Peter Francis Salmon Cook (8 November 19433 December 2005) was an Australian politician. He served as a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1983 to 2005, representing the state of Western Australia.

Career

Cook was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and was an active trade unionist before entering politics. He was Secretary of the Western Australian Trades and Labour Council 1975–83 and vice-president of the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

1981–83. He was also a member of the Labor Party's National Executive. He was elected to the Senate at the 1983 election; as this was a

double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolutio ...

election, his service commenced on election day, 5 March 1983 (although for the purpose of determining the rotation of senators it was taken to have commenced on the previous 1 July). In the Hawke and Keating Labor governments he was Minister for Resources 1988–1990, Minister for Industrial Relations 1990–1993, Minister for Shipping and Aviation Support 1992–93, Minister for Trade 1993–1994 and Minister for Industry, Science and Technology 1994–96. After the defeat of the Keating government in 1996, Cook was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry 1996–2001 and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. In 1997–2001, he chaired a Senate Committee inquiry into the proposed Goods and Services Tax. He was defeated by union organiser Glenn Sterle in a Labor preselection ballot before the 2004 election, and subsequently did not contest the election. His term expired on 30 June 2005. An avid ally of

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...

, Cook publicly backed her for the Labor leadership after

Mark Latham Mark William Latham (; born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator who is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the ...

resigned in 2005.

Death

Cook died on 3 December 2005 after being diagnosed with

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

in July 2004. The last Senate report to which he contributed was ''The cancer journey: Informing choice'', handed down on 23 June 2005.Obituary
''The Age''; Retrieved 21 June 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Peter 1943 births 2005 deaths Deaths from melanoma in Australia Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state) Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Cabinet of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Members of the Australian Senate Politicians from Melbourne 20th-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian politicians