Senator
Barbara Pocock
AM
Pocock in 2021
Pocock in 2021
Senator for South Australia
Assumed office
1 July 2022 (2022-07-01)
Personal details
Born
Barbara Ann Pocock

(1955-03-22) 22 March 1955
Berri, South Australia, Australia
Political partyGreens
Domestic partnerIan Campbell
Children2
Residence(s)Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
EducationWilderness School
Norwood High School
Alma mater
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionEconomist
Academic
WebsiteOfficial website

Barbara Ann Pocock AM (born 22 March 1955) is an Australian politician who was elected at the 2022 Australian federal election to become a Senator representing South Australia from July 2022.[1] She was officially declared elected by the Australian Electoral Commission on 15 June 2022.[2] Previously, she ran as the Greens candidate for the Division of Adelaide in the 2019 Australian federal election.[3] She is a professor and economist.

Early life and education

Pocock was born in Berri on 22 March 1955. She grew up with her family on a mallee, sheep and wheat farm near Lameroo, 200 kilometres from the South Australian state capital of Adelaide.[4]

Pocock moved to Adelaide in 1969 to attended Wilderness School as a boarding student before moving to Norwood International High School in 1972 to complete year 12.

After finishing school, Pocock worked in shearing sheds and on farms in New Zealand for a year, and worked on farms in Australia.

She began studying economics in 1975 and graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1978 with a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours).[5] She completed her PhD at the University of Adelaide in 1997 with a thesis titled "Analysis of male power in Australian unions, its effects and how to combat it."

Professional career

Pocock was employed by the Reserve Bank of Australia from 1979 as a Research Officer in the International Department in which she would write briefing notes for the Governor. Her portfolio encompassed regions including Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. It was during this time at the Reserve Bank that Pocock first became more aware of poor working conditions and the need for unionism.[6] She states that she realised the importance of the feminist movement in the workplace after seeing numerous women, including many migrants, working in the low paid part of the Reserve Bank counting money.

After her stint at the Reserve Bank, Pocock began work in 1981 at the Department of Industrial Relations in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley Region as an Equal Employment Opportunity Officer.[6]

Pocock joined academia in 1989 when she was employed by the South Australian College of Advanced Education as a Lecturer. She was then promoted to a Senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide in 1997, before being promoted once again to Associate Professor in 2002. After her time at the University of Adelaide she began work at the University of South Australia as a Professor in 2006, before becoming an Emeritus Professor at the same institution in 2015.[5] She established and led the Centre for Work and Life at UniSA from 2006 to 2014.

In 2010 Pocock was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to industrial relations and social justice.[7]

Pocock was a Director and Deputy Chair of the Australia Institute between 2004 and 2022.[8]

Political views

Pocock has long been a strong supporter of the feminist movement and the labour movement. As a researcher and academic she has written numerous books and academic journal articles on the labour market, work-life conflict, unionism, low pay, inequality and vocational education. She has focused her research on industrial relations, work and family, pay equity, and inequality in the workplace. Pocock is a strong believer in the importance of trade unions and advocated for equality through fair labour law.[6] She has called for increased access to sick leave and holiday leave for casual workers and argued that the casual loading does not compensate for the loss of such conditions. She has also advocated against long working hours and fairer conditions for working carers, including parental leave and early childhood education and care. Pocock is a critic of the legislative restrictions on strikes and the outlawing of secondary boycotts.[6]

Pocock has called for JobSeeker unemployment payments and all forms of income support to be increased to $88 a day, and an improvement in rental rights and the availability of public housing. When asked, as a professor of economics, if such Greens policies would crash the Australian economy she replied "No".[6] She has pointed to the historically high levels of the profit share in Australia and the consequences for inequality of stalled wages and falling real incomes for workers.

Pocock is also a campaigner for urgent climate change action, LGBTQ+ rights, refugee rights, and anti-nuclear policies.[9] Since 2015 she has been a member of 'Mothers for a Sustainable South Australia' (MOSSA), a campaign group of South Australian mothers who have opposed proposals for a high level nuclear waste dump in South Australia, and more recently the disposal of medium and low level waste in the state.

Pocock argues for free University, TAFE, and for the forgiveness of student debt due to the large economic burden placed upon university students. She points to the fact that she has had the advantages of living on a safe planet, enjoying free higher education, access to secure employment and the chance to buy a home through an affordable mortgage - all things unavailable to so many young Australians now."[10] When launching the Greens' student debt policy with New South Wales Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Pocock further stressed the importance of free higher education arguing that "high levels of student debt stand in the way of secure housing for many young people."[11]

Personal life

Pocock has two children. She separated from their father in 2007 after 22 years. She now lives with her partner, Ian Campbell. She is a Port Adelaide football fan, and a recreational gardener, painter, sewer and writer.

Published works

  • Pocock, Barbara (1988). Demanding skill: women and technical education in Australia. Sydney, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0043321372.
  • Pocock, Barbara (1997). Strife: Sex and Politics in Labour Unions. Sydney, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1864483121.
  • Pocock, Barbara (2003). The Work/Life Collision; What Work is Doing to Australians and What to Do About it. Sydney, NSW: Federation Press. ISBN 9781862874756.
  • Pocock, Barbara (2006). The Labour Market Ate My Babies: Work, Children and a Sustainable Future. Sydney, NSW: Federation Press. ISBN 1862876045.
  • Hill, Elizabeth; Pocock, Barbara; Elliot, Alison (2007). Kids Count Better Early Childhood Education and Care in Australia. Sydney, NSW: Sydney University Press. ISBN 9781920898700.
  • Masterman-Smith, Helen; Pocock, Barbara (2008). Living Low Paid: The dark side of prosperous Australia. Sydney, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1741753967.
  • Pocock, Barbara; Skinner, Natalie; Williams, Pip (2012). Work, rest and play in Australia today. Sydney, NSW: University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 978-1742232959.

References

  1. ↑ Green, Antony. "Senate Results - SA Senate Count". ABC. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  2. ↑ "South Australian Senators have been decided". Australian Electoral Commission. 15 June 2022. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  3. ↑ Siebert, Benison (10 December 2018). "Greens pick prominent academic to contest Adelaide". InDaily. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  4. ↑ Earl, Lechelle (14 September 2021). "Greens' candidate visits region". The Monthly. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  5. 1 2 Pocock, Barbara. "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). barbarapocock.com.au. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Pocock, Barbara. Serious Danger BONUS: Meet the Candidate - Barbara Pocock AM, Greens Lead Senate Candidate for SA.
  7. ↑ "Member of the Order of Australia (AM) entry for Professor Barbara Ann POCOCK". It's an Honour, Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2022. For service to industrial relations as an academic and researcher, particularly in the areas of employment, gender relations and vocational education, and as an advocate for social justice.
  8. ↑ "Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission".
  9. ↑ Osborne, Paul (22 September 2020). "Greens select SA social advocate for poll". The West Australian. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Pocock, Barbara. "Barbara Pocock on Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "Greens announce plan to wipe student debt and make TAFE and uni free". greens.org.au. The Greens. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
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