John D'Orazio | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister for Justice | |
| In office 10 March 2005 – 8 May 2006 | |
| Premier | Geoff Gallop Alan Carpenter |
| Preceded by | Michelle Roberts |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Quirk |
| Minister for Police and Emergency Services | |
| In office 3 February 2006 – 8 May 2006 | |
| Premier | Alan Carpenter |
| Preceded by | Michelle Roberts |
| Succeeded by | John Kobelke |
| Minister for Community Safety | |
| In office 3 February 2006 – 8 May 2006 | |
| Premier | Alan Carpenter |
| Preceded by | Michelle Roberts |
| Succeeded by | John Kobelke |
| Minister for Small Business | |
| In office 10 March 2005 – 3 February 2006 | |
| Premier | Geoff Gallop |
| Preceded by | Bob Kucera |
| Succeeded by | Norm Marlborough |
| Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for Ballajura | |
| In office 10 February 2001 – 6 September 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Rhonda Parker |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 September 1955 Mount Lawley, Western Australia |
| Died | 11 April 2011 (aged 55) Murdoch, Western Australia |
| Resting place | Karrakatta Cemetery |
| Political party |
|
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | Western Australian Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | Pharmacist |
John Biase D'Orazio (5 September 1955 – 11 April 2011) was an Australian politician who served as the member for Ballajura in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 10 February 2001 to 6 September 2008. He was a minister in the governments of Geoff Gallop and Alan Carpenter, and a member of the Labor Party until 29 August 2006, when he resigned following several controversies. Born to Italian immigrants, D'Orazio grew up on a market garden in the Perth suburb of Bayswater. He studied pharmacy at the Western Australian Institute of Technology, later opening his own pharmacy business. In 1981, he was elected to the City of Bayswater council, and in 1984, he became the mayor of Bayswater, in which position he served until 2001.
At the 2001 Western Australian state election, D'Orazio was elected to the seat of Ballajura, beating the Liberal incumbent Rhonda Parker. Following the 2005 state election, he was promoted to cabinet by Premier Geoff Gallop, becoming the minister for justice and minister for small business. In February 2006, after Alan Carpenter became premier, D'Orazio was appointed as the minister for police and emergency services, minister for justice, and minister for community safety.
In February 2006, it was revealed that in 2003, D'Orazio had organised a meeting between Adam Spagnolo, a City of Bayswater employee, and Tony Drago, the owner of a carpet business, where they allegedly reached a deal where Spagnolo would use his position at the City of Bayswater to give carpet contracts to the business. The Crime and Corruption Commission cleared D'Orazio of wrongdoing the following month, and all charges against Spagnolo were dropped in 2007. In March 2006, it was revealed that up to 15 staff at his pharmacy were not paid superannuation. In April, he crashed his ministerial car. His licence was suspended at the time after failing to pay for speeding fines. This caused him to be stripped of his existing ministries on 8 May 2006 and be made the minister for disability services, minister for citizenship and multicultural interests, and minister for seniors and volunteering. A day later, he resigned from cabinet. His licence was later reinstated as the speeding fines were sent to the wrong address. In August, it was revealed he had talked to corrupt panel beater Pasquale Minniti who said he could help D'Orazio get his licence back by using his connections at Western Australia Police. This forced him to resign from the Labor Party and sit as an independent.
As an independent MP, D'Orazio worked with Liberal backbencher Matt Birney to create a private member's bill for a referendum on whether to introduce daylight saving time. The bill passed, and so a three-year trial of daylight saving time commenced, with a daylight saving referendum occurring at the end of that. After the CCC found in December 2007 that D'Orazio had not engaged in misconduct when meeting with Minniti, the Labor Party was forced to let D'Orazio join again. He failed in his bid for preselection for the seat of Morley, so he resigned from the party on 26 June 2008 to stand as an independent. His decision to direct his preferences to Liberal candidate Ian Britza was credited as the reason for Britza winning Morley. D'Orazio went back to running a pharmacy after leaving parliament. He died on 11 April 2011 during an operation on his heart following a diagnosis of amyloidosis.