Evan Thornley
Encyclopedia
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
member of the Victorian Legislative Council
Victorian Legislative Council
The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...
for the Southern Metropolitan Region. He was a founder (with his wife, Tracey Ellery) and former Chairman and CEO of internet search company Looksmart
LookSmart
LookSmart is an online advertising company based in San Francisco. LookSmart provides search advertising products and services to text advertisers, as well as targeted pay-per-click search and contextual advertising via its Search Advertising Network...
Ltd.
Thornley attended Scotch College
Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
is a graduate of the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, completing a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws in 1991 after starting University in 1983. From 1991 to 1995 he was a consultant at McKinsey and Company, a management consultancy firm.
Thornley is Chair of Per Capita
Per Capita
Per Capita is an independent progressive Australian think tank.-Philosophy:As a progressive, centre-left think tank, Per Capita's approach is to view the role of government as a market designer: setting parameters for a liberal economy to produce better social outcomes.Per Capita's thinking draws...
and National Secretary of the Australian Fabian Society
Australian Fabian Society
The Australian Fabians was established in 1947. Inspired by the Fabian Society in the United Kingdom, it is dedicated to Fabianism, the focus on the advancement of socialist ideas through gradual influence and patiently promoting socialist ideals to intellectual circles and groups with power.The...
. He is a board member of the Brotherhood of St Laurence
Brotherhood of St Laurence
The Brotherhood of St Laurence is an Australian not-for-profit organisation. Based in Melbourne, the Brotherhood has a national profile. The organisation's vision is for an Australia free of poverty. In working towards this vision it undertakes research and develops and delivers services and...
and the Chifley Research Centre, was a founding director of GetUp!, and a founding officer of the National Union of Students
National Union of Students (Australia)
The National Union of Students is the peak representative body for Australian university students. Most student unions in Australian campuses are affiliated to NUS...
.
Elected to the Parliament of Victoria
Parliament of Victoria
The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of The Queen, represented by the Governor of Victoria; the Legislative Council ; and the Legislative Assembly...
in 2006, he served as Parliamentary Secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
assisting the Premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...
on the National Reform Agenda and Innovation until his resignation on 31 December 2008. He was the richest member of the Victorian Parliament, with a net worth estimated at $54 million. He is a noted donor to various progressive causes, including the Australian Labor Party. He owns grazing property in western Victoria and four investment properties in Melbourne, Queensland and New South Wales, as well as a residence in Kew.
On 28 December 2008, Thornley announced that he would resign from the Victorian Parliament after speculation that he would be chosen to serve in the Cabinet of John Brumby
John Brumby
John Mansfield Brumby , is an Australian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became Premier after the resignation of Steve Bracks. He also served as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. He contested his first election...
's government. His resignation was received angrily by some Labor colleagues who thought his decision "insulting" and a "disgrace." He has been appointed as the CEO of Australian operations for Better Place, an electric car company
A joint sitting of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council of the Victorian Parliament will be required to select a new Member to fill the vacancy caused by Thornley's resignation - the first casual vacancy to occur since the reform of the Upper House in 2006. As is the case in the Australian Senate, if the vacating Member was elected as a member of a political party, the joint sitting must select a person nominated by that political party. On 30 January 2009, it was announced that Melbourne lawyer Jennifer Huppert
Jennifer Huppert
Jennifer Huppert is an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, Victoria, she was a solicitor before entering politics. On 3 February 2009, she was appointed to the Victorian Legislative Council as a Labor member for Southern Metropolitan Region to replace Evan Thornley, who retired.Huppert was...
would be nominated by the ALP to fill the upper house vacancy.