Catherine Cusack (politician)
Encyclopedia
Catherine Eileen Cusack is 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
when her party won government. Her term is due to expire on 1 March 2019. She is married to Chris Crawford, and they have two sons. The family home is at Lennox Head
in the Northern Rivers region. She is a member of Lennox Head-Alstonville
Surf Life Saving Club
, the 1st Lennox Head Scout
group and Ballina
RSL Club. Her pastimes include playing the guitar, swimming, bushwalking, reading and skating.
. She grew up near Yass
in southern New South Wales, daughter of Greg Cusack (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. 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 2003, the 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. When her party won government at the 2011 election, she was controversially dumped from the front bench by premier Barry O'Farrell
, allegedly for having alienated the Shooters and Fishers Party by saying she would not allow hunting in national park
s.
In May 2011, Catherine Cusack received wide political support for a strong critique of her government's controversial 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 defeated Labor government. In a letter to the premier she wrote that "It is a central tenant (sic) of Liberal and Conservative philosophy that any retrospective legislation to alter contracts is unprecedented and repugnant" and that "The politics of the decision are unacceptably high risk for the Government."
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
, representing the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
. She was first elected as an opposition member on 22 March 2003 and was re-elected in 2011
New South Wales state election, 2011
Elections to the 55th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The 16-year incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Premier Kristina Keneally was defeated in a landslide by the Liberal-National coalition opposition led by Barry O'Farrell.New South Wales has...
when her party won government. Her term is due to expire on 1 March 2019. She is married to Chris Crawford, and they have two sons. The family home is at Lennox Head
Lennox Head, New South Wales
Lennox Head is a seaside village on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the stretch of coast between Byron Bay and Ballina in Ballina Shire....
in the Northern Rivers region. She is a member of Lennox Head-Alstonville
Alstonville, New South Wales
Alstonville is a town located in northern New South Wales, Australia, part of the region known as the Northern Rivers. Alstonville is located on the Bruxner Highway between the town of Ballina and city of Lismore . The village of Wollongbar is situated 4 km to the west of Alstonville...
Surf Life Saving Club
Surf Life Saving Club
Surf Life Saving Clubs are volunteer institutions at Australia's beaches. The clubs conduct surf lifesaving services on weekends and public holidays and host many beach sport activities, such as Nippers, surf carnivals and other competitions...
, the 1st Lennox Head Scout
Scout
A scout is a soldier performing reconnaissance and other support duties.Scout may also refer to:-Aircraft:* Scout , pre-1920s terminology for a single-seat fighter...
group and Ballina
Ballina, New South Wales
Ballina is a town on the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire Local Government Area. It had a population of 16,477 in the 2006 Census.-Location:...
RSL Club. Her pastimes include playing the guitar, swimming, bushwalking, reading and skating.
Biography
In her inaugural parliamentary speech, Catherine identified herself as the great-granddaughter of a former Labor politician, John CusackJohn Cusack (Australian politician)
John Joseph Cusack was an Australian politician, coachbuilder and garage proprietor.-Early life:Cusack was born at Bellevale near Yass, New South Wales and had some schooling in Yass. He was apprenticed at 15 to a blacksmith at Berrima...
. She grew up near Yass
Yass, New South Wales
Yass is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Yass Valley Shire. The name appears to have been derived from an Aboriginal word, "Yarrh" , said to mean 'running water'....
in southern New South Wales, daughter of Greg Cusack (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. Cusack worked for Greiner
Nick Greiner
Nicholas "Nick" Frank Hugo Greiner AC, is an Australian businessman and former politician. He was the 37th Premier New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. He was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 to 1988. He is married...
government minister Virginia Chadwick
Virginia Chadwick
Virginia Anne Chadwick AO was a Liberal Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1978 to 1999...
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 2003, the then Liberal leader John Brogden appointed her to Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
in the Juvenile Justice and Women's portfolios. She later served as Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability. When her party won government at the 2011 election, she was controversially dumped from the front bench by premier Barry O'Farrell
Barry O'Farrell
Barry Robert O'Farrell MP, is an Australian politician and is the 43rd Premier of New South Wales, Minister for Western Sydney, Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party and a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Ku-ring-gai for the Liberal Party since 1999.Born in...
, allegedly for having alienated the Shooters and Fishers Party by saying she would not allow hunting in national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s.
In May 2011, Catherine Cusack received wide political support for a strong critique of her government's controversial 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 defeated Labor government. In a letter to the premier she wrote that "It is a central tenant (sic) of Liberal and Conservative philosophy that any retrospective legislation to alter contracts is unprecedented and repugnant" and that "The politics of the decision are unacceptably high risk for the Government."