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Alan Eggleston sought election to the Senate to give people in the North West of Western Australia a voice in the Federal Parliament. He was elected for his first six-year term in 1996 and re-elected in the 2001 and 2007 elections. His current term expires on June 30 2014.Because of the North West’s proximity to Asia, the spectacular growth of the Chinese economy, and further potential for future mineral and industrial development, Alan believes the region will continue to play a significant role in the Australian economy. The North West contributes a significant amount to the national economy from mining, tourism, agricultural and pastoral industries, and aquaculture. The region demonstrates the ethnic diversity of Australia at large, with people from many countries residing in the North West. Alan’s policy interests are related to his background experience both professionally and in the North West and include: • Northern regional development and related issues including mining, tourism, transport, communications, indigenous matters, coastal surveillance and infrastructure development. Alan has attended several Northern Australia Development Conferences over the last 20 years; • Foreign Affairs and Trade particularly with North East and South East Asian countries. • Small business; Alan is a strong supporter of the interests of small and medium business, and he belongs to several chambers of commerce including the WA Chinese Chamber of Commerce. • Health policy in general and rural health issues in particular • Ethnic affairs and migration. Alan is currently the Deputy Chair of the Senate Economics Committee and is a member of the Joint Committee on Migration. Alan was born in Busselton and educated at Busselton Primary School and Christ Church Grammar School in Claremont, Western Australia. He studied medicine at the University of Western Australia and after four years working in the UK hospital system and 18 months as a GP in Perth, he followed a long held wish to spend some time in the north of WA. He joined the North West Medical Service of the WA Health Department and was based at the Port Hedland Regional Hospital. This work involved flying clinics with the Royal Flying Doctor Service to the inland Pilbara mining towns and escorting patients to metropolitan hospitals as well as working in the Port Hedland Regional Hospital. On arriving in the northwest in 1974, Alan intended only a short stay but like so many others the lure of the North was such that he remained for more than two decades before entering the Senate. From 1975 to 1998 he operated a private medical practice as a GP/Obstetrician in the South Hedland Health Centre. He was active in regional affairs. From 1993 to 1996, he was Mayor of Port Hedland, Chairman of the Pilbara Ward of the Country Shire Councils Association and a board member of the Pilbara Development Commission. Alan had been involved with the Liberal Party since his student days at UWA, where he was president of the UWA Liberal Club. He has been a member of the Liberal Party State Council since 1976, serving long terms in the State Executive and State Joint Policy Committee. He was State vice president from 1980 to 1985 and president of the powerful Kalgoorlie North (Pilbara/Kimberley) division for a total of seven years. In the 1990s, Alan undertook a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Studies as an external student at Murdoch University to broaden his knowledge of Australian and Asian politics. Click here to read Alan’s profile in The West Australian. |