Pat Dodson
Patrick Lionel Djargun Dodson (born 29 January 1948) is an Australian indigenous rights activist and former politician. He was a Senator for Western Australia from 2016 to 2024, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
Patrick Dodson | |
|---|---|
Dodson in New York City in 2022 | |
| Senator for Western Australia | |
| In office 2 May 2016 – 26 January 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Joe Bullock |
| Succeeded by | Varun Ghosh |
| Special Envoy for Reconciliation and Implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart | |
| In office 1 June 2022 – 26 January 2024 | |
| Preceded by | (position established) |
| Succeeded by | (position terminated) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Patrick Lionel Djargun Dodson 29 January 1948 Broome, Western Australia, Australia |
| Political party | Labor |
| Relations | Mick Dodson (brother) |
| Alma mater | Corpus Christi College, Melbourne |
Dodson is a Yawuru elder from Broome, Western Australia. He has been chairman of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and a Commissioner into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. In addition to a brief stint as a Roman Catholic priest, he was the winner of the 2008 Sydney Peace Prize and the 2009 John Curtin Medal. He is the brother of Mick Dodson.
On 2 March 2016, Dodson was announced as the replacement for Joe Bullock as a Labor senator for Western Australia, following Bullock's resignation. The Parliament of Western Australia appointed Dodson to the Senate on 2 May 2016. On 28 November 2023, Dodson announced his retirement from the Senate, which took effect on 26 January 2024. He was undergoing treatment for cancer at the time of his resignation.