Bernard Finnigan | |
|---|---|
| Minister for Industrial Relations, State / Local Government Relations and Gambling | |
| In office 8 February 2011 – 21 April 2011 | |
| Premier | Mike Rann |
| Preceded by | Paul Holloway |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Conlon, Gail Gago |
| Member of the South Australian Legislative Council | |
| In office 2 May 2006 – 12 November 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Terry Roberts |
| Succeeded by | Peter Malinauskas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 December 1972 Mount Gambier, South Australia |
| Political party | Labor (SA) (2006–11) Independent (2011–15) |
| Alma mater | University of Adelaide |
| Occupation | Union official |
Bernard Vincent Finnigan (born 8 December 1972) is an Australian former politician who served as a member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 2006 until 2015.[1] He was appointed in May 2006 as a member of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party to the Legislative Council in a casual vacancy triggered by the death of Terry Roberts. Elected at the 2010 election, Finnigan briefly served in the Rann government cabinet from February until April in 2011, when Labor suspended him from the party, sitting thereafter as an independent backbencher until his 2015 parliamentary resignation.[2] He was the Acting Police Minister at the time of his arrest.
Labor suspended Finnigan from the party pending the verdict of a criminal trial after he was charged with child pornography offences in 2011, totalling 30 various charges over time. Only two charges ended up proceeding to trial – on 10 November 2015, Finnigan was found not guilty of one count for attempting to access child pornography, however he was found guilty of one count of accessing child pornography. Finnigan announced his immediate parliamentary resignation on 12 November. On 9 December following sentencing submissions, Finnigan had a conviction recorded, was added to the sex offenders register, and was given a 15-month suspended sentence with a three-year $1,000 good behaviour bond.[3][4][5][6][7]
Peter Malinauskas filled the upper house casual vacancy in a joint sitting of the Parliament of South Australia on 1 December.[8][9][10]
- ^ "Bernard Finnigan". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ^ "Bernard Finnigan: Timeline of events that led to South Australian MP's child porn conviction". ABC News. 10 November 2015.
- ^ Marcus, Candice (9 December 2015). "Bernard Finnigan: Former MP gets 15 months' jail suspended in favour of bond". ABC News. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ Dowdell, Andrew; Wills, Daniel (24 September 2012). "SA Premier Jay Weatherill says former Labor MP Bernard Finnigan, charged over child pornography, should resign from office". The Advertiser.
- ^ "MLC Bernard Finnigan quits politics after guilty verdict on child porn". ABC News. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ "Bernard Finnigan guilty: SA court hands down verdict on child pornography against former SA Labor MP". AdelaideNow. News Corp. 10 November 2015.
- ^ Marcus, Candice (30 November 2015). "Bernard Finnigan: SA court urged not to record conviction over ex-MP's child porn offence". ABC News.
- ^ Harmsen, Nick (18 November 2015). "Union leader Peter Malinauskas nominates for Bernard Finnigan's seat in South Australian Parliament". ABC News.
- ^ Wills, Daniel (17 November 2015). "Union boss Peter Malinauskas to join State Parliament and replace former MP Bernard Finnigan". NewsComAu.
- ^ "Peter Malinauskas formally fills Legislative Council vacancy in South Australian Parliament". ABC News. 1 December 2015.
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