Nick Bolkus, long-time Labor senator dies

aged 75

February 2026 Nick Bolkus, the long-time Labor senator for South Australia who was a minister in the Hawke and Keating governments, has died aged 75. The Labor stalwart was one of South Australia’s longest-serving senators, first elected in 1980 and not retiring until 2005. He also played an influential role in shaping Australia’s migration policy in the 1990s. He was elevated to the Hawke ministry in 1988 as minister for consumer affairs and continued to serve under prime minister Paul Keating as minister for immigration and ethnic affairs, where he is remembered for his contribution to multicultural Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led the tributes, saying the Labor family was mourning “one of our great sons”. “Nick Bolkus came to public life as a young man with a young man’s idealism and sense of urgency and he held true to those principles and that sense of purpose right through his long and distinguished career,” Mr Albanese said in a statement. “Fittingly for the first Greek Australian to serve as a Cabinet minister, Nick Bolkus was a passionate believer in democracy and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Mr Bolkus passed away peacefully on Christmas morning, SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said. “Nick was deeply respected across the political divide,” Mr Malinauskas said in a statement. “He was a formidable intellect, a tireless advocate for the Labor Party and a generous mentor to many. He was much loved by his family, colleagues and friends”, he said. A private funeral service was conducted at the Taxiarhis Cathedral and a State Memorial Service was held at the Allan Scott Auditorium, Hawke Building, Adelaide University on 22 February.

Greek Tribune Adelaide, South Australia