Alistair Harkness

Dr Harkness grew up in Frankston, Victoria, where he attended Frankston Heights Primary School. After completing high school at Mentone Grammar School, he was accepted to study at Monash University. In 1996, he graduated with a Bachelor of Business and a Bachelor of Arts, and received first class honours the following year. He went on to complete a PhD in political science, which he was awarded in 2005.{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/handbook/searchresult.cfm?menuid=1&memberId=1580 |title=Parliamentary Handbook - Find an MP |website=www.parliament.vic.gov.au |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050720203736/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/handbook/searchresult.cfm?menuid=1&memberId=1580 |archive-date=2005-07-20}} His research on Victorian state politics and policy has been widely published.{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/handbook/searchresult.cfm?menuid=1&memberId=1580 |title=Parliamentary Handbook - Find an MP |website=www.parliament.vic.gov.au |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050720203736/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/handbook/searchresult.cfm?menuid=1&memberId=1580 |archive-date=2005-07-20}}

Prior to entering Parliament, his career included working for Steve Bracks in his first term as Premier, as a lecturing associate at Monash University teaching in Australian politics, policy making and police studies, and on the galvanizing and paint lines at BHP Westernport. He supported himself prior to these roles in a variety of occupations, including as a sales assistant at Big W (Karingal).

Harkness married his wife, Tawny, in 2006, with whom he has one daughter.{{Cite web | url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20691074-5008560,00.html |title = Herald Sun | Breaking News from Melbourne and Victoria | Herald Sun}}

Harkness was elected as the Member for Frankston in the 2002 Victorian state election. At just 28 years old, this made him the youngest member in the Victorian Parliament. During his first term, he was a member of the Parliamentary Roads Safety Committee. He was re-elected at the 2006 election and served on the Parliamentary Education Committee. In office, Harkness listed his key areas of interest as road safety, education and the environment. He was defeated in the 2010 election, obtaining 47.93% of the vote after the distribution of preferences.{{Cite web | url=http://www.vec.vic.gov.au/Results/state2010resultFrankstonDistrict.html | title=State Election 2010: Frankston District results summary - Victorian Electoral Commission | access-date=28 March 2012 | archive-date=12 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412014155/https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/Results/state2010resultFrankstonDistrict.html | url-status=dead }}

He returned to academia in 2011, and was teaching and researching in Criminal Justice in the School of Applied Media and Social Sciences at Monash University.{{Cite web |url=http://arts.monash.edu.au/samss/staff/alistair-harkness.php |title=Dr Alistair Harkness, Arts, Monash University |access-date=1 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326064529/http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/samss/staff/alistair-harkness.php |archive-date=26 March 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }} After Monash, he was teaching and researching within the School of Arts at Federation University Australia before joining the University of New England in 2020{{Cite web|url=https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/hass/alistair-harkness|title=Alistair Harkness}} Part of his research has focussed on the role and appointment process for police commissioners. In this regard, he has been a vocal critic of the Baillieu Government's conduct in relation to Victoria Police Commissioner Simon Overland.{{Cite web | url=http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/overlands-legacy-should-be-independence-for-police-chiefs-20111101-1mtrp.html |title = Overland's legacy should be independence for police chiefs|date = November 2011}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://criminaljusticeaustralia.wordpress.com/ Alistair Harkness's criminal justice blog]

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{{succession box | title=Member for Frankston | before=Andrea McCall | after=Geoff Shaw | years=2002–2010}}

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Category:1974 births

Category:Living people

Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria

Category:Politicians from Melbourne

Category:Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly

Category:Australian people of New Zealand descent

Category:Monash University alumni

Category:21st-century Australian politicians

Category:People educated at Mentone Grammar School

Category:People from Frankston, Victoria

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