[1] Brereton was born in the Sydney suburb of Kensington, and was educated at De La Salle Catholic College, Coogee, now defunct.

He survived the political controversy of the Botany Council affair in the mid-'70s when he was accused of attempting to influence ALP aldermen who were considering an application to rezone a block of land.

[4] Assisted by his adviser, Dr Philip Dorling, Brereton was instrumental in revising Federal Labor policy to support self-determination and independence for East Timor.

He was also strongly critical of the performance of past Labor Governments, in particular Prime Minister Gough Whitlam who acquiesced to Indonesia's intentions to invade East Timor in 1975.

[citation needed] His wife, Justice Tricia Kavanagh, was a Judge on the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales.