Gary Gray (Australian politician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gary Gray | |
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Member for Brand
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 24 November 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Kim Beazley |
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| Constituency | Brand |
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| Born | April 30, 1958 Rotherham, Yorkshire, England |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse | Deborah Gray |
Gary Gray AO (born 30 April 1958), Australian politician, is the Australian Labor Party representative for the Division of Brand in Western Australia in the Australian House of Representatives.
He was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England, and emigrated to Australia with his family in 1966, settling in state housing in Whyalla, South Australia. After finishing high school in 1976 at Whyalla High School, Gray worked at the local BHP steelworks, and then at the Savings Bank of South Australia.[1] He joined the Labor Party in 1974,[2] and in May 1983, after graduating from the Australian National University with a degree in economics, he moved to Darwin. From then until May 1985 he was the assistant to Northern Territory opposition leader Bob Collins. He became a national organiser in March 1986, in which capacity he worked on every state Labor campaign between 1986 and 1993 and initiated the National Marginal Seats Campaign. During this time he met and married his wife Deborah, the daughter of former Labor finance minister Peter Walsh.[3]
On 30 April 1993, just after Paul Keating won the 1993 election, he became National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party.[4][2] He resigned after seven years on 10 November 1999, citing personal and family reasons, and moved to Perth, Western Australia.[5] In April 2000, he quit working for the party hierarchy entirely,[4] and took up a role with Wesfarmers as the Executive Director of the Western Australian Institute of Medical Research. Within a year, he was engaged by Woodside Petroleum as an adviser on their ultimately successfully bid to repel the takeover of the company by the Shell Oil Company, after which he was promoted to corporate affairs director.[1]
He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day honours of 2003, for service to the Australian Labor Party and to politics through the introduction of modern campaign techniques, fundraising protocols for all political parties, affirmative action guidelines, and by strengthening the party's organisational and financial structure.[6]
Gray left Woodside to contest the 2007 federal election for the seat of Brand in Western Australia, replacing retiring MP Kim Beazley. He won the seat on a 0.97% swing (1.17% less than the state average),[7] and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Infrastructure with Responsibility for Northern and Regional Australia in the First Rudd Ministry.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Australian Labor Party. Gary Gray - Member for Brand. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
- ^ a b Australian Labor Party (WA Division). "Gary Gray", Labor Voice (Vol 15, No.2), May-June 1993, p. 15.
- ^ Lane, Terry. "The National Interest", Radio National (ABC), 14 November 1999. Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
- ^ a b Ramsey, Alan. "Two decades on, a party stalwart finds karma waters", Sydney Morning Herald, 10 August 2002. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
- ^ "Gary Gray resigns as ALP national secretary", The World Today (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 10 November 1999. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
- ^ Gary Gray AO, It's an Honour (Australian Government).
- ^ Australian Electoral Commission (14 December 2007). Virtual Tally Room - WA Division - Brand.
- ^ "Rudd hands out portfolios", ABC Online, 29 November 2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-12.
[edit] External links
| Parliament of Australia | ||
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| Preceded by Kim Beazley |
Member for Brand 2007 – present |
Incumbent |
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