John Herron (Australian Politician)
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John Joseph Herron (4 September 1932 – 25 February 2019) was an Australian politician, ambassador and surgeon who was a Liberal member of the
Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...
from 1990 to 2002, representing
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
. From 1996 to 2001 he was the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. From 2002 to 2006 he was the Australian Ambassador to Ireland and the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
.


Medical career

Herron was educated at the
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
where he graduated in medicine and surgery. He received registrar training at Royal Brisbane Hospital and Princess Alexandra Hospital. He was a Fellow of the
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is the leading advocate for surgical standards, professionalism and surgical education in Australia and New Zealand. Known by its common acronym RACS, it is a not-for-profit organisation, supp ...
, The Royal College of Surgeons England, The
Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...
and the
Australian Medical Association The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an independent professional association for Australian physician, doctors and medical school#Medical students, medical students. The association is not a government authority and does not regulate or ...
. He was also chief surgeon at Mater Misericordiae Hospital in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, before embarking on his political career. In 1989, Herron was appointed the Queensland branch President of the
Australian Medical Association The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an independent professional association for Australian physician, doctors and medical school#Medical students, medical students. The association is not a government authority and does not regulate or ...
. He has also been Chairman of the
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is the leading advocate for surgical standards, professionalism and surgical education in Australia and New Zealand. Known by its common acronym RACS, it is a not-for-profit organisation, supp ...
and Chairman of the Australian Association of Surgeons of Queensland. He was an officer in the
Royal Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian colon ...
and a
squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...
in the
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
.


Politics

Herron was president of the Queensland branch of the Liberal Party from 1980 to 1984. In 1990, he ran for the Senate, successfully gaining a Queensland seat. He was one of a group of Coalition members of parliament who founded the
Lyons Forum The Lyons Forum was a ginger group or informal political faction comprising some federal members of conservative Australian parliamentary parties. It was formed in the early 1990s and was active both in Liberal Party of Australia parliamentary lead ...
, a conservative
ginger group The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in Canada, but a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who advocated socialism. The term ginger group also refers to a small group with new, radical ideas trying to ...
. In 1994, he became Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Minister for Health and Chairman of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee. When the
Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...
government was elected in 1996, Herron was appointed as Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, until he was replaced by
Philip Ruddock Philip Maxwell Ruddock (born 12 March 1943 in Canberra) is an Australian politician and former Mayor of Hornsby Shire Council. He is a Vice Chair of the Global Panel Foundation Australasia. Ruddock was previously a Liberal member of the H ...
in a January 2001 ministerial reshuffle. In April 2000 a scandal occurred while he was Aboriginal Affairs Minister in the Howard Government. Herron tabled a report in the Australian Parliament that questioned whether or not there ever actually had been a "Stolen Generation", on the semantic distinction that as "at the most only 10% of Aboriginal children" has been removed, they did not constitute an entire "generation". The Stolen Generation affair was soon parodied in a web-based game that invited users to virtually steal his ten children, and in reply Herron threatened the producers of the game (Russ Weakley and Peter Firminger) with legal action in the
Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to ...
. Herron was admonished by
Electronic Frontiers Australia Electronic Frontiers Australia Inc. (EFA) is a non-profit Australian national non-government organisation representing Internet users concerned with online liberties and rights. It has been vocal on the issue of Internet censorship in Australia ...
: "In a free society, it is completely unacceptable for politicians to use threats of legal action to silence their critics," said EFA Board member, Dale Clapperton. "Senator Herron has completely overreacted to a humorous parody of his handling of the 'Stolen Generation' issue." Herron had no further response or action regarding the legal threat; the affair remained a significant moment in his political career. Herron became president of the Queensland Liberals again between 2001 and 2002. Herron successfully recontested his Senate seat in the 2001 election, but resigned a year later to be appointed to a diplomatic posting to Ireland as the Australian Ambassador to Ireland and the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
. On his return to Australia, Herron was appointed chairman of the Australian National Council on Drugs, and The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital Foundation.


Honours and awards

Herron was a
Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...
of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, and during his tenure as Australian Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See was made a Papal
Knight of St Gregory The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five orders of knighthood of the Holy See. The honor is b ...
. On 11 June 2012, he was named an Officer of the
Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
for "distinguished service to the Parliament of Australia, to international relations through diplomatic and humanitarian roles, to professional medical associations, and to the community." Herron was awarded the Bancroft Medal of the A.M.A. (QLD), the Justin Fleming Medal of the Australian Association of Surgeons, and a Citation by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. In 1994, he worked as a volunteer doctor in
Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
, where he saw the aftermath of some of the atrocities committed there, an experience that would lead him to push strongly for Australia's support for the creation of the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
. On 2 May 2000 he received the Humanitarian Overseas Medal for his service as a Care Australia medical officer during the Rwandan crisis and the Australian Service Medal. On 4 May 2012, he was awarded Australian Catholic University's highest honour, Doctor of the University.


Death

Herron died on 25 February 2019, aged 86. A State Funeral was held at the Cathedral of St Stephen in Brisbane on 1 March.


References


External links


Dr John Herron
Australian National Council on Drugs {{DEFAULTSORT:Herron, John 1932 births 2019 deaths Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians Ambassadors of Australia to Ireland Ambassadors of Australia to the Holy See Officers of the Order of Australia Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre