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Catherine Cusack (politician)

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The Honourable
Catherine Cusack
MLC
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
In office
22 March 2003 – 9 August 2022
Succeeded byAileen MacDonald
Personal details
Born (1963-10-26) 26 October 1963 (age 61)
Political partyLiberal Party

Catherine Eileen Cusack (born 26 October 1963)[1] is a former Australian politician who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, representing the Liberal Party. She was first elected as an opposition member on 22 March 2003 and was re-elected in 2011 and 2019 when her party won government.[2]

Biography

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In her inaugural parliamentary speech, Cusack identified herself as the great-granddaughter of a former Labor politician, John Cusack.[3][4] She grew up near Yass in southern New South Wales,[5] daughter of Greg Cusack[3] (born 1930), a former Australian motor racing and motor rally champion. She joined the Young Liberals while studying economics at Sydney University and was elected their first female president in 1985.[3] Cusack worked for Greiner government minister Virginia Chadwick in the Community Services and Education portfolios. She left in 1992 to work in the private sector, moving to the NSW Far North Coast in 2000 following the appointment of her husband to the Northern Rivers Area Health Service.

In 1995 she sought preselection to fill the Legislative Council vacancy caused by the resignation of Stephen Mutch but was defeated by Mike Gallacher.[6]

Parliamentary career

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In 2003, then-Liberal leader John Brogden appointed her to Shadow Cabinet in the Juvenile Justice and Women's portfolios. She later served as Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability.[7] When her party won government at the 2011 election, she was removed from the frontbench by premier Barry O'Farrell, allegedly for having alienated the Shooters and Fishers Party by saying she would not allow hunting in national parks.[8]

In May 2011, Cusack received wide political support for a strong critique of her government's decision to retrospectively alter a Solar Bonus Scheme, by cutting tariffs from 60 to 40 cents for customers who had signed up before November 2010 under the previous government.[9][10][11][12][13]

Cusack was Chair of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians and represented Australia at the Women in Parliaments Global Forum in Amman 2016 and chaired a workshop on "Political Violence Against Women".[14]

At a hearing of the NSW Parliament's Standing Committee on Social Issues in March 2013, Cusack expressed feeling "excluded and often looked down upon by gay culture." She also accused the AIDS Council of NSW (ACON) and the gay community in general of "looking down on women and deliberately excluding them from efforts to combat AIDS."[15][16]

Cusack served as Parliamentary Secretary to Premier Mike Baird from 2015 until he retired in January 2017. Premier Gladys Berejikjlian who was elected unopposed as Baird's replacement, appointed Ms Cusack as Parliamentary Secretary for Education & the Hunter. Two months later in February 2017, she resigned for sending an email to Premier Gladys Berejiklian, criticising her cabinet appointments and her colleagues.[17] In January 2018, she was re-appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary for Digital Inclusion[18] as well as Parliamentary Secretary for Cost of Living, initiating programs such as the Cost of Living Officer.[19]

In November 2018, Cusack won preselection for the Liberal Party's Upper House northern province against Scot Macdonald, and was subsequently re-elected at the preceding 2019 NSW state election for an eight-year term ending in 2027.[20]

Cusack again lost her Parliamentary Secretary position when in November 2020 she crossed the floor on the controversial Local Land Services Amendment Bill 2020.[21]

Cusack advocates for children of prisoners, reforms to reduce the number of women in prison and assist their transition post release.[22][23] Cusack hosts the Annual Women Keeping Women Out of Prison Breakfast at NSW Parliament, and is an Ambassador for "Dress for Success" (a charity that assists women leaving prison).[24]

In March 2022, Cusack announced she would resign from parliament over the federal government's handling of the flooding disaster on Australia's east coast.[25] On 19 May 2022, Cusack said that the earliest practical date for her resignation was the first week in August 2022.[26] She resigned on 9 August and was replaced by Aileen MacDonald.[2]

Personal life

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Cusack moved with her young family to Alstonville in 2000 following the appointment of her husband, Chris Crawford as CEO of The Northern Rivers Area Health Service.[27]

References

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  1. ^ "Trove - Archived webpage". Trove. Archived from the original on 16 March 2003. Retrieved 6 October 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ a b "The Hon. Catherine Eileen Cusack (1963- )". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Catherine Cusack's inaugural speech (PDF), 20 May 2003
  4. ^ "Mr John Joseph CUSACK (1868 - 1956)". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Commission for Children and Young People Amendment Bill 2007" (PDF). 21 December 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2011.
  6. ^ "In Brief: Liberal candidates". Canberra Times. 29 July 1995 – via Trove.
  7. ^ "Catherine Cusack personal page". Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  8. ^ Julie Ray Cusack dumped from environment ABC Local News, 4 April 2011
  9. ^ "Stand against scheme gets support". The Northern Star. 20 May 2011.
  10. ^ "Critical letter to Premier Barry O'Farrell" (PDF). Sydney Morning Herald. 17 May 2011.
  11. ^ "O'Farrell faces solar bonus revolt".
  12. ^ Chambers, Geoff; Clennell, Andrew (20 May 2011). "O'Farrell MP mutiny threat over Solar Bonus Scheme cuts". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  13. ^ "O'Farrell backflips on Solar Bonus Scheme". 6 June 2011.
  14. ^ "Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians newsletter" (PDF). August 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  15. ^ Aston, Heath (2 April 2013). "Gay slurs take AIDS fighter by surprise". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 April 2013..
    The Australian Press Council held that "The headline could have been better expressed to ensure that it was not interpreted as referring to slurs by Ms Cusack." and that "the newspaper failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy and fairness of its claim that Ms Cusack had "stunned colleagues" by her questions. There was no evidence to support this claim." "Adjudication 1579: Catherine Cusack / The Sydney Morning Herald". Australian Press Council. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  16. ^ McKinnon, Alex (18 March 2013). "Gays look down on women: Liberal MP". Sydney Star Observer. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  17. ^ "Catherine Cusack quits role as parliamentary secretary after blasting Gladys Berejiklian". ABC News. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Digital given greater clout in NSW govt". iTnews. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Cost of Living | Service NSW". www.service.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  20. ^ Kirkwood, Ian (10 November 2018). "Hunter parliamentary secretary Scot MacDonald loses Liberal preselection". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  21. ^ "NSW 'koala war' flares as Gladys Berejiklian sacks parliamentary secretary for crossing floor". the Guardian. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  22. ^ Cusack, Catherine (9 June 2021). "Keeping Women Out of Prison Coalition". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). New South Wales: Legislative Council. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  23. ^ Cusack, Catherine (9 June 2021). "Keeping Women Out of Prison coalition". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). New South Wales: Legislative Council. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  24. ^ "7th Annual Parliament House Breakfast". Sydney Community Foundation. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  25. ^ Herbert, Bronwyn (16 March 2022). "NSW Liberal upper house MP to quit over flood funding". ABC News. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  26. ^ Cusack, Catherine (19 May 2022). "Koala Habitat Protection". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). New South Wales: Legislative Council. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  27. ^ Annual report 2000 health.nsw.gov.au
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