Barbara Pocock

Barbara Ann PocockAM(born 22 March 1955) is an Australian politician and economist. She is a member of theAustralian Greensand has been aSenatorforSouth Australiasince 2022. She is anemeritus professorof theUniversity of South Australiaand was previously deputy chair ofThe Australia Institutefrom 2004 to 2022.

Senator Barbara Pocock AM
Pocock in 2021
SenatorforSouth Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 July 2022(2022-07-01)
Personal details
Born	Barbara Ann Pocock (1955-03-22)22 March 1955 Berri,South Australia, Australia
Political party	Greens
Domestic partner	Ian Campbell
Children	2
Residence(s)	Adelaide,South Australia, Australia
Education	Wilderness School Norwood High School
Alma mater	University of Adelaide(BEcon Honours) University of Adelaide(PhD)
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Economist Academic
Website	greens.org.au/sa/person/barbara-pocock

Early life and education

Pocock was born on 22 March 1955 inBerri, South Australia.She grew up with her family on amallee,sheep and wheat farm nearLameroo,200 kilometres from the South Australian state capital ofAdelaide.

Pocock moved toAdelaidein 1969 to attendedWilderness Schoolas a boarding student before moving toNorwood International High Schoolin 1972 to complete year 12. After finishing school, Pocock worked in shearing sheds and on farms in New Zealand for a year, and worked on farms in Australia.

She began studying economics in 1975 and graduated from theUniversity of Adelaidein 1978 with aBachelor of Economics(First Class Honours).She completed herPhDat the University of Adelaide in 1997 with athesistitled "Analysis of male power in Australian unions, its effects and how to combat it."

Professional career

Pocock was employed by theReserve Bank of Australiafrom 1979 as a research officer in the International Department in which she would write briefing notes for the Governor. Her portfolio encompassed regions including Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. It was during this time at the Reserve Bank that Pocock first became more aware of poor working conditions and the need forunionism.She states that she realised the importance of thefeminist movementin the workplace after seeing numerous women, including many migrants, working in the low paid part of the Reserve Bank countingmoney.

After her stint at the Reserve Bank, Pocock began work in 1981 at the Department of Industrial Relations inNewcastleand theHunter ValleyRegion as an Equal Employment Opportunity Officer.

Pocock joined academia in 1989 when she was employed by the South Australian College of Advanced Education as aLecturer.She was then promoted to a senior lecturer at theUniversity of Adelaidein 1997, before being promoted once again to associate professor in 2002. After her time at the University of Adelaide she began work at theUniversity of South Australiaas a professor in 2006, before becoming an emeritus professor at the same institution in 2015.She established and led the Centre for Work and Life at UniSA from 2006 to 2014.

In 2010 Pocock was awarded aMember of the Order of Australia (AM)for services to industrial relations and social justice.

Pocock was a Director and Deputy Chair of theAustralia Institutebetween 2004 and 2022.

Politics

Pocock was a founding member of the New Left Party. She was a signatory of theTime to Actstatement in March 1989 which led to the party's formation and subsequently served on its women's commission.

In December 2018, Pocock won Greenspreselectionto contest the federal seat ofAdelaide.She increased the party's by six percentage points at the2019 federal election,recording a primary vote of 16 percent.

Senate

Pocock was chosen as the Greens' lead Senate candidate in South Australia in September 2020.At the2022 federal electionshe was elected to a six-year term beginning on 1 July 2022.

Following her election, Pocock became the Greens' spokesperson for finance, employment and the public sector. She was chair of the Senate select committee into work and care from 2022 to 2023.She played a leading role in the parliamentary hearings and public scrutiny following thePwC tax scandalin 2023.

Views and positions

Pocock has long been a strong supporter of thefeministmovement and the labour movement. As a researcher and academic she has written numerousbooksandacademic journalarticles on the labour market, work-life conflict, unionism, low pay, inequality and vocational education. She has focused her research onindustrial relations,work and family,pay equity,andinequalityin the workplace. Pocock is a strong believer in the importance of trade unions and advocated for equality through fair labour law.She has called for increased access to sick leave and holiday leave for casual workers and argued that the casual loading does not compensate for the loss of such conditions. She has also advocated against long working hours and fairer conditions for working carers, including parental leave and early childhood education and care. Pocock is a critic of the legislative restrictions on strikes and the outlawing of secondary boycotts.

Pocock has called for JobSeeker unemployment payments and all forms of income support to be increased to $88 a day, and an improvement inrentalrights and the availability ofpublic housing.When asked, as a professor of economics, if such Greens policies would crash the Australianeconomyshe replied "No".She has pointed to the historically high levels of the profit share in Australia and the consequences for inequality of stalled wages and falling real incomes for workers.

Pocock is also a campaigner for urgentclimate changeaction,LGBTQ+rights,refugeerights, andanti-nuclearpolicies.Since 2015 she has been a member of 'Mothers for a Sustainable South Australia' (MOSSA), a campaign group of South Australian mothers who have opposed proposals for a high levelnuclear wastedump in South Australia, and more recently the disposal of medium and low level waste in the state.

Pocock argues for freeUniversity,TAFE,and for the forgiveness ofstudent debtdue to the large economic burden placed uponuniversity students.She points to the fact that she has had the advantages of living on a safe planet, enjoying free higher education, access to secure employment and the chance to buy a home through an affordable mortgage - all things unavailable to so many young Australians now. "When launching the Greens' student debt policy with New South Wales SenatorMehreen Faruqi,Pocock further stressed the importance of free higher education arguing that "high levels of student debt stand in the way of secure housing for many young people."

Personal life

Pocock has two children. She separated from their father in 2007 after 22 years. She now lives with her partner, Ian Campbell. She is a Port Adelaide football fan, and a recreational gardener, painter, sewer and writer.

Published works

• Pocock, Barbara (1988).Demanding skill: women and technical education in Australia.Sydney, NSW: Allen & Unwin.ISBN0043321372.
• Pocock, Barbara (1997).Strife: Sex and Politics in Labour Unions.Sydney, NSW: Allen & Unwin.ISBN1864483121.
• Pocock, Barbara (2003).The Work/Life Collision; What Work is Doing to Australians and What to Do About it.Sydney, NSW: Federation Press.ISBN9781862874756.
• Pocock, Barbara (2006).The Labour Market Ate My Babies: Work, Children and a Sustainable Future.Sydney, NSW: Federation Press.ISBN1862876045.
• Hill, Elizabeth; Pocock, Barbara; Elliot, Alison (2007).Kids Count Better Early Childhood Education and Care in Australia.Sydney, NSW: Sydney University Press.ISBN9781920898700.
• Masterman-Smith, Helen; Pocock, Barbara (2008).Living Low Paid: The dark side of prosperous Australia.Sydney, NSW: Allen & Unwin.ISBN978-1741753967.
• Pocock, Barbara; Skinner, Natalie; Williams, Pip (2012).Work, rest and play in Australia today.Sydney, NSW: University of New South Wales Press.ISBN978-1742232959.

External links

• Official website