John James Mansell Bowler (born 22 September 1949) is an Australian former politician who was a member of the
Western Australian Legislative Assembly
The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...
from 2001 to 2013.
Bowler, then a member of the
Labor Party, was elected to the legislature from the former seat of
Eyre in 2001. He transferred to
Murchison-Eyre in 2005, and was appointed as
Minister for Local Government and Regional Development, Land Information,
Goldfields-Esperance and
Great Southern following the re-election of the Labor Government at
that year's election and added the Sport and Recreation portfolio in November 2005.
In February 2006, following the election of
Alan Carpenter as premier, he was promoted to the portfolios of Resources and Assisting the Minister for State Development; Employment Protection, Goldfields-Esperance and Great Southern.
In December 2006 his portfolios were again reallocated, and he became Minister for Local Government; Employment Protection; Racing and Gaming; Goldfields-Esperance and Great Southern.
Only weeks later, however, Bowler became embroiled in a growing scandal when the
Corruption & Crime Commission (CCC) alleged that he had leaked confidential Cabinet information relating to
Fortescue Metals Group
Fortescue is a global metal mining company headquartered in Australia. Fortescue focused on iron ore mining under the name of Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) until July 2023. As of 2017, Fortescue is the fourth-largest iron ore producer in the ...
to disgraced lobbyists and former politicians
Julian Grill and
Brian Burke. The CCC also alleged that he leaked a draft parliamentary committee report prior to becoming a Minister. He was subsequently asked to resign from both Cabinet and the Labor Party. Despite calls from Premier
Alan Carpenter for his resignation, Bowler remained in Parliament as an independent and won the
seat of Kalgoorlie as an independent at the
2008 election.
Bowler indicated that he would support the minority
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
government on issues not affecting his electorate.
In September 2009 the CCC reported on its earlier allegations of Bowler leaking Cabinet secrets. The CCC concluded that the information Bowler released could not in fact be considered confidential and that his actions in this instance did not amount to misconduct. His former chief of staff, Simon Corrigan, was also exonerated.
In November 2009 the CCC released its final report into Bowler in relation to
BHP
BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria.
As of 2024, BHP was the worldâ ...
's
Yeelirrie uranium deposit. The report contained an opinion of serious misconduct against Bowler for agreeing to delay terminating an application over BHP's land by Precious Metals Australia, at the request of
Brian Burke and
Julian Grill.
Bowler retired from parliament in 2013 and now supports the
WA Nationals, being involved with the
2013 state election campaign of
Wendy Duncan, MLA for Kalgoorlie, and the campaign of Chub Witham for the seat of
O'Connor at the
2013 federal election.
In October 2015, Bowler easily won election as the mayor of Kalgoorlie.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowler, John
1949 births
Living people
Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Independent members of the Parliament of Western Australia
People from Kalgoorlie
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia
Mayors of places in Western Australia
21st-century Australian politicians