed as the Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Justice and Minister for Freedom of Information and Privacy.

Prior to entering Parliament, the Minister was Assistant National Secretary of Australian Services Union from 1993-2001.

Brendan holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Law degree (LLB) from Monash University, and a Diploma, Harvard TU Program, Harvard University