Introduction
Joseph Max "Joe" Berinson (born 7 January 1932) is an Australian former politician who represented the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the Australian House of Representatives and the Western Australian Legislative Council. He was Environment Minister 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).
Berinson worked from the 1950s as a pharmacist before entering politics.
Federal politics
Berinson was elected to the Australian House of Representatives representing the electorate of Perth at the 1969 federal election. He was Environment Minister between July and November 1975, losing his seat in the 1975 election in December 1975
Legal career
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 the five members of the government most associated with WA Inc transactions.
Retirement
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.