Early life and career
Laxale was born on 20 November 1983 in the Sydney suburb of Westmead to a father from Mauritius and a mother from Réunion,a French overseas department. [5] His father was a member of the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM). [6] Laxale was educated at The King's School. [7] [8] He then attended University of New South Wales and majored in Politics and International Relations and the French language. [9] After finishing university,he joined the family business supplying hair and beauty products as a small business director. [10]
Laxale served as a non-executive director at specialised worker's compensation insurer Statecover Mutual Limited from 2018 until his election to federal politics. During that time,he also served as Chair of the Risk committee. Laxale also served as associate director of Local Government Procurement,Director of Local Government NSW and as an Advisory Board Member for Venture Cafe Sydney. [11]
Political career
Laxale joined the Labor Party in 2004 and was the Eastwood Labor branch president since 2008. [9] He is a member of the Labor Left faction. [12]
City of Ryde
Laxale was first elected to the City of Ryde for the West Ward in the 2012 local government elections. [13]
Laxale became mayor of the council on 8 September 2015 and was at the time the youngest ever in this role at the age of 31. [14] [15] At the end of the one-year term on 16 September 2016,Laxale was replaced as Mayor by Liberal Councillor Bill Pickering by a 7–5 vote of the council. [16]
After the local government elections in September 2017,on 26 September 2017,the newly elected Council elected Laxale to be the Mayor again for a two-year term. [17] He was re-elected in September 2019 [18] and in September 2021, [19] serving as mayor until January 2022,when he was succeeded by Liberal's Jordan Lane. [20]
In addition to his duties as a Councillor in the City of Ryde,Laxale was also the Treasurer in the Local Government NSW (LGNSW) Board,a position he was elected to in October 2019. [21] [22]
In 2017,Laxale served for one term as Vice President of the Northern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils.
From 2015 to 2017,Laxale served as Chairperson of the Parramatta River Catchment Group,contributing to its 10-year master plan to make the Parramatta River swimmable. [23]
As the Mayor of Ryde,Laxale led Council to transition to 100% renewable energy, [24] install electric vehicle chargers,divest in fossil fuel aligned institutions,set a Zero Litter to River target and declare a climate emergency. In 2020,Laxale was a finalist at the Cities Power Partnership awards for the Climate Ambassador (elected representative) category. [25]
Laxale resigned as Councillor on 22 July 2022 after he was elected to federal parliament. [26] Laxale also left the LGNSW board and his position as LGNSW Treasurer. [27]
Federal politics
Laxale was the Labor Party candidate for the Division of Bennelong,which had once been represented by former Prime Minister John Howard,in the 2022 federal election. In order to stand for election,he renounced his French and Mauritian citizenships,which he inherited from his mother and father respectively. [1] He took the seat off the Liberals on a swing of 7.9 percent,just over the 6.9 percent swing he needed to win. He is just the second Labor member to win the former Liberal stronghold since its creation in 1949. [2]
Laxale serves on the House Economics Committee,the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth,the Joint Statutory Committee on Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings and the Joint Statutory Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission. [23]
In his time on these committees,Laxale has spent public hearings calling for the Reserve Bank of Australia to focus more on renters,and for banks to do more on scams and to implement fee-free digital payments. [30] Laxale is an advocate for abolishing credit and debit card surcharge fees. [31]
In 2024,Jerome was made the Federal NSW Patron of the Labor Environment Action Network recognising his long-held views on taking climate action.
Since entering federal politics,Laxale has been a vocal advocate for stronger environmental protections. Laxale was critical of the Government's gas strategy, [32] and in February 2025,Laxale also led a campaign with Reid MP Sally Sitou,to convince the Government and the cross bench to pass the stalled Nature Positive Legislation [33] to establish an Australian Environmental Protection Agency.
Laxale has also been critical of the government's gas strategy,urging a shift away from new gas investments. He has pushed for a greater focus on renewable energy and emissions reduction,arguing that continued gas expansion undermines Australia's climate commitments. His stance aligns with concerns raised by environmental groups and sections of the Labor Party who see the gas strategy as inconsistent with net-zero goals.
Laxale is the Chair of the Friends of France and Friends of Armenia,inter-parliamentary friendship groups,and also serves as co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Tech and Innovation. [23]
In June 2023 Laxale called for the banning of single-use disposable coffee cups in Parliament House. [34]
In December 2023 Laxale and other Labor MPs urged the Treasurer to take stronger action against the cost of living crisis. This led to the Government announcing more energy bill relief and the changes to the stage three tax cuts. [35]
Laxale stood for a second term in the 2025 Australian federal election. [36] The redistribution erased his majority and made Bennelong a notionally Liberal seat but Laxale was re-elected with a sizable swing of 9.5 percent against Liberal candidate Scott Yung,just short of making Bennelong a safe Labor seat. [37] Laxale also became the first Labor MP to win the seat of Bennelong in consecutive elections.
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