Joe Riordan

Who was Joe Riordan?

Joseph Martin "Joe" Riordan AO was an Australian politician and briefly government minister.

Riordan was born in Sydney, raised as a Catholic, and educated at Patrician Brothers School and Marist Brother College in that city. He was the nephew of Darby Riordan, the Labor member of the House of Representatives for Kennedy from 1929 to 1936. He married Patricia Watkins in 1955; they had four sons and two daughters. From 1958 to 1972 he was Federal Secretary of the Federated Clerks' Union.

Riordan was elected as the Australian Labor Party member for the House of Representatives seat of Phillip at the 1972 election, defeating the Liberal, William Aston. He was Minister for Housing and Construction from June 1975 until the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in November 1975. He was defeated by the Liberals' Jack Birney at the 1975 election.

Riordan was Senior Deputy President of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission from 1986 to 1995. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in January 1995 for "service to industrial relations, to social justice and to the Community".