Richard Wynne
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Lord Mayor of Melbourne | |
|---|---|
| In office 1990–1991 | |
| Preceded by | William Deveney |
| Succeeded by | Richard Meldrum |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 October 1955 Social worker |
| Website | www |
Richard William Wynne (born 6 October 1955) is a former Australian politician. He was a
Wynne previously served as Parliamentary Secretary for Justice (1999–2002), Cabinet Secretary (2002–2006),
Prior to being elected to Parliament, Wynne was a social worker, an electorate officer and a ministerial adviser to state and federal Labor ministers. He was a councillor for the
Childhood, education and early career
Richard Wynne grew up in the once working class, inner-city suburb of
Richard completed a Diploma in Youth Work in 1977 at Coburg State College, a Bachelor of Social Work in 1982 and a Diploma in Criminology in 1985 at the University of Melbourne. Pursuing a career in social justice, Richard Wynne worked as a Social Worker at the Flemington Community Health Centre from 1982 to 1988.
Political career
Melbourne city councillor and Lord Mayor of Melbourne
Richard Wynne was elected to the
The Cain and Kirner state labor governments
He served as electorate officer (1988–90) to the Honourable
Keating federal Labor government
Richard served as senior adviser to
State member for Richmond, the Bracks and Brumby state Labor governments
The state member for
At the September 1999 Victorian state election, the statewide result was decided by three independents who supported the formation of the minority Bracks State Labor Government. Richard Wynne won the then safe Labor seat of Richmond comfortably. Richard Wynne was elected to the sub-cabinet post of Parliamentary Secretary for Justice after the election and served until the state election in 2002. The role assisting the reformist Attorney General Rob Hulls gave Richard the opportunity to push for law reform in the area of Gay and Lesbian Rights (a strong constituency in his inner-city seat).
The
At the 2006 Victorian state election, he achieved a better result than in 2002, after contesting the seat against the Greens and other opponents in a hard-fought campaign.
Minister for Housing, Minister for Local Government and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs
Following the successful re-election of the Bracks Labor Government in Victoria in November 2006, Richard Wynne was appointed by the Premier Steve Bracks to the twin roles of Minister for Housing (following in the footsteps of his mentor, Barry Pullen) and Minister for Local Government.
One of Wynne's stated goals as Minister for Housing is to solve the current rent crisis sweeping Australia, as investors turn to booming commodities and share markets for better return over the property market.[7] In April 2007, Richard Wynne, as Local Government Minister, was central to the development of the groundbreaking Victorian Statewide Relationship Register as part of his ongoing involvement in Gay and Lesbian law reform.
After the unexpected resignation of Premier Steve Bracks and the subsequent appointing of new Premier John Brumby, Wynne was given a third portfolio as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, as well as maintaining his previous roles of Minister for Housing and Minister for Local Government in Premier Brumby's new cabinet. He served in these roles until Labor lost the 2010 election.
2014 to 2022
Wynne was appointed
Other interests
The
Corkman pub case
Wynne started a case in 2016 to prosecute rogue developers that had demolished a heritage-listed pub, the Carlton Inn. Initially, the case saw the developers fined in Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. However, in 2019, before the case was to appear in court, he cut a deal with the developers allowing them to build a 12-storey tower on the site instead of rebuilding the pub, as long as they did it by 2022, with possible financial benefits for the developers from the tower construction. This decision was harshly criticised by parties to the case, and the National Trust.[11] Wynne also received criticism in the media, with Crikey's Guy Rundle saying that Wynne and the Labor government had "pathetically rolled over" to the developers.[12] After the deal was concluded, the state opposition and various groups criticised the decision, with comments that Wynne had effectively "waved the white flag" to developers, possibly encouraging them to knock down further heritage-listed properties for further redevelopment. Both heritage groups and the state opposition demanded that the government compulsory acquire the land under section 172 of the Planning and Environment Act.[13] [14]
References
- ^ "Hon Richard Wynne". Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ Austin, Paul (7 February 2006). "Six Victorian MPs facing the boot". The Age. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ Transcript of speech by Lord Mayor Wynne to Olympic Selection Committee delegates in 1990
- ^ Interview Steve Bracks disendorses two MPs, ABC PM Program, 31 August 1999, Mark Willacy
- ^ Labor brings in two high profile replacements before poll, AAP General News (Australia), 1 September 1999
- ^ Defeated now, but Senate in the bag, 1 December 2002, Gay Alcorn, The Melbourne Age
- ^ Super idea to ease rent crisis John Ferguson, Herald Sun, 28 February 2007.
- ^ "Flemington development given green light by Planning Minister". 18 February 2017.
- ^ "Senior Victorian Labor MP Richard Wynne won't recontest seat at next year's state election". ABC News. 25 November 2021.
- ^ "Victorian ministers confirm resignations from Andrews government ahead of November election". ABC News. 24 June 2022.
- ^ "Corkman Cowboys Cut Deal With Minister And City Council on Pub Site"
- ^ "After animal acts and Labor cowardice, the Corkman pub destroyers finally face jail". 22 December 2020.
- ^ "Push for state to forcibly acquire corkman site from cowboy developers", Clay Lucas, The Age – 1 June 2019
- ^ Smith, Tim. "Government should Acquire Corkman Site for Social Housing". The Age.