John Clifford Cherry (born 22 May 1965)[1] was an Australian Democrats senator from 2001 to 2005, representing the state of Queensland and the Queensland Democrats.

[3][4] He studied law and economics at the University of Queensland, culminating in a master's degree in public administration.

He spent two years as a journalist with the Townsville Bulletin, then worked as an industrial officer with the State Public Services Federation until 1993, when he was appointed economics adviser first to Senator Cheryl Kernot, the then Senate leader of the Australian Democrats, and to her successor Meg Lees.

As an adviser to the latter, Cherry was a principal player in negotiations for the 1999 introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a measure which was a triumph for the Coalition government led by John Howard but which caused a serious split in the Australian Democrats, leading to electoral downturn and loss of the party's Senate representation.

[6] As a senator, Cherry supported protection of Queensland banana growers from potentially diseased imports,[7] conservation of the Great Barrier Reef[8] and superannuation reform to include recognition of same-sex relationships.