Gregory Michael Piper (born 31 August 1957 in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales)[citation needed] is an Australian politician, who is an independent member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing Lake Macquarie since 2007. Piper was mayor of City of Lake Macquarie between 2004 and 2012, before the enactment of the Local Government Amendment (Members of Parliament) Act, 2012 (NSW) preventing dual membership of state parliament and local council.
Greg Piper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 32nd Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly | |
| Assumed office 9 May 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Jonathan O'Dea |
| 5th Assistant Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 15 February 2022 – 9 May 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Coure |
| Succeeded by | Jason Yat-Sen Li |
| Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Lake Macquarie | |
| Assumed office 24 March 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Jeff Hunter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gregory Michael Piper 31 August 1957 Coffs Harbour, New South Wales |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | Lyn Piper |
| Residence | Mirrabooka[1] |
Early years and background
editPiper grew up in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Kahibah.[citation needed] He has three children and five grandchildren.[citation needed] In his teenage years, he attended St Pius X high school in Adamstown. When Piper finished school he worked in Steelworks for a year. When he did not see a future there he took a nursing job at Morisset Hospital, where he worked for 26 years.[2] He now lives on the Morisset Peninsula in Mirrabooka, near the Westlakes suburb of Morisset, with his wife Lyn.[3]
Political career
editPiper was first elected to the City of Lake Macquarie Council in 1991 as an independent councillor and was deputy mayor through 2000. He sat on and chaired numerous committees. Piper held the position of chair of the Lake Macquarie Estuary Management Committee and the Lake Macquarie Project Management Committee since the establishment of each. He was also on the Hunter Waste Management and Planning Board for a number of years including a period as chair.[3] He was directly elected as the mayor of Lake Macquarie in March 2004 and again in September 2008, where he received 60% of the first-preference vote.[4]
Piper was elected as the member for Lake Macquarie at the 2007 general election. He sat on the Legislative Assembly's rural and regional Broadband Committee from June 2007 to November 2008 and was a member of the Standing Committee on Natural Resource Management (Climate Change) from 2008 to 2011, in addition Piper has also been a member of the Committee on Transport and Infrastructure from June 2011 to June 2013, State and Regional Development Committee from March 2013 to March 2015, Standing Orders and Procedure Committee from March 2013 to March 2015, Public Accounts Committee from March 2013 to March 2015 and from May 2015 to March 2019, Select Committee on the Motor Vehicle Repair Industry from November 2013 to July 2014, Joint Select Committee on Companion Animal Breeding Practices in New South Wales from May 2015 to August 2015, Standing Orders and Procedure Committee from May 2015 to March 2019.[3]
He was overwhelmingly re-elected in the 2019 New South Wales state election, winning by a two-candidate vote of 72.1% against Labor's Jo Smith.[5] Piper was also re-elected at the 2023 election with a first-preference vote of over 58%,[6] he accepted the offer of the minority Labor government to become Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[7]
Political views
editAccording to his web site, Piper describes his politics as "left leaning, socially progressive, fiscally cautious", Piper goes on to mention that he is staunchly independent and has never been a member of a political party.[8]
References
edit- ^ "The Legislative Assembly District of Lake Macquarie". NSW Electoral Commission. Locality as enrolled. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ Bevan, Scott (2 June 2018). "Breaking Bread: Greg Piper, Independent Member for Lake Macquarie". Newcastle Herald. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024.
- ^ a b c "Mr (Greg) Gregory Michael Piper, MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ "Summary of First Preference Votes for each Candidate (Status: Declared Election)". NSW Electoral Commission. 18 September 2008. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
Greg Piper was declared elected mayor on 18 September 2008
- ^ Green, Antony (23 March 2019). "Lake Macquarie - NSW Election 2019". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ Green, Antony (5 April 2023). "Lake Macquarie – NSW Election 2023". ABC News. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ Riddle, Rebecca (4 April 2023). "Order, Order, Lake Mac MP Greg Piper new Lower House speaker". Newcastle Weekly. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ^ "About Greg". gregpiper1.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
Greg worked as a nurse in mental health and developmental disability at Morisset Hospital for over 25 years, a grounding that helped develop a strong sense of social justice. He describes his politics as generally left leaning, socially progressive and fiscally cautious.