Wayne Berry

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Wayne Berry (born 1942) is an Australian politician and the current Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly.

Berry was born in Sydney in 1942 and educated in Taree, New South Wales. He served in the NSW Fire Service from 1963 until 1972 and the ACT Fire Brigade from 1972 until 1989. He is a Graduate Member of the Institute of Fire Engineers (UK) and an active member of the Federal Firefighters Union, serving as National President between 1986 and 1989.

In 1989 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly as an Australian Labor Party representative for the electorate of Ginninderra. He was Deputy Chief Minister from 1991 to 1994, Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 1998 and has been Speaker of the Assembly since 2001. He was the Minister for Community Services and Health in 1989 and Minister for Health, Industrial Relations and Sport between 1991 and 1994.

Berry will retire from politics at the 2008 election. [1]