Warwick Raymond Parer, AM (6 April 1936 – 14 March 2014) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Queensland from 1984 to 2000. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served as Minister for Resources and Energy in the Howard government from 1996 to 1998.
Parer was born in Wau in the Australian-administered Territory of New Guinea (present-day Papua New Guinea).[1] His uncle Damien Parer was a war photographer who was killed by the Japanese in 1944.[2] Parer was educated at St. Joseph's Nudgee College in Brisbane and at the University of Melbourne, where he received a Bachelor of Commerce.[1]
Parer became a member of the Senate in 1985.[1] Following the announcement of the 1987 Senate election results, Parer was one of four senators who received a six-year term as a consequence of which method was chosen to allocate the seats.[3]
From March 1996 to October 1998, Parer was Minister for Resources and Energy in John Howard's government. He retired from the Senate on 11 February 2000,[1] and George Brandis was appointed to fill the casual vacancy.[4]
Parer was president of the Queensland Liberal Party from 2006 until February 2008.
He was chair of the Coalition of Australian Governments Independent Energy Review Panel and a member of the Governing Council of the Old Parliament House (Qld).
He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005.[5]
He was also appointed chair of the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital Foundation in 2010, and chairman of the Board of Stanwell Corporation Limited in May 2012.[6]
Parer died on Friday 14 March 2014, aged 77.[7]
For service to the Australian Parliament, particularly through policy development and broadening of export opportunities for the mining industry, to energy market reform and to education.