Phillip George Pendal (4 February 1947 – 27 May 2008) was a Liberal and later Independent Western Australian politician, an opponent of abortion rights, and historian.
Born in Bunbury, Western Australia, Phillip Pendal was raised and schooled as a Catholic and his strong Catholic principles continued to influence him for the rest of his life, culminating in him being honoured by the Pope John Paul II with the Holy Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (Cross for the Church and the Pontiff) on 14 April 2005.
He was also a strong opponent of the death penalty, and his crossing of the floor to support its abolition in 1984 was instrumental to the bill's passage.
[5] At the time of his death, he had finished another work awaiting publication, a history of Catholic education in Western Australia due to be published in September 2008.
[3] Pendal died of a brain aneurysm in 2008, and was widely praised by his former colleagues from both sides of parliament as a passionate and eloquent parliamentarian of great personal integrity.