Robert Edward Tickner (born 24 December 1951) 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 ...

cabinet minister. He was CEO of the

Australian Red Cross Australian Red Cross, formally Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1914 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, Australian Red Cross Society is ...

from 2005 to 2015.

Early life and education

Born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1951, Robert Tickner was adopted. He later searched for his birth mother after the birth of his own son. After attending secondary school in Forster and

Taree Taree () is a city on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. It and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then it has grown to a population of 26,381, and commands a significant agricultural district. Situ ...

on the

North Coast of New South Wales Northern Rivers is the most northeasterly region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence, Richmond, and Tweed rivers. ...

, he studied at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, graduating in law and economics.

Early career

Prior to entering parliament, Tickner worked as a university lecturer at the NSW Institute of Technology from 1974 to 1979, then as principal solicitor for the NSW Aboriginal Legal Service from 1979 to 1984. Tickner was one of the early and influential members of

Friends of the Earth Australia Friends of the Earth (FoE) Australia is a federation of independent local groups working for a socially equitable and environmentally sustainable future. It believes that pursuing environmental protection is inseparable from broader social conc ...

in Sydney in 1975, being the lease owner of a three-storey terrace on Crown St,

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local gover ...

, which became the FoE Sydney bookshop and office. He was convenor of the FoE urban campaign which opposed the

Sydney City Council The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, the City of Sydney is ...

's inappropriate high rise development.

Political career

From 1977 to 1984 he was elected as a Labor councillor on the

, He also served a brief time as acting

lord mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has b ...

in August to September 1983, in the absence of Lord Mayor Doug Sutherland and Deputy Lord Mayor Tony Bradford. After failing to gain victory as ALP candidate for the

1981 Wentworth by-election A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Wentworth on 11 April 1981. This was triggered by the resignation of Liberal MP Robert Ellicott. Future Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull was unsuccessful fo ...

(which was won by the Liberals' candidate

Peter Coleman William Peter Coleman (15 December 1928 – 31 March 2019) was an Australian writer and politician. A widely published journalist for over 60 years, he was editor of '' The Bulletin'' (1964–1967) and of '' Quadrant'' for 20 years, and publi ...

, former Leader of the NSW Opposition), Tickner was successful in entering the federal parliament at the 1984 Hughes by-election.

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...

appointed Tickner, in 1990, the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs; and he retained this post throughout

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously ser ...

's government. Tickner's tenure in office was marred by the

Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy The Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy was a 1990s Australian legal and political controversy that involved the clash of local Aboriginal Australian sacred culture and property rights. A proposed bridge to Hindmarsh Island, near Goolwa, South ...

. Partly due to this affair, and partly due to the increasing unpopularity of the

Keating government The Keating government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Paul Keating of the Australian Labor Party from 1991 to 1996. The government followed on from the Hawke government after Paul Keating replaced Bob ...

as a whole, Tickner was resoundingly defeated in the 1996 election by Liberal challenger Danna Vale, suffering an 11-point swing against him. He was one of eight ministers in the Keating government to lose their seats.

Other activities

Tickner served as chief executive of the

from February 2005 to July 2015. Tickner is co-chair of the EveryAGE Counts Steering Committee, and ambassador for

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (abbreviated to ICAN, pronounced ) is a global civil society coalition working to promote adherence to and full implementation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The cam ...

(ICAN) Australia.

Justice Reform Initiative

Tickner is the founding chair of the Justice Reform Initiative, which campaigns against what it sees as the over-use of prisons in Australia. It is supported by the Paul Ramsay Foundation and has cross-party support, as well as many experienced and distinguished patrons. Its Co-Patrons in Chief are former governor generals of Australia Sir

William Deane Sir William Patrick Deane, (born 4 January 1931) is an Australian barrister and jurist who served as the 22nd governor-general of Australia, in office from 1996 to 2001. He was previously a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1982 to ...

and Dame

Quentin Bryce Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th Governor-General of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the List of elected and appointed female heads of state, first wom ...

, and patrons include former High Court justice Virginia Bell; former NSW senator

Peter Baume Peter Erne Baume, Order of Australia, AC (born 30 January 1935) is a retired Australian doctor and politician. He was a Australian Senate, Senator for New South Wales from 1974 to 1991, representing the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Par ...

;

Tim Costello Timothy Ewen Costello (born 4 March 1955) is an Australian Baptist minister who was the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Advocate of World Vision Australia. Costello worked as a lawyer and served as mayor of St Kilda. He has authored a num ...

; Olympian and Australian of the Year

Robert de Castella Francois Robert de Castella (born 27 February 1957) is an Australian former world champion marathon runner. De Castella is widely known as "Deek" or "Deeks" to the Australian public, and "Tree" to his competitors due to his thick legs and inner ...

; former Liberal MP and ultra-marathon athlete

Pat Farmer Patrick Francis Daniel Farmer (born 14 March 1962) is an Australian ultra-marathon athlete, motivational speaker, and former politician. He served as a Member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the seat of Macarthur in so ...

; author Kate Grenville ;

Jackie Huggins Jacqueline Gail "Jackie" Huggins (born 19 August 1956) is an Aboriginal Australian author, historian, academic, and advocate for the rights of Indigenous Australians. She has been active in the reconciliation movement, and was co-commissioner ...

; former High Court justice Michael Kirby; playwright

Suzie Miller Susan "Suzie" Miller (born ) is an Australian playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and lawyer. She has written over 40 plays, first coming to notice in 2008 for ''Reasonable Doubt'', which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Her best-k ...

; artist

Ben Quilty Ben Quilty (born 1973) is an Australian artist and social commentator, who has won a series of painting prizes: the 2014 Prudential Eye Award, 2011 Archibald Prize, and 2009 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. He has been described as one of Au ...

; Aboriginal elder and activist Pat Turner; former Liberal Minister for Indigenous Australians

Ken Wyatt Kenneth George Wyatt (born 4 August 1952) is an Australian former politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives from 2010 to 2022, representing the Division of Hasluck for the Liberal Party of ...

; and many others.

Selected publications

*Tickner, Robert E. ''Taking a stand : land rights to reconciliation'' (2001) Allen & Unwin, N.S.W. *Tickner, Robert. ''Ten Doors Down: The Story of an Extraordinary Adoption Reunion'' (2020) Scribe Publications,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tickner, Robert 1951 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Hughes Members of the Australian House of Representatives Keating government Officers of the Order of Australia Australian adoptees University of Sydney alumni Australian MPs 1983–1984 Australian MPs 1984–1987 Australian MPs 1987–1990 Australian MPs 1990–1993 Australian MPs 1993–1996