# Bill Heffernan > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bill_Heffernan > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bill_Heffernan.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Heffernan > Source revision: 1347241667 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Australian politician (born 1943)}} {{Distinguish|Bill Heffernan (Connecticut politician)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Bill Heffernan | honorific_suffix = | image = Bill_Heffernan_Portrait_2010.jpg | caption = Bill Heffernan in April 2010 | office = [Senator](/source/Australian_Senate) for [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales) | term_start = 18 September 1996 | term_end = 9 May 2016 | predecessor = [Michael Baume](/source/Michael_Baume) | successor = [Brian Burston](/source/Brian_Burston) | constituency = | majority = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1943|3|3|df=y}} | birth_place = [Junee](/source/Junee), [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales) | death_date = | death_place = | party = [Liberal Party of Australia](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Australia) | spouse = | relations = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = Farmer | profession = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''William Daniel Heffernan''' (born 3 March 1943),{{Cite Au Parliament | mpid = C16 |access-date = 2008-11-27 | name = Former Senator Bill Heffernan }} is an Australian former politician who was a [Liberal Party](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Australia) member of the [Senate](/source/Australian_Senate) representing the state of [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales) from September 1996 to May 2016. ==Early life and background== Heffernan was born in [Junee](/source/Junee), [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales), and attended [St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill](/source/St._Joseph's_College%2C_Hunters_Hill). He has qualifications in wool classing and welding from [Wagga Wagga Technical College](/source/Riverina_Institute_of_TAFE) and has been a farmer in the Junee area for 30 years.{{cite web | title = Sally West: The Bird of Song with Claws of Paint | work = Shayan Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn | publisher = Art Aesthetics | url = https://www.artaesthetics.net/publications/2017/8/20/sally-west-the-bird-of-song-with-claws-of-paint| access-date = 2017-09-11 }} Heffernan lives with his wife, Margaret.{{cite web | title = Find Your Local MP | via = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | work = Q & A | url = http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/senators/heffernan.htm | access-date = 2008-11-27 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081022205129/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/senators/heffernan.htm| archive-date= 22 October 2008 | url-status= deviated |quote=He lives with his wife, Margaret, in Junee, where he has been a farmer for thirty years.}} Heffernan was a member of the [Junee Shire Council](/source/Junee_Shire) 1981–96 and was President of the Council 1989–90 and 1991–93. He was active in the Liberal Party for many years and was the party's NSW State President 1993–1996. He unsuccessfully ran for the Liberal Party in the [1993 federal election](/source/1993_Australian_federal_election) for the seat of [Riverina](/source/Division_of_Riverina). ==Political career== thumb|left|Heffernan shortly after his appointment to Parliament. In September 1996, the [NSW Parliament](/source/Parliament_of_New_South_Wales) appointed Heffernan to replace Liberal Senator [Michael Baume](/source/Michael_Baume), whose resignation created a [casual vacancy](/source/Casual_vacancies_in_the_Australian_Parliament). Heffernan had been a long-time friend and supporter of then [Prime Minister](/source/Prime_Minister_of_Australia) [John Howard](/source/John_Howard) in the NSW Liberal Party, and in October 1998, after he was elected in his own right to a six-year term in the Senate, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet, a position giving him easy access to the Prime Minister.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} He was involved in bringing the first and second readings of the bill which became the ''[Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999](/source/Environment_Protection_and_Biodiversity_Conservation_Act_1999)''.{{cite web | title=Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill 1999 : First Reading | website=ParlInfo | date=31 March 1999 | url=https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=CHAMBER;id=chamber%2Fhansards%2F1999-03-31%2F0018;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2F1999-03-31%2F0027%22 | access-date=27 June 2020}}{{cite web | title=Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill 1999 : Second Reading | website=ParlInfo | date=31 March 1999 | url=https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=CHAMBER;id=chamber%2Fhansards%2F1999-03-31%2F0019;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2F1999-03-31%2F0027%22 | access-date=27 June 2020}} He was reelected twice, in 2004 and 2010, and was the Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Agricultural and Related Industries,{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/Committee/membership/index.htm#agric_ctte |title=Membership of Committees |work=Member of Senate Committee |publisher=Parliament of Australia |access-date=27 November 2008 |archive-date=22 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122124722/http://www.aph.gov.au/SEnate/committee/membership/index.htm#agric_ctte |url-status=dead }} Rural & Regional Affairs Policy Committee, Member of Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport{{cite web |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Rural_and_Regional_Affairs_and_Transport |title=Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport |work=Senate Committee |publisher=[Parliament of Australia](/source/Parliament_of_Australia) |access-date=27 November 2008 |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224143729/http://www.aph.gov.au/SENATE/committee/rrat_ctte/index.htm |archive-date=24 December 2008 |df=dmy-all }} and Member of the Joint House Committee. In 2007 Heffernan was appointed Chairman of the Prime Minister's Taskforce to examine the potential and opportunities for further land and water development in Northern Australia.{{cite web |url=http://www.billheffernan.com.au/aboutBillHeffernan/cv.asp |title=Introducing Senator the Hon. Bill Heffernan |access-date=27 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920053057/http://www.billheffernan.com.au/aboutBillHeffernan/cv.asp |archive-date=20 September 2008 |url-status=dead }}{{self-published inline|date=February 2016}} On 17 March 2008, Senator Heffernan announced the establishment of a Senate Inquiry looking at the implications for Australian farmers of world chemical and fertiliser supply and pricing arrangements, monopolistic and cartel behaviour and related matters.{{cite web |url=http://www.billheffernan.com.au/news/default.asp?action=article&ID=3 |title=Senate Inquiry into fertilisers |access-date=27 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013131618/http://www.billheffernan.com.au/news/default.asp?action=article&ID=3 |archive-date=13 October 2009 |url-status=dead }}{{self-published inline|date=February 2016}} In the same month Heffernan announced the establishment of a Senate Inquiry into Meat Marketing.{{cite web |url=http://www.billheffernan.com.au/news/default.asp?action=article&ID=2 |title=Senate Inquiry into Meat Marketing |access-date=27 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013131355/http://www.billheffernan.com.au/news/default.asp?action=article&ID=2 |archive-date=13 October 2009 |url-status=dead }}{{self-published inline|date=February 2016}} The Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport looked at the need for effective supervision of national standards and controls and the national harmonisation of regulations applying to the branding and marketing of meat.{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/rrat_ctte/meat_marketing/index.htm |title=Inquiry into Meat Marketing |work=Senate Committees |publisher=[Parliament of Australia](/source/Parliament_of_Australia) |access-date=27 November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122121148/http://www.aph.gov.au/SEnate/committee/rrat_ctte/meat_marketing/index.htm |archive-date=22 November 2008 |df=dmy-all }} On 12 November 2008, Senator Heffernan announced that a Senate Inquiry would be launched to examine gene patents, saying: "Patents should be for inventions, not for naturally occurring genes."{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/senate-to-examine-gene-patents-20081111-5mkj.html |title=Senate to Examine Gene Patents |work=[The Age](/source/The_Age) |date=12 November 2008 |access-date=31 August 2010}} The Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs was to inquire into the granting of patent monopolies in Australia over human and microbial genes and non-coding sequences, proteins and their derivatives.{{cite web |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2008-10/gene_patents/index |title=Inquiry into Gene Patents |work=Senate Committees |via=[Parliament of Australia](/source/Parliament_of_Australia) |access-date=27 November 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204023022/https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Completed_inquiries/2008-10/gene_patents/index |archive-date=4 December 2023 |df=dmy-all }} Heffernan said "the granting of gene patents has the potential to have a detrimental impact on healthcare costs, medical research, provision of training and accreditation for healthcare professionals as well as the health and wellbeing of all Australians." "Patents should be for inventions not for naturally occurring genes, these patents will disrupt future breast and prostate cancer testing and research", Heffernan said.[http://www.billheffernan.com.au/news/default.asp?action=article&ID=51 Senate Inquiry into Human Gene Patents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091013140218/http://www.billheffernan.com.au/news/default.asp?action=article&ID=51 |date=13 October 2009 }} Retrieved on 2008-11-27. Following the launch of the Senate Inquiry into Gene Patents by Heffernan, Mervyn Jacobsen, the founder and 40 per cent shareholder of the Melbourne company Genetic Technologies, which holds the patents for [BRCA1](/source/BRCA1) and [BRCA2](/source/BRCA2), backed down from threatened legal action.{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/experts-denounce-gene-patents/2008/11/20/1226770649497.html |title=Experts denounce gene patents |author=Robotham, Julie |work=[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald) |date=21 November 2008 |access-date=31 August 2010}} On 19 February 2016, Heffernan announced he would not be a candidate at the [2016 federal election](/source/2016_Australian_federal_election), and would retire at the end of his current term.{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-19/bronwyn-bishop-nominates-to-contest-mackellar-seat-at-election/7185486 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204021354/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-19/bronwyn-bishop-nominates-to-contest-mackellar-seat-at-election/7185486 |archive-date=4 December 2023 |url-status=live |title=Bronwyn Bishop nominates to recontest Mackellar seat at next election; Bill Heffernan to quit politics|author=Dziedzic, Stephen |work=[ABC News](/source/ABC_News_(Australia)) |location=Australia |date=19 February 2016 |access-date=19 February 2016 }} His term ended at the [double dissolution](/source/2016_Australian_federal_election) of 9 May 2016. ===Criticisms of public figures=== ====Justice Kirby and subsequent parliamentary censure==== On 12 March 2002, speaking in the Senate under [parliamentary privilege](/source/parliamentary_privilege), Heffernan made accusations against a serving judge.{{cite hansard |title=Senator HEFFERNAN (New South Wales—Parliamentary Secretary to Cabinet) (8.43 p.m.) |jurisdiction=Commonwealth of Australia |house=senate |pages=573–577 |position=Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet |hansard=Official Hansard |speaker=Senator Heffernan |url=https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/chamber/hansards/2002-03-12/toc_pdf/1616-2.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22chamber/hansards/2002-03-12/0000%22 |date=12 March 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204034210/https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/chamber/hansards/2002-03-12/toc_pdf/1616-2.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22chamber/hansards/2002-03-12/0000%22 |archive-date=4 December 2023 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }} Only at the end of this speech did Heffernan make it clear that the judge he was referring to was Justice [Michael Kirby](/source/Michael_Kirby_(judge)) of the [High Court of Australia](/source/High_Court_of_Australia). Senators [John Faulkner](/source/John_Faulkner) and [Robert Ray](/source/Robert_Ray_(Australian_politician)) ([Labor](/source/Australian_Labor_Party)) and [Aden Ridgeway](/source/Aden_Ridgeway) ([Australian Democrats](/source/Australian_Democrats)) each alleged that Heffernan had deliberately structured his speech this way in order to conceal the fact that he was violating parliamentary [standing orders](/source/Rules_of_order). Standing Order 193 prohibits senators from making "imputations of improper motives or personal reflections" on currently serving judicial officers. Heffernan's allegations against Kirby included the inappropriate use of a Commonwealth car to solicit sex from an under-age male prostitute,{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s508589.htm |title=Heffernan apologises to Kirby |author=Jennett, Greg |author-link=Greg Jennett |work=[Lateline](/source/Lateline) |publisher=[Australian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation) |date=19 March 2002 |access-date=31 August 2010}} and to support these claims he produced what appeared to be a driver's log book recording the alleged trip. The documents were found to be a forgery. Heffernan came under prolonged political pressure as a result of this episode, and was eventually asked by Prime Minister John Howard to resign his post as Parliamentary Secretary, which he did.{{cite Hansard |url=https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/chamber/hansards/2002-03-19/toc_pdf/1627-6.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22chamber/hansards/2002-03-19/0000%22 |page=944-945 |hansard=Official Hansard |date=19 March 2002 |house=Senate |jurisdiction=Commonwealth of Australia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204034038/https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/chamber/hansards/2002-03-19/toc_pdf/1627-6.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22chamber/hansards/2002-03-19/0000%22 |archive-date=4 December 2023 |df=dmy-all |speaker=Senator Heffernan |title=PRIVILEGE Senator HEFFERNAN (New South Wales (3.37 p.m.)—by leave |quote=I rise today to make a statement to the Senate regarding allegations I made in this place last Tuesday evening about the Hon. Mr Justice Kirby AC, CMG. As the Senate knows, the Prime Minister subsequently required me to resign my position as a parliamentary secretary, and I have written to the Prime Minister to that effect today.}} On 19 March, he made a statement to the Senate in which he withdrew the claims. Immediately following this statement, Heffernan was censured by the Senate "on the voices". The Prime Minister was also censured for his involvement in the episode by an amendment to the censure motion which passed 31–30, with [Coalition](/source/Coalition_(Australia)) government senators voting against it. The censure motion read as follows: :That the Senate— ::(a) notes that: :::(i) on 13 March 2002 the Deputy President (Senator West) ruled that Senator Heffernan's speech on the address-in-reply debate on 12 March 2002 was in breach of standing order 193, in that it contained offensive words, imputations of improper motives and personal reflections on a judicial officer, and :::(ii) the ruling recorded that Senator Heffernan's speech was so structured that it was impossible for the chair to detect that the speech was in breach of the standing orders until the very end of the speech; and ::(b) censures Senator Heffernan for: :::(i) breaching standing order 193 by his reckless and highly disorderly attack on a judicial officer, :::(ii) making such serious allegations on the basis of insubstantial evidence, :::(iii) failing to refer all the alleged evidence in his possession to the proper authorities for investigation prior to making his allegations in the Parliament, :::(iv) recklessly disregarding resolution 9 of the Senate's Privileges Resolutions (of 25 February 1988) which require senators to balance their responsibilities with the rights of others, and :::(v) abusing the trust of senators by speaking in such a manner that neither the chair nor senators could detect that he was in the process of breaching standing order 193. ::(c) censures the Prime Minister (Mr Howard) for not preventing Senator Heffernan's reckless and abusive actions in the Senate and for not acting immediately, after 12 March 2002, to reverse the effect of those actions. ====People from Irish backgrounds==== At a Senate Estimates Hearing in Canberra, Heffernan called the Irish-born head of [Qantas](/source/Qantas), [Alan Joyce](/source/Alan_Joyce_(executive)), "an old Irish bomb maker", saying "Mr Joyce, if the power was yours, you know from being an old Irish bomb maker, if you had the choice, what would be the ideal pilot training?"{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/25/3148810.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110227065634/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/25/3148810.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 February 2011 |title=Heffernan calls Qantas chief a 'bomb maker' |work=[ABC News](/source/ABC_News_(Australia)) |location=Australia |date=25 February 2010 |access-date=21 May 2011 }} During the hearing, he also made comments about having a beer in a three-minute break and there being no whisky in the water. He made similar comments to Liberal party member [Julian McGauran](/source/Julian_McGauran), saying "Senator McGauran are you, do you come from a long line of Irish bomb-makers, do you?" ====Coalition colleagues==== On 7 February 2006, ''[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald)'' reported that Heffernan had been forced to apologise to National Party senator [Fiona Nash](/source/Fiona_Nash) after a public altercation at Canberra Airport the previous day, during which he had told her to "blow it out her backside". Senator Heffernan said the airport altercation with his fellow Coalition Senator was just "a bit of colour and movement".[http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/backside-slur-just-bill-being-bill/2006/02/07/1139074205603.html "Backside Slur Just Bill Being Bill"]. ''[Sydney Morning Herald](/source/Sydney_Morning_Herald)'', 7 February 2006. But [National Party](/source/National_Party_of_Australia) [MP](/source/Member_of_Parliament) [De-Anne Kelly](/source/De-Anne_Kelly) described the incident as "workplace harassment", saying "workplace harassment is not acceptable anywhere". On 7 July 2006, the [ABC](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation) program ''[Stateline](/source/Stateline_(TV_program))'' in NSW aired claims that Heffernan was involved in the downfall of former NSW opposition leader [John Brogden](/source/John_Brogden_(politician)). [Alex McTaggart](/source/Alex_McTaggart), independent member for Pittwater, his wife Denise, and Peter Jones, a member of McTaggart's campaign team, claimed on the program that Heffernan contacted them and said that he was the Prime Minister's [Howard's] right-hand man, and did his 'dirty work'. The McTaggarts claimed that Heffernan told them he had a dirt file on Brogden, said that Brogden needed to be 'paid back', and tried to lure them into publicising material damaging to Brogden's character. Heffernan denied these claims, and was quoted on the program saying that they were 'bullshit'.{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/nsw/content/2006/s1682401.htm |title=The Brogden File |work=[Stateline](/source/Stateline_(TV_program)) |location=New South Wales |publisher=[ABC TV](/source/ABC_TV_(Australian_TV_channel)) |date=7 July 2006 }} On 20 May 2012 allegations were reported in the media that Heffernan struck a fellow Liberal party member and suspended electoral officer, Ray Carter, so hard that he was toppled onto a chair, before allegedly whispering to him "I didn't know you were a poofter." during a branch meeting on 3 May.{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/labor-has-called-for-bill-heffernan-to-stand-aside-while-he-is-investigated-by-police/story-fn59niix-1226361411857 |title=Labor has called for Bill Heffernan to stand aside while he is investigated by police |work=[The Australian](/source/The_Australian) |date=20 May 2012 |access-date=20 May 2012}}{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/senior-liberal-senator-bill-heffernan-accused-of-gay-hate-attack-on-staff-member-ray-carter/story-e6frf7l6-1226361207096 | title = Senior Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan accused of gay hate attack on staff member Ray Carter |work=[The Herald Sun](/source/The_Herald_Sun) |date=20 May 2012 |access-date=20 May 2012}}{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/calls-to-sack-heffernan-over-homophobe-claims-20120520-1yyme.html |title=Calls to sack Heffernan over homophobe claims |work=[The Age](/source/The_Age) |date=20 May 2012 |access-date=20 May 2012}} The president of the NSW Liberal Party, fellow New South Wales Senator [Arthur Sinodinos](/source/Arthur_Sinodinos), dismissed the allegations.{{cite news|last=Cranston|first=Belinda|title=Labor puts heat on Abbott over Heffernan|url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/labor-puts-heat-on-abbott-over-heffernan-20120520-1yyik.html|access-date=20 May 2012|newspaper=[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald)|date=20 May 2012|agency=[AAP](/source/Australian_Associated_Press)}} ====Wood Royal Commission==== In 2015, Heffernan used parliamentary privilege to allege that he had a document, allegedly produced to the [Wood Royal Commission](/source/Wood_Royal_Commission), that listed the names of 28 people, including prominent lawyers, suspected of visiting a "boy brothel" in Kings Cross.{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/bill-heffernan-paedophile-list-allegation-former-royal-commissioner-james-wood-hits-back-20151020-gkeawj.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204025218/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/bill-heffernan-paedophile-list-allegation-former-royal-commissioner-james-wood-hits-back-20151021-gkeawj.html|archive-date=4 December 2023|title=Bill Heffernan 'paedophile list' allegation: former royal commissioner James Wood hits back |newspaper=[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald) |url-status=live |publisher=Fairfax Media |last1=Lee|first1=Jane |author-link2=Latika Bourke|first2=Latika |last2=Bourke |date=21 October 2015 |access-date=20 February 2016 }} He stated in parliament that a former Prime Minister was among the names. ====Other use of controversial language==== In a public lecture given on 27 September 2005, political opponent [Mark Latham](/source/Mark_Latham) accused Heffernan of engaging in the "politics of personal destruction", and quoted [John Hewson](/source/John_Hewson) (a former [Liberal Party](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Australia) leader) as saying that [John Howard](/source/John_Howard) had used Heffernan to distribute dirt and to run his agenda against individuals "for almost as long as I have known him".{{cite speech |last=Latham |first=Mark |event=Public Lecture by Mark Latham at the University of Melbourne |date=27 September 2005 |url=http://www.mup.unimelb.edu.au/publicity/lathamlecture.html |title=10 Reasons Why Young Idealistic People Should Forget About Organised Politics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070904064132/http://www.mup.unimelb.edu.au/publicity/lathamlecture.html |archive-date=4 September 2007 |url-status=dead |publisher= Melbourne University Publishing Ltd |quote=No one should be surprised about this part of the Liberal Party. Any organisation that has Bill Heffernan in a senior position—the right-hand-man to the Prime Minister, no less—is obviously comfortable with the politics of personal destruction. As John Hewson has written, ‘Howard has used Heffernan to distribute dirt and to run his agenda against individuals for almost as long as I have known him’. Given that Hewson has known Howard for more than twenty-five years, this behaviour is well entrenched.}} In October 2006, Heffernan called for "someone's arse to get kicked" because of delays to the construction of the final major link in the dual carriageway between Sydney and Melbourne. According to Heffernan, a "colony of whatever they are that live in the edge of the bank of the creek" ([platypus](/source/platypus)) was causing the delay and it was a problem that could be fixed "in ten minutes". He called for consultants to be axed if they were "wasting taxpayers' money".{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/road-execs-blasted-over-platypus-hold-up/2006/10/30/1162056904682.html |title=Road execs blasted over platypus hold up |date=30 October 2006 |work=AAP |via=Sydney Morning Herald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204024605/https://www.smh.com.au/national/road-execs-blasted-over-platypus-hold-up-20061030-gdops7.html |archive-date=4 December 2023 |url-status=live}} In an interview with ''[The Bulletin](/source/The_Bulletin_(Australian_periodical))'' magazine in May 2007, Senator Heffernan repeated previously stated views that priests should be able to marry because "... priests, like the rest of us, wake up with a horn at four in the morning."{{cite news|url=http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=264308|title=Heffernan targets 'barren' Gillard|work=The Bulletin|date=1 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505022032/http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=264308|archive-date=5 May 2007}} In the same ''Bulletin'' interview, Heffernan caused widespread outrage by suggesting the unmarried and childless Deputy Leader of the Opposition [Julia Gillard](/source/Julia_Gillard) was unfit for leadership because she was "deliberately barren". He continued: "I mean, anyone who chooses to remain deliberately barren ... they’ve got no idea what life's about."[http://blogs.news.com.au/news/blogocracy/index.php/news/comments/sorry_seems_to_be_the_easiest_word/desc/P120/ Sorry seems to be the easiest word] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520150938/http://blogs.news.com.au/news/blogocracy/index.php/news/comments/sorry_seems_to_be_the_easiest_word/desc/P120/ |date=20 May 2011 }}, ''[News Ltd](/source/News_Ltd)'', 3 May 2007. Heffernan later apologised for the remarks.{{cite news |date=3 May 2007|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10437470 |work=AAP |via=New Zealand Herald |title=Howard forces Senator to apologise over 'barren' remark |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929212451/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10437470 |archive-date=29 September 2007 |url-status=dead}} ''The Bulletin'' published an interview which quoted Heffernan as stating that Australia had to "settle the north" because millions of people in Asia may find it a "very attractive proposition" if [climate change](/source/climate_change) leaves them water-poor.{{cite web |url=http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=301543 |title=Climate of fear |work=news.com.au |date=2 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005205358/http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=301543 |archive-date=5 October 2007}} Heffernan later denied he had made such claims but ''The Bulletin'' stood by the accuracy of its report, citing an audio recording of the Heffernan interview.{{cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/magazine-stands-by-mps-asian-invasion-quotes/story-e6frfkp9-1111114560523 |title=Magazine stands by MP's Asian invasion quotes |work=news.com.au |author=Veness, Peter |date=3 October 2007 |access-date=21 May 2011}} On 2 December 2014, during the parliament's last sitting week of the year, Heffernan rang the office of [Liberal Democrat](/source/Liberal_Democratic_Party_(Australia)) senator [David Leyonhjelm](/source/David_Leyonhjelm) in order to get Leyonhjelm to drop his threat to block government legislation if the Coalition party-room failed to allow a [conscience vote](/source/conscience_vote) on his (Leyonhjelm's) bill to [legalise same-sex marriage](/source/Same-sex_marriage_in_Australia). When Leyonhjelm later appeared in the Senate chamber, Heffernan called him a "terrorist", to which Leyonhjelm responded by telling Heffernan to "fuck off", three times.{{cite news |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/tidings-of-discomfort-and-coy/news-story/c1f11c8361ee2e06c48217679775b619 |title=Tidings of discomfort and coy |work=[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph_(Sydney)) |location=Australia |date=5 December 2014 |first=Simon |last=Benson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204014707/https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/tidings-of-discomfort-and-coy/news-story/c1f11c8361ee2e06c48217679775b619?nk=b8bab7200f9e6efe1f9967e8b16b828c-1701654427 |archive-date=4 December 2023 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.outinperth.com/clash-senators-heffernan-vs-leyonhjelm/ |title=Clash of the Senators: Heffernan Vs Leyonhjelm |work=Out in Perth |date=5 December 2014 }} ===Practical jokes=== During the [New South Wales 2007 state election](/source/2007_New_South_Wales_state_election), Heffernan was accused of stealing [Greens](/source/Australian_Greens) how-to-vote cards and misrepresenting Greens policies to voters. He was reported as shouting "If you want to decriminalise drugs for your children, vote Green". Police were called but he was not arrested.{{cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21442508-5011900,00.html |title=Heffernan thwarts Greens |work=[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph_(Sydney)) |location=Australia |date=25 March 2007 |access-date=13 April 2007 |archive-date=21 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070921094948/http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21442508-5011900,00.html |url-status=dead }} According to ''[The Age](/source/The_Age)'' newspaper, in 2007 Heffernan posed as an [ASIO](/source/Australian_Security_Intelligence_Organisation) agent in a telephone call to John Grabbe, a farm manager in New South Wales. Under the [Crimes Act](/source/Crimes_Act_1914) it is an offence to impersonate a Commonwealth officer.{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/asio-agent-heffernan-makes-odd-calls/2007/06/23/1182019436635.html |first=Jason |last=Koutsoukis |title='ASIO agent' Heffernan makes some odd calls |work=[The Age](/source/The_Age) |date=24 June 2007 |url-access=registration |archive-date=4 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204030536/https://www.theage.com.au/national/asio-agent-heffernan-makes-some-odd-calls-20070624-ge5799.html |url-status=live}} On 30 August 2010, Heffernan admitted being the caller who rang NSW independent MP [Rob Oakeshott](/source/Rob_Oakeshott), and introduced himself as "the devil". The phone call was answered by Oakeshott's wife, who assumed it was a prank call and hung up, before Heffernan gave his name. Oakeshott accused the Liberal-National Coalition of dirty tactics and described the introduction as "Rambo-style". Heffernan said he had been introducing himself as such for a while.{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/liberal-identified-as-making-rambostyle-devil-call-20100830-140ah.html |title=Liberal identified as making 'Rambo-style' devil call |author=Coorey, Phillip |work=[The Sydney Morning Herald](/source/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald) |date=30 August 2010 |access-date=31 August 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901102844/http://www.smh.com.au/federal-election/liberal-identified-as-making-rambostyle-devil-call-20100830-140ah.html |archive-date=1 September 2010 | url-status= live}} Heffernan is also reported to have impersonated Senator [Barnaby Joyce](/source/Barnaby_Joyce) during a telephone conversation with one of his constituents. On 26 May 2014, Heffernan smuggled an imitation pipe bomb into Parliament House and presented it at a Senate hearing, arguing it showed the new security arrangements at Parliament were inadequate. Previously, everybody entering Parliament House had to undergo security checks. Under the new system, Members of Parliament, their staff and family, as well as parliamentary staff can enter the building without being scanned, and their belongings unchecked.{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-26/bill-heffernan-fake-pipe-bomb-parliament-house-security-concerns/5477468 |title=Senator Bill Heffernan smuggles fake 'pipe bomb' into Parliament House, says building 'no longer secure' |work=[ABC News](/source/ABC_News_(Australia)) |location=Australia |first=Emma |last=Griffiths |date=26 May 2014 |access-date=27 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204025559/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-26/bill-heffernan-fake-pipe-bomb-parliament-house-security-concerns/5477468 |archive-date=4 December 2023 |url-status=live}} In response, the Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus admitted passholders bringing in unauthorised objects "is a risk", but that the AFP regularly consults with parliamentary officials about appropriate security measures.{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/liberal-senator-bill-heffernan-brandishes-pipe-bomb-to-make-point-on-parliament-security-20140526-38xwp.html |title=Liberal senator Bill Heffernan brandishes 'pipe bomb' to make point on Parliament security |work=[Sydney Morning Herald](/source/Sydney_Morning_Herald) |first=James |last=Massola |date=26 May 2014 |access-date=27 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204025428/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/liberal-senator-bill-heffernan-brandishes-pipe-bomb-to-make-point-on-parliament-security-20140526-38xwp.html |archive-date=4 December 2023 |url-status=live}} ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== *[http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=C16 Bill Heffernan, Senate biography] * [https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/nsw/bill_heffernan Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Bill Heffernan on TheyVoteForYou.org.au] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Heffernan, Bill}} Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:People from Junee Category:People educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill Category:Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Category:Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Category:Members of the Australian Senate Category:21st-century Australian politicians Category:20th-century Australian politicians --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bill Heffernan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Heffernan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Heffernan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.