Greg Piper
Gregory Michael Piper (born 31 August 1957 in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales),[citation needed] an Australian politician, is the independent member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Lake Macquarie since 2007. Piper also served as Mayor of City of Lake Macquarie between 2004 and 2012, prior to the enactment of the Local Government Amendment (Members of Parliament) Act, 2012 (NSW) preventing dual membership of state parliament and local council.
Greg Piper | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Early years and background
Piper 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 didn't see a future there, he took a nursing job at Morisset Hospital, where he worked for 26 years.[1] He now lives on the Morisset Peninsula in Mirrabooka, near the Westlakes suburb of Morisset, with his wife Lyn.[2]
Political career
Piper was first elected to the City of Lake Macquarie Council in 1991 as an independent councillor and served as deputy mayor through 2000. He sat on and chaired numerous council and state government 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 also served on Hunter Waste Management and Planning Board for a number of years including a period as chair.[2] 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.[3]
Piper was elected as the member for Lake Macquarie at the 2007 general election. Piper has sat on the Legislative Assembly's Broadband Committee and currently is a member of the Natural Resources Committee (Climate Change).[2]
He was overwhelmingly reelected in the 2019 New South Wales state election, winning by a two-candidate vote of 72.6% against Labor's Jo Smith.[4]
Political views
According to his web site, he is "left leaning, socially progressive, fiscally cautious, pragmatic, swinging voter; and staunchly Independent."[5]
References
- ^ Breaking Bread: Greg Piper, Independent Member for Lake Macquarie Newcastle Herald 26 December 2014
- ^ a b c "Mr (Greg) Gregory Michael Piper, MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ "2008 Lake Macquarie City Council election results". Department of Local Government. Retrieved 12 February 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "Lake Macquarie - ABC". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ . Greg Piper. Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.