Peter Tinley

Who is Peter Tinley?

Peter Charles Tinley AM is an Australian soldier and politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since November 2009, representing the electorate of Willagee.

Born in the northern Perth suburb of Karrinyup, Tinley joined the Australian Army in 1981 and graduated from Royal Military College, Duntroon, earning the Queen's Medal which is awarded to the cadet graduating top of their class. He spent 17 of his 25 years in the Army in the Special Air Service Regiment. In 2002, he was the lead tactical planner for Australia's special forces advising the United States, and in 2003 he served as Deputy Commander for the Special Forces Task Group in Iraq. In the same year, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for "dynamic leadership and consistent professional excellence".

In late 2006, after leaving the army with the rank of Major, Tinley spoke out against the decision of the Howard Government to support the US and British initiative to invade Iraq on the basis of purported evidence of the country's possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction. He also called for the immediate withdrawal of Australian troops.