John Graham (Australian politician)

John Edward Graham is an Australian politician. He is a Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since October 2016, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy resulting from the resignation of Sophie Cotsis to contest the Canterbury state by-election. On 8 June 2021, Graham became the deputy leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council.[1] He is the current Minister for Roads and Minister for the Arts. He previously served as the Shadow Special Minister of State, Shadow Minister for Roads, and Shadow Minister for Music and the Night Time Economy.[2]

The Honourable
John Graham
MLC
Special Minister of State
Assumed office
28 March 2023
LeaderChris Minns
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council
Assumed office
28 March 2023
LeaderChris Minns
Preceded bySarah Mitchell
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council
In office
8 June 2021 – 28 March 2023
LeaderChris Minns
Preceded byPenny Sharpe
Succeeded byTBD
Member of Legislative Council of New South Wales
Assumed office
12 October 2016
Preceded bySophie Cotsis
Personal details
Political partyLabor Party
SpouseJenny McAllister
ChildrenTwo
Websitewww.johngraham.net.au

Prior to his appointment to the Legislative Council, he was the assistant general secretary of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party.[2] He has previously worked as an adviser to NSW and Queensland state governments, including as the Deputy Chief of Staff to Former NSW Premier Nathan Rees. He also worked in the higher education sector and for the Finance Sector Union. He is a founder of Labor Loves Live Music.[3]

Graham was considered for preselection for Canterbury, and was confident he had the support of the rank-and-file members,[4] however Cotsis was preselected after NSW Labor leader Luke Foley intervened over concerns that Graham lived in Redfern (in the electorate of Newtown) and Foley wanted the candidate to be a woman.[5]

Graham is married to federal senator Jenny McAllister.[4] He is a member of NSW Labor's left faction.[6]

References
  1. "Prue Car elected deputy NSW Labor leader". 7News. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  2. "The Hon. John GRAHAM, MLC". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  3. "About". John Graham MLC. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  4. Aston, Joe (23 February 2016). "John Graham to replace Linda Burney in NSW Parliament". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  5. Nicholls, Sean (11 March 2016). "The NSW Coalition's women problem". The Age. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  6. Graham, John (15 April 2015). "Fighting For A Better World". Challenge Magazine. NSW Labor Left. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.