Nic Bos
Labor Party activist Nic Bos was a member of the Old Guard of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) during the years leading to the National Executive’s 1980 intervention. Associated with the ETU, he held many ALP roles including State President of Young Labor, State ALP Organiser, and State Secretary from 1978.
Nic Bos
Biography
A Labor Party activist, Nic (Nico) Bos was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on 17 August 1944 and came with his family to Brisbane where he attended the Inala State and Indooroopilly High Schools.
During his apprenticeship years (1960-65) Bos attended Technical College to study electrical mechanics. His years as an electrical apprentice and tradesperson were spent in the coal, oil, sugar and manufacturing industries. He graduated with a Diploma of Occupational Health and Safety from Curtin University and he completed a Masters of Applied Science at the Queensland University of Technology.
Following his strong interest in politics, Nic Bos first joined the Brisbane Branch of the Young Labor Association (YLA) in 1966, also in that year starting the Inala YLA Branch. The following year, he was elected to the YLA Branch Executive and he joined the Inala Heights Branch of the ALP on 20 March 1967. In 1969, Nic Bos was appointed as temporary ALP State Organiser for both the state and federal election campaigns, working under State Secretary, Tom Burns, Assistant Secretary Bart Lourigan and Gerry Jones the ALP Organiser. In that year, Nic Bos was the (unsuccessful) ALP candidate for the state seat of Condamine. By 1970, he was an Organiser for the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), at the time when Neal Kane was State Secretary. Bos stood unsuccessfully for the state seat of Gympie in the disastrous 1974 election where the ALP was reduced to 11 seats.
In 1977, Nic Bos was elected ALP State Organiser. When Gerry Jones resigned as State Secretary in 1978, following the (limited) federal intervention, Nic Bos became Acting State Secretary of the ALP. The Queensland Branch had received strong legal advice that the intervention was unconstitutional but ultimately, their legal challenge was unsuccessful. Nic Bos tendered his resignation to the then federal President, Neville Wran. In all, Bos had spent about four years working in ALP headquarters.
In 1981, Bos returned to the ETU and was appointed Occupational Health and Safety Officer, forming the new Trades Hall Branch of the ALP and he continued to be a delegate to National Conference, State Conference and State Council.
He remains a member of the ALP.
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