1. Laurence John Brereton was born on 29 May 1946 and is an Australian former politician who was a state minister, a federal member of cabinet, and kingmaker in the election of several Australian Labor Party leaders, including Paul Keating and Mark Latham.
Laurie Brereton was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1990 to October 2004, representing the Division of Kingsford Smith, New South Wales.
Laurie Brereton was born in the Sydney suburb of Kensington, and was educated at De La Salle Catholic College, Coogee, now defunct.
Laurie Brereton was apprenticed and worked as an electrical tradesman to the Sydney County Council, a former council-owned retailer of electricity in inner Sydney.
Laurie Brereton survived the political controversy of the Botany Council affair in the mid-'70s when he was accused of attempting to influence ALP aldermen who were considering an application to rezone a block of land.
Laurie Brereton was a vocal critic of Howard, who supported East Timor's continued integration in Indonesia.
Laurie Brereton was strongly critical of the performance of past Labor Governments, in particular Prime Minister Gough Whitlam who acquiesced to Indonesia's intentions to invade East Timor in 1975.
Laurie Brereton was a member of the Australian Parliamentary observer mission that witnessed the conduct of the ballot.
Laurie Brereton's break from previous Australian bipartisanship on East Timor policy was an important factor in the Howard Government's eventual decision to change Australian policy and intervene in East Timor in September 1999.
However Beazley was reluctant to challenge Laurie Brereton's handling of the issue and eventually accepted the change in Labor policy.
Laurie Brereton helped engineer the candidacy of the rock singer Peter Garrett as his successor in the seat.
Laurie Brereton's wife, Justice Dr Tricia Kavanagh, was a Judge on the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales and is the President of New South Wales Labor Party.