Nathan Rees
Encyclopedia
Nathan Rees MP
, (born 12 February 1968), an Australia
n 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. Rees is a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
representing Toongabbie
for Labor since 2007.
Rees replaced Morris Iemma
as Premier and party leader on 5 September 2008. On 3 December 2009, Rees was deposed as leader of the Labor Party by Kristina Keneally
after he resoundingly lost a secret ballot in the Labor Party caucus after fifteen months as Premier. He is the shortest-serving member of the New South Wales Parliament to become Premier since Federation, and the only Labor Premier of New South Wales not to lead the party into an election.
to parents Daryl and Frances, his mother being a long time member of the Labor Party
, reportedly from Penrith, New South Wales
. He attended Northmead High School where he served as school captain
. On leaving school he initially took up a horticultural apprenticeship
and worked as a greenskeeper for Parramatta Council
. Subsequently he went on to study English literature at the University of Sydney
, attaining an honours degree in 1994, supporting himself by working as a garbage collector (colloquially a "garbo") at the same council. During his time at the Council he became Secretary of the then Municipal and Shire Employees Union.
Rees was a long-distance runner, and a member of the Parramatta Cycling Club, where he won many events. When training for races, Rees would cycle up to 1000 km per week. He once attained third place in a state triathlon.
was in 1995, when he became an adviser to the then deputy premier Andrew Refshauge
, for whom his mother, Frances, worked. During this period, Rees cycled between Bullaburra
in the Blue Mountains, where he lived at the time, and central Sydney, a distance of more than 90 km (55.9 mi).
He subsequently worked for Ministers Craig Knowles
and Morris Iemma
, and as chief of staff for Minister Milton Orkopoulos
. Rees transferred to the Premier's office in 2006, three months before Orkopoulos was charged with paedophilia. Rees has stated that he had no knowledge of the crimes committed by Orkopoulos and would have reported him to the police had he been aware of them. Former Labor MP Paul O'Grady
claimed in September 2008 that Rees had chosen to remain ignorant of the allegations.
He was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
on 24 March 2007 and became Minister for Emergency Services, and Minister for Water Utilities, on 2 April 2007. As Minister for Water Utilities, he was responsible for implementing the $1.9 billion Sydney Desalination Plant
at Kurnell
, and the proposed Tillegra Dam
in the Hunter Valley
.
In July 2008, he was touted by the Sydney media as being a contender for Premier. Rees denied that he was a contender for the role, saying that "Premier Iemma has my rock-solid, unequivocal support and he knows that". Two months after this interview, Morris Iemma was deposed as Premier in favour of Rees.
After the resignation of Morris Iemma on 5 September 2008, later in the day, Rees was nominated for the position of Premier and won the unanimous support of the Labor Party caucus
. He was sworn in by the Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales
, Supreme Court
Chief Justice
James Spigelman
after only nineteen months as a Member of Parliament. Carmel Tebbutt
was elected unanimously as Deputy Leader, and thus Deputy Premier. The following Monday, 8 September, Rees was also sworn in as Minister for the Arts.
A slump in revenues associated with the recent global financial crisis compelled Rees and the State Treasurer
Eric Roozendaal
to implement a mini-budget
which was handed down on 11 November 2008. The mini-budget increased taxes and charges such as land tax, mineral royalties
, parking space levies and also announced the privatisation of state assets. A universal scheme providing free travel on public transport for all students going to and from school was curtailed - a decision since reversed - and the previously announced North West Metro
and South West
rail projects were indefinitely postponed. A series of by-elections to replace former Premier Morris Iemma
, Deputy Premier John Watkins
and Health Minister Reba Meagher
resulted in massive swings against the government and saw John Watkins' former seat of Ryde resoundingly lost to the Liberals.
Soon after returning from his wedding in New York, Rees dismissed rumours of a leadership challenge within the Labor party. After the resignation of John Della Bosca
as Minister for Health and the Central Coast, and after a subsequent cabinet reshuffle, Rees appointed himself as Minister for the Central Coast.
On 14 November 2009, Rees was granted extraordinary powers by the New South Wales Labor
State Conference to pick his own cabinet (usually the Labor caucus
and Head Office chooses the ministry, and the leader only assigns portfolios). The next day Rees sacked Finance Minister (and Labor powerbroker) Joe Tripodi, Primary Industries Minister Ian McDonald
, and Parliamentary Secretaries Henry Tsang
and Sonia Hornery
for blocking key reforms aimed at distancing the government from corruption and improving the provision of services to constituents and for plotting to remove him from the premiership. This was the fourth time since Rees had taken over the premiership that there had been a cabinet reshuffle.
On 3 December 2009, Rees resigned after a spill motion was passed 43 to 25 at a caucus meeting. In the subsequent leadership vote, the Minister for Planning, Kristina Keneally, defeated Rees by 47 votes to 21. Rees lost the crucial backing of the dominant right faction
of the Labor Party
. Earlier that day, Rees said at a press conference, "I will not hand over New South Wales to Eddie Obeid
or Joe Tripodi" and that if someone were to replace him by the end of the day "they will be a puppet of Joe Tripodi and Eddie Obeid". Rees is the first and only New South Wales Labor Party Premier not to lead the party into an election. On 22 October 2010, Rees was granted by the Governor retention of the title "The Honourable
".
, and proudly describes himself as "a westie". He met his wife, Stacey Haines, at Northmead High School when they were both aged 14. Haines works for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. They live in Wentworthville
. Rees and Haines married in a ceremony at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau
in New York City
on 7 January 2009.
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, (born 12 February 1968), an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician, was the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of 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...
from September 2008 to December 2009. Rees is a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
representing Toongabbie
Electoral district of Toongabbie
Toongabbie is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, created at the 2004 redistribution of electoral districts largely replacing the abolished district of Wentworthville. It was contested for the first time in the 2007 general election...
for Labor since 2007.
Rees replaced Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma
Morris 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...
as Premier and party leader on 5 September 2008. On 3 December 2009, Rees was deposed as leader of the Labor Party by Kristina Keneally
Kristina Keneally
Kristina 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...
after he resoundingly lost a secret ballot in the Labor Party caucus after fifteen months as Premier. He is the shortest-serving member of the New South Wales Parliament to become Premier since Federation, and the only Labor Premier of New South Wales not to lead the party into an election.
Early life
Rees was born in 1968 in Western SydneyGreater Western Sydney
Greater Western Sydney is a term used to describe the western region of the metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia. The University of Western Sydney defines Greater Western Sydney as comprising 14 local government areas...
to parents Daryl and Frances, his mother being a long time member of the 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...
, reportedly from Penrith, New South Wales
Penrith, New South Wales
Penrith is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Penrith is located west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Penrith...
. He attended Northmead High School where he served as school captain
School Captain
School Captain is a student appointed or elected to represent the school.This student, usually in the senior year, in their final year of attending that school...
. On leaving school he initially took up a horticultural apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
and worked as a greenskeeper for Parramatta Council
City of Parramatta
The City of Parramatta is a Local Government Area in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.Initially in 1861 it was formed as Municipality of Parramatta...
. Subsequently he went on to study English literature at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, attaining an honours degree in 1994, supporting himself by working as a garbage collector (colloquially a "garbo") at the same council. During his time at the Council he became Secretary of the then Municipal and Shire Employees Union.
Rees was a long-distance runner, and a member of the Parramatta Cycling Club, where he won many events. When training for races, Rees would cycle up to 1000 km per week. He once attained third place in a state triathlon.
Politics
Rees's first job in politicsPolitics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
was in 1995, when he became an adviser to the then deputy premier Andrew Refshauge
Andrew Refshauge
Andrew John Refshauge was an Australian politician and Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005.Refshauge was born in Melbourne, the son of Major-General Sir William Refshauge AC CBE ED , who later became Honorary Physician to Queen Elizabeth II 1955–64 and Director-General of the...
, for whom his mother, Frances, worked. During this period, Rees cycled between Bullaburra
Bullaburra, New South Wales
Bullaburra is a small town in the state of New South Wales, Australia in the City of Blue Mountains. It is one of the towns that stretch along the route of the Main Western railway line and Great Western Highway which pass over the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney...
in the Blue Mountains, where he lived at the time, and central Sydney, a distance of more than 90 km (55.9 mi).
He subsequently worked for Ministers Craig Knowles
Craig Knowles
Craig John Knowles is a former Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1990 to 2005....
and Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma
Morris 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...
, and as chief of staff for Minister Milton Orkopoulos
Milton Orkopoulos
Milton Orkopoulos is a former Australian Labor Party politician, and convicted criminal. A member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1999, Orkopoulos was appointed Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship in August 2005.In November 2006, New...
. Rees transferred to the Premier's office in 2006, three months before Orkopoulos was charged with paedophilia. Rees has stated that he had no knowledge of the crimes committed by Orkopoulos and would have reported him to the police had he been aware of them. Former Labor MP Paul O'Grady
Paul O'Grady (politician)
Paul Thomas Francis O'Grady is a former Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1988 to 1996....
claimed in September 2008 that Rees had chosen to remain ignorant of the allegations.
He was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
on 24 March 2007 and became Minister for Emergency Services, and Minister for Water Utilities, on 2 April 2007. As Minister for Water Utilities, he was responsible for implementing the $1.9 billion Sydney Desalination Plant
Kurnell Desalination Plant
The Sydney Desalination Plant is a drinking water supply project operated by Veolia Water Australia Pty Ltd on behalf of Sydney Water, Sydney's State-owned water supply corporation. It is located in the Kurnell industrial estate area, in Sydney's southern suburbs. The desalination plant itself was...
at Kurnell
Kurnell, New South Wales
Kurnell is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kurnell is located south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Sutherland Shire....
, and the proposed Tillegra Dam
Tillegra Dam
Tillegra Dam was a proposed dam on the Williams River to be located northwest of Dungog, in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It was first proposed in the 1970s but a formal proposal was not announced until 2006. That proposal was scrapped in November 2010...
in the Hunter Valley
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...
.
In July 2008, he was touted by the Sydney media as being a contender for Premier. Rees denied that he was a contender for the role, saying that "Premier Iemma has my rock-solid, unequivocal support and he knows that". Two months after this interview, Morris Iemma was deposed as Premier in favour of Rees.
Premier
After the resignation of Morris Iemma on 5 September 2008, later in the day, Rees was nominated for the position of Premier and won the unanimous support of the Labor Party caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
. He was sworn in by the Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales
Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales
The Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales is a government position in the state of New South Wales, Australia, acting as a deputy to the Governor of New South Wales....
, 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...
Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
James Spigelman
James Spigelman
James Jacob Spigelman AC QC is a former Australian judge. He served as Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 19 May 1998 until 31 May 2011.-Early years and education:...
after only nineteen months as a Member of Parliament. Carmel Tebbutt
Carmel Tebbutt
Carmel Mary Tebbutt is an Australian politician. She is the Australian Labor Party Member for Marrickville in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and was Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 2008 to 2011. She was also Minister for Health in the Keneally Government...
was elected unanimously as Deputy Leader, and thus Deputy Premier. The following Monday, 8 September, Rees was also sworn in as Minister for the Arts.
A slump in revenues associated with the recent global financial crisis compelled Rees and the State Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
Eric Roozendaal
Eric Roozendaal
Eric Roozendaal is an Australian politician, serving as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 2004. He is a former General Secretary of the Australian Labor Party....
to implement a mini-budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
which was handed down on 11 November 2008. The mini-budget increased taxes and charges such as land tax, mineral royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
, parking space levies and also announced the privatisation of state assets. A universal scheme providing free travel on public transport for all students going to and from school was curtailed - a decision since reversed - and the previously announced North West Metro
North West Metro
North West Metro was a proposal for a rail link from the north west suburbs of Sydney, Australia to the Sydney CBD. It would have connected Rouse Hill with Epping and the Sydney CBD...
and South West
South West railway line, Sydney
The South West Rail Link is an extension of the CityRail commuter rail network in Sydney, Australia. It is currently under construction and is intended to be the major piece of public transport infrastructure for the Sydney metropolitan area's "South West Growth Centre"...
rail projects were indefinitely postponed. A series of by-elections to replace former Premier Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma
Morris 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...
, Deputy Premier John Watkins
John Watkins (Australian politician)
John Arthur Watkins is a former Deputy Premier of New South Wales, serving between 2005 until his resignation from Parliament in 2008...
and Health Minister Reba Meagher
Reba Meagher
Reba Paige Meagher is a former Australian politician who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of Cabramatta. She was a minister in various portfolios from 2003 to 2008. On 6 September 2008 Meagher announced that she would not be seeking a...
resulted in massive swings against the government and saw John Watkins' former seat of Ryde resoundingly lost to the Liberals.
Soon after returning from his wedding in New York, Rees dismissed rumours of a leadership challenge within the Labor party. After the resignation of John Della Bosca
John Della Bosca
John Joseph Della Bosca is a former Australian politician, representing the Australian Labor Party in the New South Wales Legislative Council...
as Minister for Health and the Central Coast, and after a subsequent cabinet reshuffle, Rees appointed himself as Minister for the Central Coast.
On 14 November 2009, Rees was granted extraordinary powers by the New South Wales Labor
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...
State Conference to pick his own cabinet (usually the Labor caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
and Head Office chooses the ministry, and the leader only assigns portfolios). The next day Rees sacked Finance Minister (and Labor powerbroker) Joe Tripodi, Primary Industries Minister Ian McDonald
Ian Macdonald (New South Wales politician)
Ian Michael Macdonald BA MLC , a former Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1988 to 2010 representing the Australian Labor Party...
, and Parliamentary Secretaries Henry Tsang
Henry Tsang
Henry Tsang OAM is an Australian architect, politician and formerly an Australian Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Tsang was a member of the Council from 27 March 1999 until his resignation effective 3 December 2009...
and Sonia Hornery
Sonia Hornery
Sonia Kathleen Hornery JP MP is an Australian politician representing the seat of Electoral district of Wallsend for the Australian Labor Party...
for blocking key reforms aimed at distancing the government from corruption and improving the provision of services to constituents and for plotting to remove him from the premiership. This was the fourth time since Rees had taken over the premiership that there had been a cabinet reshuffle.
On 3 December 2009, Rees resigned after a spill motion was passed 43 to 25 at a caucus meeting. In the subsequent leadership vote, the Minister for Planning, Kristina Keneally, defeated Rees by 47 votes to 21. Rees lost the crucial backing of the dominant right faction
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
of the 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...
. Earlier that day, Rees said at a press conference, "I will not hand over New South Wales to Eddie Obeid
Eddie Obeid
Edward Moses Obeid OAM , 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...
or Joe Tripodi" and that if someone were to replace him by the end of the day "they will be a puppet of Joe Tripodi and Eddie Obeid". Rees is the first and only New South Wales Labor Party Premier not to lead the party into an election. On 22 October 2010, Rees was granted by the Governor retention of the title "The Honourable
The Honourable
The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
".
Personal life
Rees is a non-practising Roman CatholicRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, and proudly describes himself as "a westie". He met his wife, Stacey Haines, at Northmead High School when they were both aged 14. Haines works for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. They live in Wentworthville
Wentworthville, New South Wales
Wentworthville is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wentworthville is located 27 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Wentworthville is split between the local government areas of the City of...
. Rees and Haines married in a ceremony at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau
Manhattan Marriage Bureau
The Manhattan Marriage Bureau is a set of offices located in the Manhattan Municipal Building near City Hall in lower Manhattan. It is the site of more marriages than any other venue in the United States....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 7 January 2009.