Steven Bruce Scott Pringle (born 19 August 1958) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2003 to 2007, representing the electorate of Hawkesbury.
A former mayor of Hornsby Shire, Pringle was elected as the Liberal Party of Australia candidate at the 2003 election, having defeated veteran sitting MP Kevin Rozzoli in a Liberal Party preselection contest. He represented the party until October 2006, when he resigned to sit as an independent, after himself losing Liberal preselection to recontest his seat in controversial circumstances. He was defeated at the 2007 State election by Liberal candidate Ray Williams.
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Pringle studied at Macquarie University, attaining a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in economics and history, and a Master of Arts, majoring in politics.[1][2] It was at university where he first became involved in politics, joining the university Liberal Club and serving in positions on the University Council, Union Board and Student Council.[3] After graduating from university, Pringle joined the Royal Australian Navy, ultimately attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander.[4]
Alongside his military career, Pringle became involved in local politics. In the late 1980s, he stood for election to the Hornsby Shire Council in northern Sydney, and was elected as a councillor in 1987, a position he held until 2003.[5] He first attempted to enter state politics in 1990, contesting preselection for a by-election in the safe Liberal seat of The Hills, but came a close second to car dealer Tony Packard.[6]
Pringle was elected president of Hornsby Shire in 1992, becoming its youngest president thus far at the age of 34.[7] He did not stand for re-election to the position in 1993, and instead contested preselection for the safe Liberal seat of Northcott for the 1995 state election, losing to Barry O'Farrell.[8][9] He served two more terms as shire president in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before making another bid to enter state parliament in 2002.[10]
Pringle initially contested preselection for a 2002 by-election in the seat of Hornsby, but lost to Judy Hopwood. He instead launched a challenge against Kevin Rozzoli, a former Speaker and incumbent of nearly 30 years, in the seat of Hawkesbury for the 2003 state election.[11][12] On this fourth attempt to gain preselection he was successful, although the vote in which he defeated Rozzoli was marred by allegations of branch stacking. The result was somewhat controversial, and caused two local mayors to stand for election against him as independents, but Pringle nevertheless retained the seat for the Liberal Party and was elected to parliament.[13][14]
Pringle was elected Member for Hawkesbury at the general election held on 22 March 2003 and held the seat until the next general election held on 2 March 2007. Pringle remained a relatively low-profile backbencher for his first two years in parliament, focusing mainly on local issues, especially in the areas of planning and the environment. Though he held strongly Christian conservative beliefs, opposing abortion and gay rights and attending the same parliamentary prayer group as hard-right factional power-broker David Clarke, he was always aligned with the party's moderate faction.[15] This allegiance began threatening his career as early as 2005, only two years into his term, when reports emerged that the hard-right was engaging in branch stacking in Hawkesbury as a prelude to a possible preselection challenge.[16] Several months later, in the wake of the resignation of moderate leader John Brogden, Pringle was one of a number of MPs who reportedly had their preselection threatened if they did not vote for the hard-right's preferred candidate, Peter Debnam, as Brogden's replacement, a campaign which ultimately sparked the withdrawal of Debnam's only opponent from the race.[17]
The tensions from the previous year were confirmed when, on 2 September 2006, Ray Williams, a Baulkham Hills Shire councillor backed by the hard-right faction, challenged Pringle for his endorsement to recontest his seat.[18] This came in the wake of reports that numbers in one branch in Pringle's electorate had swelled from 17 to 500 due to an influx of Lebanese members, and public allegations by Howard Crawford, party president for the nearby electorate of Londonderry, that a campaign of "branch-stacking, malpractice and political promises" was being used to undermine Pringle.[19][20] Reports also emerged during the campaign that Williams had claimed that he could secure a $100,000 donation to the party from a property development company if he were elected, which later sparked controversy and an enforced veto of the move from now-party leader Debnam.[21] Nevertheless Pringle was endorsed by Debnam, who had adopted a policy of supporting all sitting members.[22] Although Debnam's intervention had saved numerous sitting members over the previous year, it was not enough to save Pringle, who was defeated by Williams on 15 October. It was subsequently reported that Pringle had obtained approximately 50% of the local branch vote in spite of the alleged branch stacking, but had been soundly defeated by the votes of the hard right-dominated state council and state executive.[23]
Pringle responded to news of his preselection defeat by declaring "betrayal and disgust" at what had occurred, labelling Debnam either "lying or impotent" for not being able to save his career.[24][25] He resigned from the Liberal Party during Question Time in parliament on 17 October, announcing his intention to serve out his term as an independent, and recontest his seat as an independent at the 2007 election. The government used its numbers to suspend standing orders so Pringle could speak at a time of maximum coverage, and in an explosive attack under parliamentary privilege, Pringle criticised Clarke, Debnam and the Liberal Party, claiming that the party was being controlled by "an exclusive sect" – referring to Clarke's membership of Opus Dei – labelling Clarke "the Godfather", and calling the preselection "an absolute rort". He further accused the party of being preoccupied with issues such as homosexuality and drug injecting rooms, and claimed that it "does not deserve to govern".[26][27]
| Parliament of New South Wales | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kevin Rozzoli |
Member for Hawkesbury 2003 – 2007 |
Succeeded by Ray Williams |