Raymond Craig Williams (born 27 September 1960) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the seat of Kellyville for the Liberal Party since 2023. He previously represented the electorates of Hawkesbury from 2007 to 2015 and Castle Hill from 2015 to 2023.[1]
Ray Williams | |
|---|---|
| Minister for Multiculturalism | |
| In office 30 January 2017 – 23 March 2019 | |
| Premier | Gladys Berejiklian |
| Preceded by | John Ajaka |
| Succeeded by | John Sidoti (as Minister for Sport, Multiculturalism, Seniors and Veterans) |
| Minister for Disability Services | |
| In office 30 January 2017 – 23 March 2019 | |
| Premier | Gladys Berejiklian |
| Preceded by | John Ajaka |
| Succeeded by | Gareth Ward (as Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services) |
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Kellyville | |
| Assumed office 25 March 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Castle Hill | |
| In office 28 March 2015 – 25 March 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Dominic Perrottet |
| Succeeded by | Mark Hodges |
| Majority | 29.4% |
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Hawkesbury | |
| In office 24 March 2007 – 28 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Steven Pringle |
| Succeeded by | Dominic Perrottet |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Raymond Craig Williams 27 September 1960 Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Residence | Rouse Hill |
| Occupation | Maintenance manager |
Williams has also been the New South Wales Minister for Multiculturalism and the Minister for Disability Services from January 2017 to March 2019 in the Berejiklian ministry.[2][3]
Early life and background
editWilliams is the son of Allen Williams, a former heavyweight boxing champion of Australia and the South Pacific and Margaret Williams, the daughter of English migrants from Cornwall. His family was involved in the training of horses, and Williams followed in the family footsteps and trained horses for more than 30 years. From 1985, he worked for Glenorie Bus Company at Dural.[4]
Williams was a panel beater and maintenance manager with the Hillsbus company.[5] He was a councillor on Baulkham Hills Shire Council[6][7] until September 2008.[8] He was a President of the Kellyville Rouse Hill Progress Association. Williams led a campaign of roadside protests to highlight the need for the upgrade of Windsor Road.[9]
Political career
editIn 2003, Williams contested the seat of Riverstone, and was unsuccessful.[9] In an internal Liberal Party preselection for Hawkesbury prior to the 2007 state election, Williams defeated incumbent Steven Pringle.[7] As a result, Pringle decided to run for the seat as an independent candidate. Williams won the seat in the 2007 state election with a 6.07% majority.[10] In 2007, Williams was accused of branch stacking after a local pastor stated in a statutory declaration that Williams paid him party membership fees for churchgoers. This claim was denied by Williams, and has not been substantiated.[11]
In 2008, Williams was ejected from state parliament by the Speaker Richard Torbay for pretending to wrestle a toy iguana, in reference to the Belinda Neal – John Della Bosca scandal known as Iguanagate.[12][13][14]
Since his election to parliament, Williams has been appointed the Deputy Chair of the Liberal Party's Western Sydney Taskforce.[15] In June 2010, Williams was appointed the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Western Sydney and replaced Wayne Merton who retired.[16] At the 2011 state election, Williams reverted Hawkesbury to its traditional status as a comfortably safe Liberal seat, winning 84.7 per cent of the two-party vote on a swing of 28.7 points.[9] He was one of several Liberal MPs who saw their margins blow out amid the Coalition's massive landslide of that year.
At the 2015 state election, Williams traded seats with Dominic Perrottet, the member for the equally safe seat of Castle Hill. Williams was preselected for Castle Hill while Perrottet was preselected for Hawkesbury, and both were easily re-elected–in Williams' case, with 79.4 percent of the two-party vote,[17] making Castle Hill the safest seat in the state.
Following the resignation of Mike Baird as Premier,[18] Gladys Berejiklian was elected as Liberal leader and sworn in as Premier.[19][20][21] The First Berejiklian ministry was subsequently formed with Williams sworn in as the Minister for Multiculturalism and the Minister for Disability Services with effect from 30 January 2017.[2] Following the 2019 state election where Williams retained the seat of Castle Hill, he was not reappointed to the Second Berejiklian ministry.
Due to electoral redistributions, Williams chose to contest the newly created electorate of Kellyville. He was elected to that seat, though suffered a 12.2% swing against him.[22]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Mr (Ray) Raymond Craig Williams MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Refreshed NSW cabinet sworn in". Australia: Sky News. AAP. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
- ^ Sas, Nick (31 March 2019). "Gladys Berejiklian says Liberal Party has no women problem as re-elected NSW Premier shuffles Cabinet". Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ "Ray Williams Inaugural speech" (PDF). Hansard. Parliament of New South Wales. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ Mitchell, Alex (14 October 2006). "Sitting MP given boot by hard right". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Cr Ray Williams". Councillors. Baulkham Hills Shire Council. Archived from the original on 4 April 2008.
- ^ a b Dempster, Quentin (27 October 2006). "Right vs Right". Stateline. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ Macfarlane, Stuart (18 April 2007). "Ray to stay on Council". Hawkesbury Gazette.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c Green, Antony (4 April 2011). "Hawkesbury". NSW Votes 2011. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ "Preferential Count – Hawkesbury". NSW State Election, 2007. New South Wales Electoral Commission. 15 November 2010.
- ^ "Liberal Ray Williams accused in member scandal". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ "Liberal ejected for stuffed iguana prank". News.com.au. 25 June 2008.
- ^ "MP thrown out for stuffed iguana". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 June 2008.
- ^ "Lizard eats MP: Just another day in 'Iguana Gate', Hawkesbury Gazette, 3 July 2008". Archived from the original on 2 August 2008. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
- ^ "Ray Williams weighs in Penrith by-election". Penrith City Star. 17 May 2010.
- ^ "Ray Williams Appointed To Key Western Sydney Role". Liberal Party of Australia (NSW).[permanent dead link]
- ^ Green, Antony (9 April 2015). "Electorate: Castle Hill". NSW Election 2015. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ^ Jacques, Owen (19 January 2017). "Baird resigns: NSW Premier to quit top job and Parliament". The Satellite. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
- ^ "Swearing-In of The Honourable Gladys Berejiklian MP, the 45th Premier of New South Wales, and The Honourable John Barilaro MP, Deputy Premier". Vice Regal Program. Governor of New South Wales. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ "Ministers". parliament.nsw.gov.au. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ Clennell, Andrew (26 January 2017). "Premier Gladys Berejiklian plans major reshuffle for cabinet". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ "Kellyville – NSW Election 2023". www.abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.