John Devereux (politician)

John Robert Devereux (born 8 February 1946 in Queenstown, Tasmania), was an Australian Labor Party, and later independent, Senator for Tasmania from 1987 to 1996.

John Devereux
Senator for Tasmania
In office
11 July 1987 – 7 February 1996
Succeeded bySue Mackay
Personal details
Born (1946-02-08) 8 February 1946
Political partyLabor (1987–94)
Independent (1994–96)

He was first nominated to fill the casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Don Grimes in April 1987. However, his nomination was rejected by a tied vote in the Tasmanian Parliament. As one Tasmanian Minister (Ray Groom) argued: "we can choose only a person who is a member of the same party ... but we are not bound to accept the nomination of the party concerned".[1] Following a double dissolution of the Commonwealth Parliament, Devereux was elected at the election of 11 July 1987.

From 24 to 27 January 1994, thirty protesters from the Tasmanian Wilderness Society (TWS) blockaded Riveaux Road in the Picton Valley in Tasmania to prevent logging of woodland. The then Tasmanian Premier, Ray Groom, and Tasmanian Forestry Commission Chief, Bob Gordon, claimed that the adjacent wilderness forests were not old-growth, but re-growth, because a wildfire went through the area approximately 100 years ago. At the blockade, Senator Devereux announced his resignation from the ALP in protest against its policies on forest issues.[2][3]

Devereux served out the rest of his term, from 1994 until 1996, as an independent Senator.

He lives in Tasmania with his wife Glynis. His three children, all married, also live in Tasmania. He is currently the CEO of the Tasmanian Pacing Club.

References
  1. Bennett, Scott. "The Politics of Constitutional Amendment". Research Papers. Parliamentary Library. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  2. For the Forests - Chronology Archived 22 June 2005 at the Wayback Machine, The Wilderness Society
  3. Chronology of Events relating to the Membership of the 37th Parliament Archived 7 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Parliament of Australia, Parliamentary Library, Last reviewed 10 October 1997


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