Luke Aquinas Foley (born 27 June 1970) is a former
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
politician who served as the
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
in the
Parliament of New South Wales
The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...
from 2015 to 2018. Foley was a member of the
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...
since 19 June 2010 until his resignation to contest the
Legislative Assembly seat of
Auburn at the 2015 New South Wales election. Foley resigned after it was alleged that he had indecently assaulted an
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting
* Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
journalist. Foley denies the allegations.
Early years and education
Foley was born in Sydney and from the age of seven was raised solely by his mother.
In an interview conducted when he became NSW Opposition Leader, Foley stated his mother instilled in him a triple faith of "the Labor Party, the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and the
Eastern Suburbs Rugby League Club".
Foley was active in student representative politics at university and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949.
The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
, the first in his family to attend university.
Foley is a keen cricketer. In 1999, he worked as an accredited
Triple J
Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
cricket correspondent reporting from the Australian/West Indies series in the Caribbean.
Career
Starting his working life while a student as a telemarketer for the Guide Dog Association of NSW 1988–90,
[ Foley became NSW President of the National Union of Students 1991,][ and then worked in the office of Labor ]Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Bruce Childs 1992–96.[
Between 1996 and 2000, he was a ]union organiser
A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official.
In some unions, the organizer's role is to recruit groups of workers under the organizing ...
with the NSW branch of the Australian Services Union
The Australian Services Union (formally registered as the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union) is a trade union representing workers in a variety of industries.
The ASU is affiliated with the Australian Council ...
and became Secretary of that branch between 2000 and 2003. This involved representing the interests of charity and drug and alcohol rehabilitation workers. Referring to that period in his first speech in the NSW Parliament, Foley stated:
A member of Labor's left faction, before his appointment to the Legislative Council, Foley was the assistant general secretary of the New South Wales Labor Party from 2003 to 2010.
Foley was a sportswriter for ''The Punch
''The Punch'' is a Nigerian daily newspaper founded on August 8, 1970. Punch Nigeria Limited is registered under the Companies Act of 1968 to publish newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. The newspaper's aim is said to be to "inform, edu ...
'' from 2009.
Political career
Foley was appointed to the Legislative Council to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Ian Macdonald
Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was an English music critic, journalist and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed te ...
. He describes himself as a "practising Catholic on the Left of politics"
Foley voted in favour of same sex adoption bill in 2010 and in 2015 announced his support behind federal legislation for same-sex marriage. Foley said: "I have an open mind. I continue to talk to many people, including gay and lesbian friends of mine about this issue".
Following the resignation of John Robertson as leader of the parliamentary Labor Party, Foley contested the leadership in the vote held on 5 January 2015. After the withdrawal of Michael Daley
Michael John Daley (born 1 November 1965) is an Australian politician and has been the Attorney-General of New South Wales since 28 March 2023. He was previously the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of New South Wales from November 20 ...
and Steve Whan
Steven James Robert Whan (born 11 February 1964) is an Australian politician who has served as Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education since 2023. He has represented the electoral district of Monaro in the New South Wales Legislative ...
as leadership contenders, Foley was elected unopposed. He was endorsed as the Labor candidate for the safe Labor seat of Auburn at the 2015 state election, after the incumbent member Barbara Perry stood aside to allow him to transfer to the lower house from the Legislative Council. He went on to win the seat, however, with a small swing against his party in the electorate. Foley did manage to pick up a 11-seat swing, and recovered much of what Labor had lost four years earlier. Notably, Labor regained many seats in its longstanding heartlands of west Sydney, the Central Coast, and the Hunter that had been swept up by the Coalition. It reduced the Coalition majority from 14 seats to seven.
In October 2018, NSW Corrections Minister David Elliott raised an allegation in the Legislative Assembly about an incident where Foley had "a little bit too much to drink at a party and harassed an ABC journalist." Later that month, ABC journalist Ashleigh Raper released a statement, alleging that at an event in November 2016, Foley "placed his hand down the back of her dress and inside her underpants." Hours later, Foley read a statement in which he resigned as leader of the Labor Party, but denied the allegation and said he would commence defamation proceedings against Raper in the Federal Court. Later in November, he dropped the case against Raper.
Views
Foley has stated his values are "social democratic values":
In 2018, Foley talked about White flight
The white flight, also known as white exodus, is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the Racism ...
. He was condemned by Premier Gladys Berejiklian
Gladys Berejiklian (; born 22 September 1970) is an Australian businesswoman and former politician who served as the 45th premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party from 2017 to 2021. Berejikl ...
for his view that an influx of people of non-European descent had driven many Anglo
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British d ...
Australians to leave parts of Sydney.
Personal life
Foley is married to Edel McKenna and they have three children.
Foley is a member of the Summer Hill Seniors Cricket Club, a member of the Sydney Cricket Ground since 1992, and an executive member of the Victor Trumper Society. He is also a supporter of the Eastern Suburbs Rugby League Club.
See also
* Shadow Ministry of Luke Foley
References
External links
*
Official Luke Foley Webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Luke
1970 births
Living people
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
University of New South Wales alumni
Australian trade unionists
Leaders of the opposition in New South Wales
Australian Roman Catholics
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales
Labor Left politicians
21st-century Australian politicians