Overview
- South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas announced that Nick Bolkus died peacefully on Christmas morning.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led tributes, calling Bolkus one of Labor’s “great sons.”
- Bolkus represented South Australia in the Senate from 1980 to 2005 and held portfolios under the Hawke and Keating governments.
- As immigration and ethnic affairs minister, he allowed thousands of Chinese nationals in Australia before the 1989 crackdown to settle permanently.
- He was the first Greek Australian to serve as a Cabinet minister and is survived by his wife Mary and daughters Mikayla and Aria, with Aria a candidate for SA Labor at the next state election.