Eddie Obeid
Encyclopedia
Edward Moses Obeid OAM
(born 25 October 1943), a former Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
who served between 1991 and 2011, representing the Australian Labor Party
. He was the Minister for Fisheries and the Minister for Mineral Resources from 1999–2003. Despite his term in the Legislative Council due to expire in March 2015, he announced his decision to retire early on 10 May 2011, citing family reasons.
During his pariamentary career, Obeid was considered by many a powerbroker in the New South Wales Labor Party, belonging to the dominant right-wing sub-faction, often referred to as The Terrigals, so named as its inaugural meeting was held at Obeid's beach house in Terrigal
. It was reported that Obeid might retire at the 2011 state election
, prior to the expiry of his term, however he waited until the election was concluded.
. At age 6, he migrated to Australia with his family and they settled in Redfern
, growing up in a terrace house. Of Lebanese
Maronite
Catholic faith, he was an altar boy, sold newspapers from a street corner and collected deposits on soft drink bottles. Obeid married Judith in 1965, is now father of 9 children and a grandfather of 28 grandchildren. At age 29 in 1972, Obeid joined the Labor Party.
Prior to entering parliament, Obeid held a range of voluntary roles including:
, despite a brief carriage of junior ministerial responsibilities in the third Carr
ministry, Obeid's main contribution to parliament has been through Committee representation and his ability to manipulate factional numbers and votes. At the time of his resignation from the Council, Obeid claimed that his most satisfying moment in politics was to assist in the passage of legislation to help building sub-contractors.
His term in parliament, though, was dogged by controversy, including:
A large number of the allegations against Obeid have been generated by Fairfax Media's, The Sydney Morning Herald. In 2003, following Obeid's decision to not seek re-election to the fourth Carr ministry, he was quoted as saying:
Announcing his decision to retire from the Legislative Council on 10 May 2011, Obeid issued a statement that his granddaughter, Gisele, was diagnosed with cancer tumours in her kidneys in November 2010 and that, despite an operation and extensive chemotherapy, recent scans suggest some of the tumours remain. He said that "... My wife and I need to spend all our time supporting our son Moses and his wife Nikki through this difficult time." Following his annoucement to retire, John Hatzistergos
MLC also announced his intention to retire from the Legislative Council. Walt Secord
, the former chief of staff to the former Premier, Kristina Keneally, and Adam Searle
were nominated by Labor to fill the casual vacancies.
In September 2002, The Sydney Morning Herald alleged that Obeid was of NSW richest members of parliament. Media reports claimed that Obeid had purchased a property in Clovelly
for A$
875,000 in 1991 and the following day sold the property to the New South Wales Department of Housing for A$1.1 million. The Herald also claimed that two companies associated with Obeid have had debts of A$5 million written off by various banks. It was also alleged that the Obeid family trust secured a loan from the Colonial State Bank
for A$18 million. The Herald also sourced an internal document from Macquarie Bank, claiming:
These allegations arose at the same time as The Herald alleged that Obeid had attempted to solicit a A$1 million payment in return for promising NSW Government support for the Canterbury Bulldogs Leagues Club's A$800 million Oasis housing development in south-western Sydney. As a result of these allegations, the Independent Commission Against Corruption
conducted an inquiry and found that there was no evidence that any donation was made to the Labor Party in relation to the project. The Commission made a finding that Obeid had never solicited a donation and cleared him of any wrongdoing. In the meantime, The Herald reports for a series of articles concerning Canterbury Bulldogs salary cap breaches and the above (false) allegations had won a Gold
Walkley
. Obeid commenced defamation action against Fairfax Media and in 2006 the Supreme Court
found that Obeid had been defamed and that the media article had contributed to Obeid losing his job as a NSW minister. Obeid was awarded A$162,173 in damages, plus costs believed to have been more than A$1 million.
Obeid and his family also invested in Offset Alpine printing press with the late disgraced stockbroker Rene Rivkin
; where investors yielded a small fortune when the overinsured printing premises were destroyed by fire in 1993 via an insurance payout. In a remarkable co-incidence, Obeid has also had two of his premises and two houses have gone up in flames. Obeid's family have property interests in Lebanon, Port Macquarie
, Terrigal, Bylong Valley
, Woolwich
and Hunters Hill
, and Concord
(since sold); and business interests in live sheep exporting to Syria and Iraq, and Streetscape Projects, a company that sells multipurpose street poles with street lights, banners and security cameras, including those in the City of Sydney
municipal area.
in 1984 for his services to ethnic welfare.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 25 October 1943), a former Australian politician, was a member of the 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...
who served between 1991 and 2011, representing the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
. He was the Minister for Fisheries and the Minister for Mineral Resources from 1999–2003. Despite his term in the Legislative Council due to expire in March 2015, he announced his decision to retire early on 10 May 2011, citing family reasons.
During his pariamentary career, Obeid was considered by many a powerbroker in the New South Wales Labor Party, belonging to the dominant right-wing sub-faction, often referred to as The Terrigals, so named as its inaugural meeting was held at Obeid's beach house in Terrigal
Terrigal, New South Wales
Terrigal is a major coastal suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located east of Gosford on the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the City of Gosford local government area....
. It was reported that Obeid might retire at the 2011 state election
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...
, prior to the expiry of his term, however he waited until the election was concluded.
Early years and background
Obeid was born in the village of Matrite (sometimes called Metrit), (population approximately 150 people with one third Shite Muslims), in LebanonLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. At age 6, he migrated to Australia with his family and they settled in Redfern
Redfern, New South Wales
Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Redfern is 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...
, growing up in a terrace house. Of Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
Maronite
Maronite Church
The Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See of Rome . It traces its heritage back to the community founded by Maron, a 4th-century Syriac monk venerated as a saint. The first Maronite Patriarch, John Maron, was elected in the late 7th...
Catholic faith, he was an altar boy, sold newspapers from a street corner and collected deposits on soft drink bottles. Obeid married Judith in 1965, is now father of 9 children and a grandfather of 28 grandchildren. At age 29 in 1972, Obeid joined the Labor Party.
Prior to entering parliament, Obeid held a range of voluntary roles including:
- Trustee of the Art Gallery of New South WalesArt Gallery of New South WalesThe Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
(1980–1982) - Part-time Commissioner of the Ethnic Affairs Commission (1981–1985)
- Vice-President Ethnic Press Association of Australia (1981–1986)
- Director of the Western Suburbs Hospital Board (sic) (1983–1986)
- Board of Governors of the Law Foundation of New South Wales (1985–1988)
- Led Australian-Lebanese hostage negotiation mission to Iraq (December 1990)
- Patron, Australian Lebanese Christian Federation
Political career
Elected to the Legislative Council in 1991 to replace Jack HallamJack Hallam (politician)
Jack Rowland Hallam is a former Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1973 to 1991....
, despite a brief carriage of junior ministerial responsibilities in the third Carr
Bob Carr
Robert John "Bob" Carr , Australian statesman, was Premier of New South Wales from 4 April 1995 to 3 August 2005. He holds the record for the longest continuous service as premier of NSW...
ministry, Obeid's main contribution to parliament has been through Committee representation and his ability to manipulate factional numbers and votes. At the time of his resignation from the Council, Obeid claimed that his most satisfying moment in politics was to assist in the passage of legislation to help building sub-contractors.
His term in parliament, though, was dogged by controversy, including:
- 2002 Oasis redevelopment (see below) and subsequent investigation that cleared him of allegations of corrupt behaviour
- 2002 relevations that Obeid had failed to disclose all his business interests on Parliament's pecuniary interests register (see below)
- 2003 allegations that Obeid promised to secure the seat of ParramattaElectoral district of ParramattaParramatta is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is currently held by Geoff Lee of the Liberal Party of Australia....
- and an early ministry - for David BorgerDavid BorgerDavid Borger is an Australian politician. He represented the Electoral district of Granville for the Australian Labor Party in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 until 2011...
if he dumped the Left faction and joined the dominant Right - Providing Dr Arthur Chesterfield-EvansArthur Chesterfield-EvansArthur Chesterfield-Evans is an Australian medical practitioner, politician and peace activist who served as a member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales from 1998 to 2007.-Medical career:...
, a member of the Australian DemocratsAustralian DemocratsThe Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
, with a lift to Parliament House and using the opportunity to lobby Chesterfield-Evans in order to achieve favourable political outcomes, as revealed by Chesterfield-Evans in HansardHansardHansard is the name of the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, an early printer and publisher of these transcripts.-Origins:...
:
-
- "(Obeid said to me,) "Look, I'll give you the drum on what to do when you're here. You vote with us regularly and consistently and at the end of the day we'll give you a little win and you'll get back in." I said, "That's very kind, Eddie, but I've got a different idea. I've come here with a bunch of policies from the Australian Democrats. If you give me good legislation that's close to those policies, I will vote for it, but if you give me bad legislation that's a long way from those policies, I will vote against it." Eddie replied, "Oh no, you haven't got the right idea at all." ..... One day Eddie said, "You didn't vote for us. You should, you know, because I give you a lift home." I did not know whether he was being facetious—he may well have been—but I did not want it to appear as though I was compromising on the matter so from then on I caught the ferry."
- 2004 censure motion due to Obeid's undue influence in the elections of Matrite Council
- 2004 claims that Obeid had exerted undue influence on family members
- 2006 attempts to dump Obeid from the 2007 state election in favour of a Muslim candidate
- 2007 influence in the composition of the IemmaMorris IemmaMorris Iemma , is a former Australian politician and 40th Premier of New South Wales, succeeding Bob Carr after he resigned on 3 August 2005. Iemma led the Australian Labor Party to victory in the 2007 election before resigning as Premier on 5 September 2008, and as a Member of Parliament on 19...
ministry and Iemma's demise - 2009 influence in the composition of the ReesNathan ReesNathan Rees MP, , an Australian politician, was the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of the Australian Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009...
ministry - 2009 representations to NSW Minister for Roads, Michael DaleyMichael DaleyMichael John Daley MP , an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Maroubra for the Australian Labor Party since 2005. He is currently Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Finance and Services.-Early life:Daley was educated at Marcellin...
, on behalf of Mid-Western Regional Council for funding to seal a 1.5 km stretch of roadway near Obeid's family property near MudgeeMudgee, New South WalesMudgee is a town in the central west of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley 261 kilometres north west of Sydney. Mudgee is the centre of the Mid-Western Regional Council Local Government Area...
. Obeid failed to disclose his business interest - 2009 allegations of linkages between Obeid, his son, Moses, former Labor powerbroker and current lobbyist, Graham RichardsonGraham RichardsonGraham Frederick Richardson , a former Australian politician, was a Senator for New South Wales from 1983–94 for the Australian Labor Party, a senior minister in Hawke and Keating governments, and is now a political lobbyist, public speaker, and media commentator. During his time in politics,...
, businessman, Ron Medich and the murder of Michael McGurkMichael Loch McGurkMichael Loch McGurk , an Australian businessman, was murdered by a single gunshot to his head outside his Cremorne, Sydney family home... - 2009–2010 allegations that Obeid, together with right-wing Terrigals sub-factional colleague Tripodi, influenced the election and make-up of the Kristina KeneallyKristina KeneallyKristina Kerscher Keneally MP, is an Australian politician and was the 42nd Premier of New South Wales. She was elected leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales and thus Premier in 2009, but went on to lose government to the Liberal/National Coalition at the March 2011 state election...
ministry
- "(Obeid said to me,) "Look, I'll give you the drum on what to do when you're here. You vote with us regularly and consistently and at the end of the day we'll give you a little win and you'll get back in." I said, "That's very kind, Eddie, but I've got a different idea. I've come here with a bunch of policies from the Australian Democrats. If you give me good legislation that's close to those policies, I will vote for it, but if you give me bad legislation that's a long way from those policies, I will vote against it." Eddie replied, "Oh no, you haven't got the right idea at all." ..... One day Eddie said, "You didn't vote for us. You should, you know, because I give you a lift home." I did not know whether he was being facetious—he may well have been—but I did not want it to appear as though I was compromising on the matter so from then on I caught the ferry."
A large number of the allegations against Obeid have been generated by Fairfax Media's, The Sydney Morning Herald. In 2003, following Obeid's decision to not seek re-election to the fourth Carr ministry, he was quoted as saying:
- "...my decision will ensure that Government is not distracted by the campaign of innuendo, vilification and unsubstantiated allegation launched against me by The Sydney Morning Herald. This campaign shows no sign of abating and until my defamation action against the Herald is resolved in the courts, any work I did as a minister could be overshadowed."
Announcing his decision to retire from the Legislative Council on 10 May 2011, Obeid issued a statement that his granddaughter, Gisele, was diagnosed with cancer tumours in her kidneys in November 2010 and that, despite an operation and extensive chemotherapy, recent scans suggest some of the tumours remain. He said that "... My wife and I need to spend all our time supporting our son Moses and his wife Nikki through this difficult time." Following his annoucement to retire, John Hatzistergos
John Hatzistergos
John Hatzistergos is a former Australian politician who was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council representing the Australian Labor Party between 1999 and 2011...
MLC also announced his intention to retire from the Legislative Council. Walt Secord
Walt Secord
Walter "Walt" Secord is a Canadian-born Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since May 2011, when he was elected to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Eddie Obeid...
, the former chief of staff to the former Premier, Kristina Keneally, and Adam Searle
Adam Searle
Adam Searle is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since May 2011....
were nominated by Labor to fill the casual vacancies.
Business interests
Initially working as a taxi driver and then property developer, the source of Obeid's initial wealth and business is not clear. However, it is known that Obeid, together with his two brothers, inherited their father's estate that comprised land and houses in Lebanon. In 1973, Obeid together with business partners, purchased an interest in the recently established Arabic press, El-Telegraph Newspaper, with Obeid later buying out his business partners. Obeid has since sold his personal interest and is no longer publisher.In September 2002, The Sydney Morning Herald alleged that Obeid was of NSW richest members of parliament. Media reports claimed that Obeid had purchased a property in Clovelly
Clovelly, New South Wales
Clovelly is a small beach-side suburb in Sydney's eastern suburbs, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Clovelly is located 8 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick, within the Federal Division of Wentworth.Clovelly...
for A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
875,000 in 1991 and the following day sold the property to the New South Wales Department of Housing for A$1.1 million. The Herald also claimed that two companies associated with Obeid have had debts of A$5 million written off by various banks. It was also alleged that the Obeid family trust secured a loan from the Colonial State Bank
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is a multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Fiji, Asia, USA and the United Kingdom. Commonwealth Bank provides a variety of financial services including retail, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance,...
for A$18 million. The Herald also sourced an internal document from Macquarie Bank, claiming:
- "(Mr Obeid's) financial position is complex, with investments in his various companies and projects being difficult to analyse due to the cross ownership with third parties."
These allegations arose at the same time as The Herald alleged that Obeid had attempted to solicit a A$1 million payment in return for promising NSW Government support for the Canterbury Bulldogs Leagues Club's A$800 million Oasis housing development in south-western Sydney. As a result of these allegations, the Independent Commission Against Corruption
New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption
The Independent Commission Against Corruption is an independent agency of the Government of New South Wales with responsibility for investigating corrupt practices by state and local officials in the state of New South Wales...
conducted an inquiry and found that there was no evidence that any donation was made to the Labor Party in relation to the project. The Commission made a finding that Obeid had never solicited a donation and cleared him of any wrongdoing. In the meantime, The Herald reports for a series of articles concerning Canterbury Bulldogs salary cap breaches and the above (false) allegations had won a Gold
Gold Walkley
The Gold Walkley is the most prestigious of the Walkley Awards for Australian journalism. It is chosen by the Walkley Advisory Board from the winners of all the other categories...
Walkley
Walkley Awards
The annual Walkley Awards, under the administration of the Walkley Foundation for Journalism, are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. Finalists are chosen by an independent board of eminent journalists and photographers. The awards cover all media including...
. Obeid commenced defamation action against Fairfax Media and in 2006 the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales...
found that Obeid had been defamed and that the media article had contributed to Obeid losing his job as a NSW minister. Obeid was awarded A$162,173 in damages, plus costs believed to have been more than A$1 million.
Obeid and his family also invested in Offset Alpine printing press with the late disgraced stockbroker Rene Rivkin
Rene Rivkin
Rene Rivkin was an Australian entrepreneur, investor, investment adviser, and stockbroker. He was a well-known stockbroker in Australia for many years until his death in 2005.-Early life:...
; where investors yielded a small fortune when the overinsured printing premises were destroyed by fire in 1993 via an insurance payout. In a remarkable co-incidence, Obeid has also had two of his premises and two houses have gone up in flames. Obeid's family have property interests in Lebanon, Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie, New South Wales
Port Macquarie is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The city is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River, and has an estimated population of 44,313....
, Terrigal, Bylong Valley
Bylong, New South Wales
Bylong is a village in New South Wales, Australia, in the Mid-Western Regional Council. It is located on the Bylong Valley Way.The area is home to numerous horse studs...
, Woolwich
Woolwich, New South Wales
Woolwich is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woolwich is located 11 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Hunter's Hill....
and Hunters Hill
Hunters Hill, New South Wales
Hunters Hill is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located 9 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Hunter's Hill.Hunters Hill is situated on a...
, and Concord
Concord, New South Wales
Concord is a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay....
(since sold); and business interests in live sheep exporting to Syria and Iraq, and Streetscape Projects, a company that sells multipurpose street poles with street lights, banners and security cameras, including those in the City of Sydney
City of Sydney
The City of Sydney is the Local Government Area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia...
municipal area.
Awards and Honours
Obeid was awarded a Medal of the Order of AustraliaOrder of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
in 1984 for his services to ethnic welfare.
External links
- The Hon. (Eddie) Edward Moses OBEID (1943 - ) – Parliament of New South WalesParliament of New South WalesThe Parliament of New South Wales, located in Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney, is the main legislative body in the Australian state of New South Wales . It is a bicameral parliament elected by the people of the state in general elections. The parliament shares law making powers with...