Philip Ronald Cleary (born 8 December 1952) is an Australian commentator on politics and sport, particularly Australian rules football, and a former independent politician.
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Football playing career
Cleary first came to notice as a prominent player and coach in Victoria's second-level Australian rules football competition, the then Victorian Football Association (now VFL), for Coburg Football Club (now the Coburg Tigers, affiliated with the Richmond Football Club). He debuted with the club in 1975, playing 205 games, the third most in Coburg club history. He then coached the club between 1984-92 (captain coach between 1984-86), including leading them to back-to-back premierships in 1988-89.
Political career
Cleary was elected as an independent to the Australian House of Representatives for the Division of Wills in a by-election on 11 April 1992, following the resignation of former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, from a field of 22 candidates, becoming the only non-Labor member to have ever held the seat. However, his election was successfully challenged in the High Court and declared void on 25 November, as Cleary was on unpaid leave from the Victorian Education Department, and the Australian Constitution forbids people employed by the Crown from standing for election. At the subsequent general election (no by-election was held) on 13 March 1993, he stood again and won. Described as left-leaning and a socialist, Cleary himself eschewed labels. He lost the seat to Labor at the next general election on 2 March 1996. While advocating an Australian Republic, he broke with the Australian Republican Movement (ARM) over disagreement about how the President of Australia should be chosen, forming a group called "Real Republic", which advocated direct election of the President as opposed to the model advocated by Malcolm Turnbull of the ARM, under which the President would be chosen by a joint sitting of the Parliament, and which was the model proposed in the 1999 referendum.
Post-politics
Cleary's most prominent position was a job at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), as a match-day commentator on the ABC's coverage of what is now known as the Victorian Football League between 1992-2006. He was controversially demoted from this position between the Australian summer of 2006-07, and he now hosts the half-time interviews on the ABC's Saturday afternoon VFL broadcasts. He is also an advocate for action to prevent violence against women, after his sister was murdered by a former partner of hers. He currently works as communications manager for the Electrical Trades Union. He is also in negotiations to re-commence match-day commentating of Victorian Football League matches with Casey Radio 97.7FM 3SER in Melbourne.
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| Parliament of Australia | ||
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| Preceded by Bob Hawke |
Member for Wills 1992 – 1996 |
Succeeded by Kelvin Thomson |
