Brian Burke

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Brian Burke was elected as the Premier of Western Australia on 25 February 1983, ending nine years of the Western Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party being in opposition. Burke, who had started out as a journalist at The West Australian and later moved into radio and television reporting, was elected to parliament in 1973 and was elected as Leader of the Opposition in 1981. [1]

After five years as Premier, amid mounting controversy over his government's deals with business dubbed WA Inc, Burke resigned on 25 February 1988. He was appointed as Australia's ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See by the federal Labor government. However, as details of his role in business deals became public through the hearings of the WA Inc Royal Commission, he was forced to resign his role as Ambassador to Ireland. Based on recommendations from the Royal Commission, Burke was charged with a range of offences and was sentenced to two years prison sentence but was released on parole after serving seven months. [2]

Burke subsequently remained an active member of the Labor Party and re-invented himself as a lobbyist.

In November 2006 a the Corruption and Crime Commission revealed that it had taped phone conversations between Burke and the Western Australian Small Business Minister, Norm Marlborough. The conversations revealed that the Minister took directions from Burke, The Australian reported, on "how to respond to questions in parliament." The Premier of Western Australia Alan Carpenter, sacked Marlborough and forced Burke to quit the party. [3]

Website of WA Inc Commission of Inquiry

Website of Corruption and Crime Commission of Western Australia

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