Julia Irwin
From Free net encyclopedia
Julia Claire Irwin (born 8 November 1951), Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 1998, representing the Division of Fowler, New South Wales. Irwin was born in Sydney and was variously a bank officer, trade union administration officer and electorate officer before entering politics.
In 2005 Irwin was involved in a controversy over comments she made about Israel. In parliament, Irwin made a speech characterising Israel's policies as "ethnic cleansing", and Gaza as a "concentration camp". After complaints from Jewish groups, and criticism by members of both the Liberal and Labor parties, especially Jewish MP Michael Danby, Irwin issued an apology for the "offensive" language she employed in her criticisms of Israel.