{{Short description|Australian politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Use Australian English|date=June 2011}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Peter Foss | honorific_suffix = | order = | term_start = 22 May 1989 | term_end = 21 May 2005 | deputy = | predecessor = | successor = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1946|3|24}} | birth_place = Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England | constituency = East Metropolitan Region | party = Liberal Party | spouse = | profession = | signature = | footnotes = }}
'''Peter Gilbert da Conceição Foss''' KC (born 24 March 1946 in England) is a former Australian politician, who represented the Liberal Party.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament\Memblist.nsf/WAllMembersFlat/Foss,+Peter+Gilbert+da+Conceicao?opendocument|title=Member List}}</ref>
Elected to parliament in the 1989 state election, he was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council representing the East Metropolitan Region, he was re-elected in 1993, 1996, and 2001. He retired in 2005.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/wa/content/2005/s1369435.htm| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050527004633/http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/wa/content/2005/s1369435.htm| archive-date = 2005-05-27| title = Stateline Western Australia| website = Australian Broadcasting Corporation}} </ref>
During his time in parliament he served as: * Minister for Health; Consumer Affairs: 16 February 1993 – 10 February 1995 * Minister for the Arts: 16 February 1993 – 22 December 1999<ref>{{Citation | author1=Laurie, Victoria | title=Culture czar.(Peter Foss) | journal=The Bulletin with Newsweek | date=1999-03-23 | publisher=A C P Computer Publications | volume=117 | issue=6166 | pages=64(3) | issn=1440-7485 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | author1=Taylor, Catherine | title=The arts in Western Australia: starring Peter Foss. [Western Australia's Arts Minister] | journal=The Australian| issue=1–2 May 1999 | pages=Review 16–18 | issn=1038-8761 }}</ref> * Minister for Fair Trading: 3 November 1993 – 21 December 1995 * Minister for Water Resources: 10 February 1995 – 21 December 1995 * Minister for the Environment: 10 February 1995 – 9 January 1997 * Attorney General; Minister for Justice: 21 December 1995 – 16 February 2001
He worked as a barrister and solicitor before entering parliament. He was appointed Queen's Counsel while serving as Attorney-General of Western Australia.<ref>http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/ArchivedStatements/Pages/CourtCoalitionGovernmentSearch.aspx?ItemId=143372&minister=Foss&admin=Court&page=8 {{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==Anti-LGBT amendments== Foss was instrumental in creating what has been referred to as Western Australia's "gay propaganda laws".<ref name=grieg/> Foss said he would give the support needed to pass a 1989 bill to decriminalise homosexuality, though only if his amendments, later widely referred to as the "Foss Amendments", were included. These included a formal statement from parliament saying it "disapproved of sexual relations between persons of the same sex", and making it a crime to "promote or encourage homosexual behaviour" in schools or for "public purpose". Impacts of the amendments included the banning of a safe sex education campaign in schools, and the removal of police advertisements to recruit openly LGBT people, over concerns about the legality of advertising public service employment to LGBT people. The ambiguity of what constituted promotion or encouragement of homosexuality caused many issues, such as concern from school teachers regarding how they could offer mental-health support to LGBT youth without breaking the law.<ref name=grieg/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Croy |first=Liam |date=17 November 2017 |title=The day a gay WA polly took a stand in Parliament |url=https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/wa-politician-brian-greig-reflects-on-the-day-he-stood-up-for-gay-rights-in-australian-parliament-ng-b88662257z |work=The West Australian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907170020/https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/wa-politician-brian-greig-reflects-on-the-day-he-stood-up-for-gay-rights-in-australian-parliament-ng-b88662257z |archive-date=7 September 2018 |url-status=}}</ref> The Foss Amendments were abolished in 2001.<ref name=grieg>{{cite web |url=https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/russias-antigay-laws-were-first-trialled-in-wa-says-oam-recipient-brian-greig-20140128-31kfn.html |title=Russia's anti-gay laws were first trialled in WA, says OAM recipient Brian Greig |last=Grieg |first=Brian |date=January 29, 2014 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215946/https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/russias-antigay-laws-were-first-trialled-in-wa-says-oam-recipient-brian-greig-20140128-31kfn.html |archive-date=June 2, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Minister for Health== Traditionally, Liberal governments supported the tobacco industry against activist moves to restrict smoking (especially in the workplace) but in WA, the Liberal Health Minister Peter Foss took a hard line against smoking. At a joint meeting of the state Health Ministers acting as a Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy (MCDS) he led the move to have prominent health warnings on every pack with a "Quit" phone number included. This was considered by the industry to be a major threat.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/hpcg0202 |title = Industry Documents Library}}</ref>
In December 1994 he openly attacked the Tobacco Institute of Australia and its CEO Donna Staunton, saying "the people who sell tobacco can only be described as international drug pushers."<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/rzfj0122 |title = Industry Documents Library}}</ref> This caused much consternation in the party across Australia since the massive donations made to the party in other states were a major source of campaign funding. The tobacco taxes collected supposedly to support a "Quit" campaign had been systematically syphoned off for other budget items.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
In November 1994 the Western Australian Health Department announced that it would review the Western Australian Tobacco Control Act which was aimed at restricting sponsorship of sporting events by tobacco companies. Foss's lead in these efforts was a reason for industry concern around the world because this established a priority that others might follow.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/srnh0206 |title = Industry Documents Library}}</ref>
Foss refused to back down saying: "The bill that we have for smoking related diseases is just enormous. And we certainly don't get back in tobacco taxes anything like the sort of money that we spend on hospitals which have an extra load because of the premature illness caused by tobacco." He wanted warnings to cover the entire side of cigarette packets, and he led the other state Health Ministers in an attempt to get uniform generic packet legislation.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foss, Peter}} Category:Living people Category:Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Category:Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Category:1946 births Category:Australian people of Portuguese descent Category:Australian King's Counsel Category:21st-century Australian politicians Category:Ministers for culture and the arts (Western Australia) Category:Ministers for health (Western Australia)