Lucy Turnbull

Lucinda Mary "Lucy" Turnbull AO (née Hughes; born 30 March 1958) is an Australian businesswoman, philanthropist, and former local government politician. She served as the Lord Mayor of Sydney from 2003 to 2004 (the first woman to hold the position), having first been elected to the Sydney City Council in 1999. Since leaving office, Turnbull has served in city planning roles, as a company director, and as a board member of various non-profit organisations. Her husband, Malcolm Turnbull, is the Prime Minister of Australia.

Early life and education

Born Lucinda Mary Hughes, Turnbull is the daughter of Tom Hughes, a former Attorney-General of Australia.^[1] Her great-grandfather was Sir Thomas Hughes, the first Lord Mayor of Sydney. She was educated at the Frensham School in Mittagong, New South Wales and the University of Sydney, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (in 1982).^[2] Turnbull also holds a Master of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management of the University of New South Wales.

Political career

Lucy Turnbull was elected to Council in 1999 and immediately held the position of Deputy Lord Mayor, serving under Lord Mayor Frank Sartor. When Sartor retired to enter NSW politics, Turnbull became Lord Mayor. In early 2004, the Carr Labor government sacked and amalgamated the City of Sydney and South Sydney Councils.

As Lord Mayor, Turnbull awarded Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi the keys to the city of Sydney in 2003.^[3]

Business and community involvement

With a background in commercial law and investment banking, Turnbull is a Director of Turnbull & Partners Pty Ltd, a private investment company. She also chairs ASX listed biotechnology company Prima Biomed Limited.

Turnbull has a long-standing interest in cities and their planning, governance and management, as well as the importance of technological innovation to the national economy. In 1999, she published a book called Sydney: Biography of a City. She is an independent member of the Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority, which is charged with the urban renewal and revitalisation of several precincts in Sydney, including Redfern–Waterloo. She was an independent member of the Redfern–Waterloo Authority from its establishment in 2004 until its repeal in December 2011. Since 2005, she has been a board member of the Australian Technology Park, Redfern. Since 2012, she has been the chair of the Committee for Sydney, a think tank for Greater Sydney representing public, private and not-for-profit sectors and focussed on the future of the metropolitan city.^[4]

Since July 2010, Turnbull has been deputy chair of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) City Expert Advisory Panel, which reports to the COAG Reform Council. The Expert Panel was charged with preparing a report published on 1 March 2012, advising COAG Reform Council on whether metropolitan planning systems were consistent with agreed COAG criteria.

Lucy Turnbull has also been active in the not-for-profit sector and is currently a member of the board of the United States Studies Centre at Sydney University, the Biennale of Sydney, the Redfern Foundation Limited and the Turnbull Foundation. She is also a board member of the NSW Cancer Institute. She has previously chaired the Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation, the Sydney Cancer Centre and the Sydney Festival Limited. From 2006–2010, she was a board member of Melbourne IT and before that a board member of WebCentral Limited.

On 26 January 2011, Turnbull was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for her distinguished service to the community, particularly through philanthropic contributions to, and fundraising support for, a range of medical, social welfare, educational, youth and cultural organisations, to local government, and to business.^[5]

Personal life

Turnbull and her husband, Malcolm Turnbull, in January 2012

Lucy was aged 19 when she met Malcolm Turnbull, who was aged 23.^[6][7][8] Turnbull asked his friend Bob Carr to arrange a date with Lucy which he did. They were married on 22 March 1980^[9][10] in Cumnor, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom by a Church of England priest, despite Malcolm then being Presbyterian and Lucy Roman Catholic.^[9] After two miscarriages, Lucy and Malcolm Turnbull had two children, Alex (b. 1982) and Daisy (b. 1985).^[1] Malcolm Turnbull has been a member of the House of Representatives for Wentworth since 2004, representing the Liberal Party. He has had two stints as the party's leader, and in that capacity is the current Prime Minister of Australia.^[11]

The couple reside in Sydney, with an additional property in Hunter Valley, an apartment in Canberra when they are not in The Lodge.^[12][13] They also own an apartment in New York City.^[13]

Books

• Turnbull, Lucy (1999). Sydney – biography of a city. Random House. ISBN 0-09-183905-X{{inconsistent citations}} 

References