Bob McMullan
Bob was born in Perth in 1947. He went to Guildford Primary School and Stirling High School and graduated from the University of Western Australia with degrees in arts and economics.
In 1975 Bob became Secretary of the Western Australian Branch of the ALP. In August 1981 he was elected National Secretary and moved with his family to Canberra. During his time as National Secretary, Bob directed the ALP’s successful election campaigns in 1983, 1984 and 1987.
In February 1988, following the resignation of Senator Susan Ryan, Bob was sworn in as Senator for the Australian Capital Territory. In 1990 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer and in 1991 became Manager of Government Business in the Senate.
In 1993 Bob was appointed Minister for the Arts and Administrative Services and became a member of the Cabinet, the first time the Arts portfolio was represented in Cabinet. In January 1994, he was appointed Minister for Trade.
Following a redistribution of Canberra’s House of Representative seats, Bob stood for the seat of Canberra in 1996, and was elected. Following a redistribution in 1998, Bob became Member for Fraser.
Between 1996 and 2007 Bob held a number of Shadow Ministerial positions including Shadow Treasurer, Shadow Minister for Finance & Small Business and Shadow Minister for Federal/State Relations. After the election of the Rudd Government in November 2007 Bob was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance.
Bob is married to Robin and they have two daughters and three grandchildren. He is an avid follower of most sports and has a particular interest in Australian art and heritage, the environment, reading and golf. Bob is patron of several sports and arts organisations in the ACT.
Articles by Bob McMullan
We should be proud of our response to the Haiti quake
As the rescue operation in Haiti begins to shift to one of recovery, the global community is now beginning to…... Read more
And a very happy World Toilet Day to you all
As a politician one of my roles is to attend official openings. Like all of my colleagues I’ve opened schools,…... Read more
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In my sports column on The Punch tomorrow: why Eurovision was easily the best game on the weekend. Mummy bloggers, you'll like this one!
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The woman with her head down trying to save Labor
The fate of the Labor Government rests in significant part on the performance of one woman, and yesterday…
Eurovision, the only game worth watching this weekend
At about 8pm each Sunday night, having digested my fill of weekend sport, I sit down and pen a Monday…
Some sensible thoughts to stop us losing to boozing
How old were you when you first had a few drinks? There’s a good chance that by the time you turned…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
Michael S says:
"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
Change Up! says:
I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
