Joe Berinson
Joseph Max Berinson (7 January 1932 – 2 June 2018) was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the Australian House of Representatives and the Western Australian Legislative Council. He was Minister for the Environment in the Whitlam government for several months in 1975, later serving a decade as Attorney-General of Western Australia. Early life. Berinson was born to parents from Safed, Palestine. His father, Shulem, emigrated to Australia around 1913. His mother Rivka (Rebecca) née Finkelstein arrived in Australia in about 1923. Berinson had two older sisters, Goola (born 1924) and Ethel (born  1925). Federal politics. Berinson worked from the 1950s as a pharmacist before entering politics. He was elected to the Australian House of Representatives representing the electorate of Perth at the 1969 federal election. He was elected chairman of committees in February 1975 . He was then appointed Minister for the Environment in July 1975, serving until the government's dismissal on 11 November 1975 and then losing his seat in the December 1975 election. After Berinson's defeat in 1975, he was admitted as a legal practitioner in 1977. State politics. In 1980, Berinson was elected to the Western Australian Legislative  Council representing the Council electorates of North-East Metropolitan (1980–83), North Central Metropolitan (1983–89) and North Metropolitan (1989–1993). With the election of Brian Burke as Premier of Western Australia in 1983, Berinson was appointed Attorney-General. He served in this role under successive premiers Burke, Peter Dowding and Carmen Lawrence. While Attorney-General, he was appointed Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1988. In 1991, he was identified as one of five members of the government most associated with WA Inc transactions. Later life. Berinson retired from the ministry and from the Legislative Council in 1993. He subsequently served as President  of the Jewish Community Council of Western Australia between 2001 and 2005. Berinson died on 2 June 2018, aged 86. His burial took place the following day at Karrakatta Cemetery. He was survived by his wife Jeanette and their four children.