Bruce Norman Atkinson (born 15 May 1953) is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Victorian Legislative Council since October 1992, representing Koonung Province from 1992 to 2006 and Eastern Metropolitan Region from 2006 to 2022. He was the President of the Legislative Council from 2010 to 2018.
Personal affairs
Atkinson was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and attended Mitcham High School. He undertook a cadetship with the Leader group of newspapers after graduating, and worked as a journalist for a period. However, he soon made a move into the business world, first into small business, and later into several more prominent operations, including a stint managing a shopping centre. He has also been a writer for the Foodweek and Inside Retailing publications since 1981, and operates his own business consultancy firm, The Atkinson Group.
Political career
Local Politics
He was elected to the Nunawading city council in 1975, and served as a councillor there for 17 years. This included two terms as mayor in 1981–1982 and 1990–1991. In 2019, media reported that Atkinson was an honorary member of a foreign influence organization known as the World Trade United Foundation, which has ties to the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party. In response, Atkinson claimed that he derived no financial benefit from the organization and that his title was solely honorific in nature. In May 2019, Atkinson became vice chairman of a water technology company that is linked to World Trade United Foundation.