William Daniel Heffernan (born 3 March 1943), Australian politician, has been a Liberal Party member of the Senate, representing the state of New South Wales, since September 1996. is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. ... Australian Senate chamber The Australian Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. ... “NSW” redirects here. ...

Early life

Heffernan was born in Junee, New South Wales and attended St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill. He has qualifications in wool classing and welding from Wagga Technical College and has been a farmer in the Junee area for 30 years. Heffernan lives with his wife Margaret. Looking up Humphries Street, Junee Junee is a small town and local government area (see Junee Shire) in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. ... St Josephs College, Hunters Hill (SJC) is a Roman Catholic secondary school for boys founded by the Marist Brothers in 1881. ... Wagga Wagga (pronounced wogga wogga, informally called Wagga) is a city in New South Wales, Australia. ...

Career

Heffernan was a member of the Junee Shire Council 1981-1996 and was President of the Council 1989-1990 and 1991-1993. He was active in the Liberal Party for many years and was the party's NSW State President 1993-1996.

Heffernan was appointed to the Senate in September 1996 to replace the long-serving Liberal Senator Michael Baume. He had been a long-time friend and supporter of Prime Minister John Howard in the NSW Liberal Party, and in October 1998 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet, a position giving him easy access to the Prime Minister. Judicial High Court Lower Courts Constitution State and territory governments Executive Governors and Administrators Premiers and Chief Ministers Legislative Parliaments and Assemblies State electoral systems ACT - NSW - NT - Qld. ... John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian politician and the 25th Prime Minister of Australia. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

2002

On March 12, 2002, speaking in the Senate under parliamentary privilege, Heffernan made accusations against a judge^[1]. He alleged that this judge – initially unnamed – had regularly 'trawled for rough trade' in a Sydney locality well known for male prostitution, illegally using a government car and driver to pick up a 'young male', and suggested that this judge's alleged leniency towards a convicted pedophile might be viewed as 'subliminal self-defence'. is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Parliamentary privilege, also known as absolute privilege, is a legal mechanism employed within the legislative bodies of countries whose constitutions are based on the Westminster system. ... Pedophilia or paedophilia (see spelling differences) is the primary or exclusive sexual attraction by adults to prepubescent youths. ...

Only at the end of this speech did Heffernan make it clear that the judge he was referring to was Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court of Australia. Senators John Faulkner and Robert Ray (Labor) and Aden Ridgeway (Australian Democrats) each alleged that Heffernan had deliberately structured his speech this way in order to conceal the fact that he was violating parliamentary standing orders.^[1] (Standing Order 193 prohibits senators from making 'imputations of improper motives or personal reflections' on currently-serving judicial officers.) This article is about Australian High Court judge Michael Kirby. ... High Court entrance The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal in Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. ... John Philip Faulkner (born 12 April 1954), has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate since April 1989, representing the state of New South Wales. ... Robert Francis Ray (born 8 April 1947), Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Senate since July 1981, representing the state of Victoria. ... Aden Ridgeway Aden Derek Ridgeway (born 18 September 1962), Australian politician, was a member of the Australian Senate for New South Wales, from 1999 to 2005, representing the Australian Democrats. ... The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party which was formed in 1977 through a merger of the Australia Party and the Liberal Movement after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp as a high-profile leader[1]. The new party was based... A standing order is a general order of indefinite duration. ...

The primary evidence to back up Heffernan's claim was a purported record of trips made by the Comcar driver on the day of one of the alleged incidents. This record also detailed other unrelated trips made by several senior Australian politicians, such as Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer. When this evidence was made public, the media quickly contacted those people. Many of them (including Fischer) had records of their own that showed that they could not have taken a Comcar on that day, as they were not in the same city. A secondary piece of Heffernan's evidence was revealed to be the testimony of a person previously ruled to be an unreliable witness. Timothy Andrew Fischer AC FTSE (born 3 May 1946), is a former Australian politician. ...

Heffernan came under prolonged political pressure as a result and was eventually asked by Prime Minister John Howard to resign his post as Parliamentary Secretary, which he did.^[2] On 19 March he made a statement to the Senate in which he withdrew the claims. Heffernan was censured by the Senate, the censure motion passed 31-30 with the Liberals and Nationals voting against. He did not resign his Senate seat, and was re-elected in 2004. is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

2005

• In a public lecture given on 27 September 2005, political opponent Mark Latham accused Heffernan of engaging in the "politics of personal destruction", and quoted John Hewson (a former Liberal Party leader) as saying that John Howard has used Heffernan to distribute dirt and to run his agenda against individuals "for almost as long as I have known him".^[3]

is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961), a former Australian politician, was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005. ... For the English soldier and regicide, see John Hewson (regicide). ... The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party. ... John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian politician and the 25th Prime Minister of Australia. ...

2006

• On February 7 2006, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Heffernan had been forced to apologise to National Party senator Fiona Nash after a public altercation at Canberra Airport the previous day, during which he had told her to "blow it out her backside". Senator Heffernan said the airport altercation with his fellow Coalition Senator was just "a bit of colour and movement". ^[4] But National Party MP De-Anne Kelly described the incident as "workplace harassment", saying "workplace harassment is not acceptable anywhere".^[4]
• On July 7 2006, the ABC programme Stateline in NSW aired claims that Heffernan was involved in the downfall of former NSW opposition leader John Brogden. Alex McTaggart, independent member for Pittwater, his wife Denise, and Peter Jones, a member of McTaggart's campaign team, claimed on the programme that Heffernan contacted them and said that he was the Prime Minister's [Howard's] right hand man, and did his 'dirty work'. The McTaggarts claimed that Heffernan told them he had a dirt file on Brogden, said that Brogden needed to be 'paid back', and tried to lure them into publicising material damaging to Brogden's character. Heffernan denied these claims, and was quoted on the programme saying that they were 'bullshit'.^[5]

• In October 2006, Heffernan called for "someone's arse to get kicked" because of delays to the construction of the final major link in the dual carriageway between Sydney and Melbourne. According to Heffernan, a "colony of whatever they are that live in the edge of the bank of the creek" (platypus) was causing the delay and it was a problem that could be fixed "in ten minutes". He called for consultants to be axed who were "wasting taxpayers' money". ^[6]

... The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Hon De-Anne Kelly De-Anne Margaret Kelly (born 21 March 1954), is an Australian politician. ... The Australian Broadcasting Corporation or ABC is Australias national non-profit public broadcaster. ... Stateline is a television current affairs programme produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ... John Gilbert Brogden (born 28 March 1969) is a former Australian politician. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Platypus (disambiguation). ...

2007

• During the New South Wales 2007 State Election, Heffernan was accused of stealing Greens how-to-vote cards and misrepresenting Greens policies to voters. He was reported as shouting "`If you want to decriminalise drugs for your children, vote Green." Police were called but he was not arrested.^[7][8]

• In an interview with The Bulletin magazine in May 2007, Senator Heffernan repeated previously-stated views that priests should be able to marry because "...priests, like the rest of us, wake up with a horn at four in the morning." ^[9]

• In the same Bulletin interview, Heffernan caused widespread outrage by suggesting the Deputy Leader of the Opposition Julia Gillard was unfit for leadership because she was "deliberately barren".^[9] He continued: "I mean anyone who chooses to remain deliberately barren ... they’ve got no idea what life’s about."^[10] Heffernan was later forced to apologise for the remarks. ^[11]

• According to The Age newspaper, Bill Heffernan posed as an ASIO agent in a telephone call to John Grabbe, a farm manager in New South Wales. Under the Crimes Act it is an offence to impersonate a Commonwealth officer.^[12]

• The Bulletin published an interview which quoted Bill Heffernan as stating that Australia had to "settle the north" because millions of people in Asia may find it a "very attractive proposition" if climate change leaves them water-poor. ^[13] Heffernan later denied he had made such claims, but The Bulletin stood by the accuracy of its report, citing an audio recording of the Heffernan interview.^[14]

• Heffernan is also reported to have impersonated Senator Barnaby Joyce during a telephone conversation with one of his constituents.^[12]

Elections for the 54th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 24 March 2007. ... The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. ... The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. ... The Bulletin is an Australian weekly magazine, which has been published in Sydney since 1880. ... For other uses, see May (disambiguation). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The Bulletin is an Australian weekly magazine, which has been published in Sydney since 1880. ... This article has been selected as the current Australian Collaboration of the Fortnight! Please help improve it to featured article standard. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... ASIO Central Office, Canberra. ... “NSW” redirects here. ... This is a piece of Federal legislation in Australia. ... The Bulletin is an Australian weekly magazine, which has been published in Sydney since 1880. ... Barnaby Thomas Gerald Joyce (born 17 April 1967), Australian politician, has been a member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Queensland since July 2005. ...

References

Australian Senate chamber The Australian Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. ... is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Australian Senate chamber The Australian Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. ... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... The University of Melbourne   The University of Melbourne, located in Melbourne, in Victoria, is the second oldest university in Australia (the University of Sydney is the oldest). ... is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... ... is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Stateline is a television current affairs programme produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ... The Australian Broadcasting Corporation or ABC is Australias national non-profit public broadcaster. ... is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article concerns the British newspaper. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is a Green Australian political party. ... is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The Bulletin is an Australian weekly magazine, which has been published in Sydney since 1880. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) is a media conglomerate that operates world-wide. ... is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The New Zealand Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand. ... is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) is a media conglomerate that operates world-wide. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Herald Sun is a newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that is published by The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdochs News Corporation. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Bill Heffernan, Senate biography