Verity Firth | |
---|---|
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Balmain | |
In office 24 March 2007 –26 March 2011 | |
Preceded by | New district |
Succeeded by | Jamie Parker |
Minister for Education and Training | |
In office 8 September 2008 –28 March 2011 | |
Premier | Nathan Rees Kristina Keneally |
Preceded by | John Della Bosca |
Succeeded by | Adrian Piccoli |
Minister for Climate Change and the Environment | |
In office 27 February 2008 –5 September 2008 | |
Premier | Morris Iemma |
Preceded by | Phil Koperberg |
Succeeded by | Carmel Tebbutt |
Minister for Women | |
In office 2 April 2007 –14 September 2009 | |
Premier | Morris Iemma Nathan Rees |
Preceded by | Sandra Nori |
Succeeded by | Linda Burney |
Personal details | |
Born | Verity Helen Firth 28 August 1973 |
Political party | Labor Party |
Spouse | Matthew Chesher |
Relations | Charles Firth (brother) Meredith Burgmann (aunt) |
Children | April Chesher Clementine Chesher |
Residence | Glebe,New South Wales |
Alma mater | University of Sydney |
Occupation | University Executive |
Profession | Lawyer |
Website | https://www.linkedin.com/in/verityfirth/ |
Verity Helen Firth AM (born 28 August 1973) is an Australian university executive and former politician. She is the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Social Justice and Inclusion) at the University of Technology Sydney. [1] She was the chief executive officer of the Public Education Foundation in Australia.
Firth served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Balmain for the Labor Party from 2007 [2] to 2011. During this period,she served as Minister for Women,Minister for Science and Medical Research,and Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Cancer) from 2007 to 2008,Minister for Climate Change and the Environment in 2008,and as the Minister for Education and Training from 2008 to 2011.
Firth became a member of the Labor Party at the age of 15. She studied at North Sydney Girls High between 1986 and 1991,before studying Arts/Law at the University of Sydney between 1992 and 1998.[ citation needed ] While at university,she was active in student politics. After graduating,she worked as a political staffer,prior to working as an articled clerk at Slater &Gordon in 2001;she then worked as a campaign organiser for the Australian Labor Party (2001–2004). Between 2004 and 2007,she practised as a solicitor with Slater &Gordon,specialising in asbestos litigation and industrial law.[ citation needed ]
Firth was elected as a councillor of the City of Sydney in 2004. During her tenure on Council,she served for a period as Deputy Lord Mayor. Prior to entering state politics,she served on the board of the Law and Justice Foundation and Aidwatch.[ citation needed ]
Firth was elected to the new seat of Balmain on 24 March 2007. Though there was a swing away from the Labor,she won the seat with a majority of just below 4%. She was sworn in on 2 April 2007,receiving simultaneous appointment as Minister for Women,Minister for Science and Medical Research,Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Cancer) and Minister Assisting the Minister for the Environment,Climate Change and Water (Environment). [3]
On 22 February 2008,Phil Koperberg,Minister for the Environment,Climate Change and Water,resigned from cabinet due to ill health. Firth was subsequently appointed as Minister for Environment and Climate Change. [4]
Following the caucus election of Nathan Rees as Leader of the NSW Labor Party and Premier in September 2008 and ensuing New South Wales government reshuffle,Firth was appointed as Minister for Education and Training. She won early praise for her demand to the federal government that it fund state public schools to the same level as private schools. During her tenure as Education Minister,she was regarded as a future Labor leader. [5] Firth retained the Education portfolio under Rees' successor,Kristina Keneally.
During early 2009,the then Rees Labor Government announced the CBD Metro project. Controversial from the start,the CBD Metro project dominated the Sydney news for much of the year. Firth received media coverage for her opposition to the CBD metro,in the event that it would mean a bus interchange at Rozelle (due to the urban density of the area). [6] Firth was also perceived as being at odds with economically conservative sections of the NSW Cabinet after her opposition to the privatisation of Sydney Ferries became public;at the time,the option of privatising Sydney's ferry fleet was examined by the NSW government against the opposition of unions and some residents. [7] The Keneally government subsequently announced that the ferries would not be privatised.[ citation needed ]
Firth was defeated by Jamie Parker (representing the NSW Greens) as the Member for Balmain at the 2011 state election. After her defeat,Firth considered returning to work as a solicitor. Instead,however,she was appointed as CEO of the Public Education Foundation,an advocacy organisation providing scholarships for students in need of financial assistance. [8]
In May 2014,Firth again won Labor preselection in the seat of Balmain for the 2015 state election. [9] She lost the election to then sitting member,Jamie Parker. [10]
Firth was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2023 Australia Day Honours. [11]
Firth grew up in West Pymble and in Glebe. She lives in Glebe with her husband Matthew Chesher and their two children.
Her brother is Charles Firth,a comedian and member of The Chaser . Her aunt is Meredith Burgmann,the former NSW upper house president. [12] Firth is the great-granddaughter of Anglican Bishop Ernest Burgmann.
In January 2011 Firth's husband,Matthew Chesher,was charged by police for possession of the illegal drug,ecstasy. Chesher resigned immediately as chief of staff to Minister for Roads David Borger. Firth said she was "angry,hurt and very disappointed". [13] Verity refused to say how many tablets Chesher was buying and refused to say whether she had ever taken drugs. [14] Chesher was charged with the possession of one ecstasy tablet and subsequently placed on a 12-month good-behaviour bond with no conviction being recorded. [15]
John Bernard "Jack" Mundey was an Australian communist,union and environmental activist. He came to prominence during the 1970s for leading the New South Wales Builders' Labourers Federation (BLF) in the famous green bans,whereby the BLF led a successful campaign to protect the built and natural environment of Sydney from excessive and inappropriate development. Mundey was the patron of the Historic Houses Association of Australia.
Dianne Virginia Judge is a former Australian politician,who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Strathfield for the Labor Party from 2003 until 2011.
Morris Iemma is a former Australian politician who was the 40th Premier of New South Wales. He served from 3 August 2005 to 5 September 2008. From Sydney,Iemma attended the University of Sydney and the University of Technology,Sydney. A member of the Labor Party,he was first elected to the Parliament of New South Wales at the 1991 state election,having previously worked as a trade union official. From 1999,Iemma was a minister in the third and fourth ministries led by Bob Carr. He replaced Carr as premier and Leader of the New South Wales Labor Party in 2005,following Carr's resignation. Iemma led Labor to victory at the 2007 state election,albeit with a slightly reduced majority. He resigned as premier in 2008,after losing the support of caucus,and left parliament shortly after,triggering a by-election. He was replaced as premier by Nathan Rees.
Carmel Mary Tebbutt is an Australian former politician. She was the Labor Party Member for the former seat of Marrickville in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly until the 2015 election and was Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 2008 to 2011. She was also Minister for Health in the Keneally Government. She is the first woman to hold the position of Deputy Premier of New South Wales.
John Joseph Della Bosca is an Australian former politician,representing the Labor Party in the New South Wales Legislative Council. From 1999 to 2009,Della Bosca served a range of ministerial portfolios,including Minister for Health and Minister for the Central Coast in the NSW State Government.
Eric Michael Roozendaal,a former Australian politician,was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council,serving between 2004 and 2013. He is a former General Secretary of the Labor Party. Roozendaal was the Treasurer of New South Wales,Minister of State and Regional Development,Minister of Ports and Waterways,Minister for the Illawarra,and Special Minister of State in the Rees and Keneally governments.
Kristina Marie Kerscher Keneally is an American-born Australian politician who served as the first female Premier of New South Wales from 2009 to 2011 and was later a Labor Senator for New South Wales from February 2018 until April 2022. She resigned from the Senate to contest the House of Representatives seat of Fowler,but was unsuccessful. From 2019 to 2022 she served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate,Shadow Minister for Home Affairs,and Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.
Rose Butler Jackson is an Australian Labor Party politician serving as a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 8 May 2019. Since 5 April 2023,she has been serving in the Minns ministry as Minister for Water,Minister for Housing,Minister for Homelessness,Minister for Mental Health,Minister for Youth,and Minister for the North Coast. She is the former Assistant General Secretary of NSW Labor.
Philip Christian Koperberg,is the Chairman of the New South Wales Emergency Management Committee,responsible for advising the New South Wales government on emergency response strategies,since 2011.
Paul Bernard Gibson,is an Australian former politician and former rugby league footballer. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly,and represented the electorates of Blacktown between 1999 and 2011 and the electorate of Londonderry from 1988 to 1999,for the Labor Party.
David Andrew Campbell,an Australian former politician,was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Keira between 1999 and 2011. A former Lord Mayor of Wollongong,Campbell was appointed Minister for Police from 2 April 2007 to 5 September 2008,as well as Minister for Transport from 8 September 2008 until his resignation on 20 May 2010,with both positions as part of the NSW Government. On 28 September 2010,Campbell announced that he would not seek Labor endorsement for re-election at the 2011 NSW election.
Verity Nancy Burgmann is Adjunct Professor of Politics in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University and Honorary Professorial Fellow in the eScholarship Research Centre at the University of Melbourne,where she is Director of the Reason in Revolt website. In 2013 she was Ludwig Hirschfeld Mack Visiting Professor of Australian Studies in the Institut für Englische Philologie at the Freie Universität Berlin.
Nathan Rees is an Australian former politician who served as the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009. Rees was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Toongabbie for Labor from 2007 to 2015.
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