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John Philip Faulkner (born 12 April 1954), has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate since April 1989, representing the state of New South Wales. Faulkner was born in Leeton, New South Wales, and was educated at Macquarie University, Sydney, where he graduated in arts and education. He worked as a teacher in government schools before entering politics. He was Assistant General Secretary of the NSW ALP 1980-89, and has been a member of the ALP National Executive since 1989.
A leading member of the Socialist Left faction of the ALP, Faulkner succeeded the former left-wing minister Arthur Gietzelt in the Senate in 1989. In the Keating Labor government he was Minister for Veterans Affairs and Minister for Defence Science and Personnel 1993-94, Minister for Sport and Territories in 1994, and Minister for the Environment, Sport and Territories, with a seat in the Cabinet, 1994-96.
After the defeat of the Keating government in 1996, Faulkner became Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, and was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry 1996-2004. He was at various times Shadow Minister for Social Security, Public Administration and Home Affairs. He was a key Labor strategist in the 1998, 2001 and 2004 federal elections, and was a particularly close advisor to Mark Latham during the 2004 election. In the wake of Labor's defeat in that election, he resigned his positions.
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