A leading member of the
Socialist Left faction of the ALP, Faulkner was appointed to the Senate in 1989 to succeed the former left-wing minister
Arthur Gietzelt, who had resigned mid-term. In the
Keating Labor government, Faulkner was
Minister for Veterans' Affairs and
Minister for Defence Science and Personnel 1993–94, and
Minister for the Environment, Sport and Territories, with a seat in the Cabinet, 1994–96. Faulkner became the first Labor Senate leader who did not become Government Senate leader since
Don Willesee. In October 2006 John Faulkner was elected as the National President of the Australian Labor Party until February 2008 and chaired the Labor's National Conference in 2007. and former Chief of the Defence Force
Peter Cosgrove in 2009.
Robert Gates (right). In the
First Rudd Ministry, Faulkner served as the
Vice-President of the Executive Council,
Special Minister of State and
Cabinet Secretary. In his role he introduced new rules for ministerial conduct and fundraising aimed at reducing the influence of lobbyists on government decisions. He also introduced new guidelines reducing the overt political control of government funded advertising. On 9 June 2009, Faulkner was sworn in the Minister for Defence, replacing
Joel Fitzgibbon, who had stepped down on 4 June. He retained this portfolio in the
First Gillard government until the
2010 federal election following an earlier announcement that he would step down as Defence Minister and return to the backbench. In 2014 Faulkner began a process of reforms that sought to stamp out perceived corruption and
factional infighting within the
New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party. Faulkner proposed to include
rankandfile members in decisions such as the selection of candidates for Senate and Legislative Council vacancies and
party tickets, and a vote in the direct election of the New South Wales parliamentary leaders. However, Faulkner's reform proposals were mostly rejected at NSW Labor's 2014 conference. The direct election of party leader gained support with effect from after the
2015 election.
Resignation Faulkner announced on 30 April 2014 that he would not seek re-election and would be retiring at the end of his term on 30 June 2017. On 11 December 2014, however, he announced that he would be resigning from the Senate in late January or early February 2015, creating a casual vacancy. Faulkner resigned on 6 February 2015. ==Post-politics life==