Rob Kerin
| The Honourable Rob Kerin MHA |
|
|---|---|
| 43rd Premier of South Australia Elections: 2002, 2006 |
|
| In office 22 October 2001 – 5 March 2002 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor | Sir Eric Neal Marjorie Jackson |
| Deputy | Dean Brown (2001-2002) |
| Preceded by | John Olsen |
| Succeeded by | Mike Rann |
| 9th Deputy Premier of South Australia | |
| In office 7 July 1998 – 22 October 2001 |
|
| Premier | John Olsen |
| Preceded by | Graham Ingerson |
| Succeeded by | Dean Brown |
| 37th Leader of the Opposition (SA) | |
| In office 5 April 2002 – 18 March 2006 |
|
| Preceded by | Mike Rann |
| Succeeded by | Iain Evans |
| Member of the South Australian Parliament for Frome |
|
| In office 11 December 1993 – 17 January 2008 |
|
| Preceded by | seat created |
| Succeeded by | Geoff Brock |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Gerard Kerin 4 January 1954 Crystal Brook, South Australia, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Liberal Party of Australia (SA) |
Robert Gerard Kerin (born 4 January 1954) was the Premier of South Australia from 22 October 2001 to 5 March 2002, and 9th Deputy Premier of South Australia from 7 July 1998 until he became Premier, representing the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia. The Liberals won government at the 1993 election landslide with Dean Brown as leader, however John Olsen successfully challenged Brown for the premiership a year before the 1997 election where the Olsen Liberals were reduced to minority government. Due to the Motorola affair where Olsen misled parliament, he resigned the premiership to Kerin several months before the 2002 election where the Liberals lost government.
Contents
Early life
Born to parents Maurice and Molly Kerin in Crystal Brook, Kerin attended the Adelaide Catholic secondary school, Sacred Heart College Senior.
Parliament
Kerin was elected to parliament in 1993 as the member for the mid-north rural electoral district of Frome. Between 1995 and 2001 he held various ministries in the Dean Brown and John Olsen governments: Primary Industries, Natural Resources and Regional Development, Minerals and Energy, State Development, Tourism and Multicultural Affairs.
Premier
Olsen was forced to resign from the premiership after misleading parliament which would come to be known as the Motorola affair. Kerin became Liberal leader and premier less than six months before the 2002 election. Although two Liberal seats were won by Labor, the outcome was another hung parliament. While Labor was now only one seat short of a majority as opposed to the Liberals now four seats short of a majority, the Liberals won 50.9 percent of the two-party vote. Kerin and the Liberals were expected to hold on to minority government with the support of all four conservative crossbenchers. In a surprise move, former Liberal Peter Lewis, who had since been elected as an independent after being expelled from the Liberals in 2000, announced he would support Labor and their leader Mike Rann to form minority gpvernment in return for becoming Speaker of the House of Assembly. Kerin, however, decided to claim that as the Liberals had won a majority of the two-party vote, he therefore had a mandate to stay in office unless Labor demonstrated they commanded a working parliamentary majority on the floor of the House. Three weeks of political limbo ended on 5 March, when Kerin moved a confidence motion in his own government. The motion was defeated, leaving Kerin with no choice but to resign the premiership.[1]
Opposition leader
Kerin remained Liberal leader, and hence became Leader of the Opposition. His approach to leadership and parliamentary tactics was more congenial than usual; this led to both praise from those who saw him as a 'nice guy' and criticism from those who believed his style was ineffective compared to the so-called "media savvy and aggressive" parliamentary tactics of the Rann Labor government.
At the 2006 election the Liberals were soundly defeated, suffering a statewide swing against them of about 7.7 percent. Following that loss, Kerin stood down as Liberal leader, but remained in parliament. He was succeeded as Liberal leader by Iain Evans.
Parliamentary resignation
In 2007, Kerin announced he would not be seeking re-election at the 2010 election.[2] Kerin announced on 11 November 2008 that he would resign from parliament immediately rather than at the next election.[3] This triggered the 2009 Frome by-election. Independent Geoff Brock won the seat in a very close contest, with his presence to later deny the Liberals government at the 2014 election.
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.
<references />, or <references group="..." />External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Premier of South Australia 2001 – 2002 |
Succeeded by Mike Rann |
| Preceded by | Deputy Premier of South Australia 1998 – 2001 |
Succeeded by Dean Brown |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition in South Australia 2002 – 2006 |
Succeeded by Iain Evans |
| Parliament of South Australia | ||
| New division | Member for Frome 1993 – 2008 |
Succeeded by Geoff Brock |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division) 2001 – 2006 |
Succeeded by Iain Evans |
- ↑ Barker, Ann: Premier crowned in Sth Australia, The 7.30 Report (ABC), 5 March 2002.
- ↑ Kelton, Greg: Ex-premier Kerin to quit, The Advertiser, 18 April 2007.
- ↑ Greg Kelton, "Kero calls it quits", The Advertiser, 11 November 2008
- Pages with reference errors
- Use dmy dates from March 2011
- Premiers of South Australia
- Members of the South Australian House of Assembly
- Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of South Australia
- Deputy Premiers of South Australia
- 1954 births
- Living people
- Leaders of the Opposition in South Australia
