Thomas William Roper (6 March 1945 − 21 June 2023) was an Australian politician.

Life and career

Thomas Roper was born in Chatswood and attended North Sydney Boys High School before graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Sydney University 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 ...

. From 1967 to 1968 he was National Aboriginal Affairs officer with the

National Union of Australian University Students The Australian Union of Students (AUS), formerly National Union of Australian University Students (NUAUS), was a representative body and lobby group for List of universities in Australia, Australian university and college of advanced education st ...

, moving to education vice-president from 1968 to 1970. In 1970 he became a tutor at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

's education school, before becoming an advisor for the federal Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in 1973. A member of the Labor Party, he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

in 1973 as the member for Brunswick West, moving to Brunswick in 1976. In 1976, Roper was appointed Shadow

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

, assuming the ministerial role in 1982 and moving to the Transport portfolio in 1985 and to Planning, Environment, Aboriginal and

Consumer Affairs Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent businesse ...

in 1987. In 1990 he was appointed

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

, serving until 1992. Following Labor's defeat at the 1992 state election, he became Shadow

, Sport, Recreation, Racing and

Gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playing ...

, but he stepped down from that role in 1993 and resigned from the Assembly in 1994. Following his retirement he was a member of the Australian Government Advisory Council on the Environment and Employment Opportunities from 1994 to 1996, a board member of Australian Hearing Services from 1995 to 2001, a board member of the Climate Institute in Washington, D.C. since 1994, and a board member of Greenfleet Australia since 2003. Roper died on 21 June 2023, at the age of 78.

Writing

In 1971, his book ''The Myth of Equality'' was published. Its subject was "the gross disadvantages experienced by large numbers of students in both the public and private sector".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, Tom 1945 births 2023 deaths People educated at North Sydney Boys High School Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Ministers for health (Victoria) Ministers for the environment (Victoria) Treasurers of Victoria University of Sydney alumni Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Ministers for higher education (Victoria) Ministers for planning (Victoria) Ministers for casino, gaming and liquor regulation (Victoria) Ministers for consumer affairs (Victoria) Ministers for treaty and first peoples (Victoria) Ministers for transport infrastructure (Victoria) People from Chatswood