Michael Tate

Michael Carter Tate AO (born 6 July 1945) is a legal academic and former Australian Labor Party politician who later became an ambassador and then a Catholic priest.

For the Christian musician, see Michael Tait.

The Honourable Michael Tate AO
Minister for Consumer Affairs
In office 4 April 1990 – 27 May 1992
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke (1990–1991) Paul Keating (1991–1992)
Preceded by	Nick Bolkus
Succeeded by	Jeannette McHugh
Minister for Justice
In office 18 September 1987 – 24 March 1993
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke (1987–1991) Paul Keating (1991–1993)
Succeeded by	Duncan Kerr
Special Minister of State
In office 16 February 1987 – 24 July 1987
Prime Minister	Bob Hawke
Preceded by	Mick Young
Succeeded by	Frank Walker
Senator for Tasmania
In office 1 July 1978 – 5 July 1993
Succeeded by	Kay Denman
Personal details
Born	Michael Carter Tate (1945-07-06) 6 July 1945 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Alma mater	University of Tasmania University of Oxford
Occupation	Priest, legal academic

Early life and education

Tate was born in Sydney in 1945. He was educated at St Virgil's College in Hobart, and then studied law at the University of Tasmania, where he resided at St. John Fisher College and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours in 1968. He attributed his achievement to the long hours he spent in libraries, rather than in sporting or social activities, while recovering from a serious road accident in 1963, which hospitalised him in neck-to-knee plaster for five months and required further operations for the next eight years.[1] He later gained a Master of Arts in Theology from the University of Oxford in 1971. He worked as a lecturer in Law at the University of Tasmania Faculty of Law from 1972 to 1978, serving as Dean of the Faculty from 1977 to 1978.

He served as Legal Adviser to the Tasmanian Parliamentary Delegation to the Constitutional Conventions from 1973 to 1977, and was a member of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace from 1972 to 1978.

Political career

He was elected to the Senate representing Tasmania, at the 1977 election, his term commencing on 1 July 1978. He was re-elected in 1983, 1987 and 1993. He was President of the Parliamentary Christian Fellowship 1985 to 1988. In 1986 he chaired two Senate enquiries into the conduct of his former Labor colleague and now High Court justice Lionel Murphy. He concluded that on the civil law standard of proof, the balance of probabilities, Murphy had a case to answer on the charge of perverting the course of justice, but not if the criminal standard, beyond reasonable doubt, was applied.[1] He served as Minister for Justice from 1987 to 1993 in the Hawke and Keating governments, in addition to other portfolios. He resigned from the Senate on 5 July 1993.

After leaving politics he was appointed Australian Ambassador to the Netherlands and the Holy See, before retiring to enter the priesthood.

In 1992 and 1996, respectively, Tate was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Tasmania and Charles Sturt University; and, in the Australia Day Honours of 1996, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). All of these awards honoured the role Tate played as Federal Minister for Justice.

Later career

On 19 May 2000 he was ordained by the Archbishop of Hobart, the Most Rev. Adrian Leo Doyle in St Mary's Cathedral, Hobart. Guests included former Governor-General Bill Hayden, former Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, and former Attorneys-General Lionel Bowen and Michael Duffy. Congratulatory messages were received from Pope John Paul II and former Prime Ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.[2] That night, he told the ABC's 7.30 Report that during his last audience with the Pope as Ambassador to the Holy See, John Paul II asked him what his next posting would be. John Paul was somewhat surprised when Tate told him he would be studying for the priesthood.[3] Tate worked as parish priest of the Roman Catholic Parishes of Bridgewater, Sandy Bay, Huon Valley, and currently serves as parish priest of South Hobart. He is Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Hobart.

In April 2008, Tate participated in the Future of Australian Governance Committee at the Australia 2020 Summit as a general summit delegate.

On 18 November 2010, Tate was appointed as Tasmania's first Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. The role was established under the Integrity Commission Act 2009. The Commissioner is independent of the Integrity Commission and provides advice to Members of Parliament and the Integrity Commission about conduct, propriety and ethics and the interpretation of any relevant codes of conduct and guidelines relating to the conduct of Members of Parliament.[4]

On top of his ministry, Tate has continued his research in law, particularly in the area of international humanitarian law, and currently works in a part-time capacity as Honorary Research Professor at the University of Tasmania's Faculty of Law. He was a member of Australian Red Cross's International Humanitarian Law Committee.

References

1. Bruce Montgomery, "For God and country", Weekend Austra;ian, 25–26 September 1999, p. 28
2. Former Politician Ordained Priest Catholic News accessed 11 April 2012
3. Father Michael Tate on religion and politics, The 7.30 Report (ABC TV), 19 May 2000.
4. Tasmania’s first Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Archived 9 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine Integrity Commission accessed 11 April 2012

External links

• 7.30 Report transcript
• Parliamentary biography

Political offices
Preceded by Mick Young	Special Minister of State 1987	Succeeded by Frank Walker
Preceded by New title	Minister for Justice 1987–1993	Succeeded by Duncan Kerr
Preceded by Nick Bolkus	Minister for Consumer Affairs 1990–1992	Succeeded by Jeannette McHugh
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Terence McCarthy	Australian Ambassador to the Holy See 1993–1996	Succeeded by Edward Stevens
Preceded by Warwick Weemaes	Australian Ambassador to the Netherlands 1993 – 1996	Succeeded by Ted Delofski