| The Honourable Laurie Ferguson |
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|---|---|
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Reid |
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| In office 24 March 1990 – 21 August 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Tom Uren |
| Succeeded by | John Murphy |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Werriwa |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 21 August 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Chris Hayes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 July 1952 Sydney, New South Wales |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Maureen Walsh |
| Relations | Jack Ferguson (father) Martin Ferguson (brother) Andrew Ferguson (brother) |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney |
| Occupation | Research officer |
Laurie Donald Thomas Ferguson (born 7 July 1952), Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1990, representing Reid until 2010 and Werriwa thereafter, both in New South Wales. He was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and grew up in the Sydney suburb of Guildford. He was the son of Jack Ferguson, who was Deputy Premier of New South Wales 1976-84. He is the brother of Martin Ferguson, also a federal MP, and both attended at St Patrick's College, Strathfield. His younger brother Andrew Ferguson is the NSW Secretary of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (Construction and General Division). He is married to Maureen Walsh, a former councillor at Parramatta City Council in the Woodville Ward.[1]
Ferguson was educated at Sydney University and was a Research Officer with the Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union before entering politics. He was the member for Granville in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1984-90.[2]
In the federal Parliament, Ferguson was elected to the Opposition Shadow Ministry in March 1996 and was Shadow Minister for Immigration in 2004-05. His handling of the debate around Petro Georgiou's private member's bill on asylum seekers was severely criticised, and he was shifted to become Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs; Population Health and Health Regulation in June 2005. Upon the election of the Rudd Labor Government in 2007, Ferguson became Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services.
Ferguson is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Global Panel Foundation-Australasia.
Ferguson was preselected to contest the south-western Sydney seat of Werriwa at the 2010 federal election after his existing seat of Reid was merged with neighbouring Lowe. Lowe MP John Murphy contested the redistributed Reid.[3] He was not re-appointed to the executive of the Gillard Ministry after the election.
| Parliament of New South Wales | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Flaherty |
Member for Granville 1984–1990 |
Succeeded by Kim Yeadon |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by Tom Uren |
Member for Reid 1990–2010 |
Succeeded by John Murphy |
| Preceded by Chris Hayes |
Member for Werriwa 2010–present |
Incumbent |
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