Ray Williams (Australian politician)
Encyclopedia
Ray Williams, MP, an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
representing Hawkesbury
for the Liberal Party of Australia
since 2007.
. 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.
Williams previously was a panel beater and maintenance manager with the Hillsbus company. He was serving as a councillor on Baulkham Hills Shire Council until September 2008. He was a former 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.
, Williams contest the seat of Riverstone
, but was unsuccessful. In an internal Liberal Party preselection prior to the 2007 State election, Williams defeated incumbent
Steven Pringle
. As a result, Pringle decided to run for the seat as an independent
candidate. Williams proceeded to win the seat in the 2007 State Election with a 6.07% majority.
Since his election to parliament, Williams has been appointed the Deputy Chair of the Liberal Party's Western Sydney Taskforce. In June 2010, Williams was appointed the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Western Sydney, replacing the retiring Wayne Merton
. He won the seat again at the 2011 State election
with a swing of 29.7 per cent, wining 84.7 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis.
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 Hawkesbury
Electoral district of Hawkesbury
Hawkesbury is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It was represented by Steven Pringle, formerly of the Liberal Party of Australia, who contested the 2007 election as an independent but was defeated by Ray Williams of the Liberal Party of...
for the Liberal Party of Australia
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...
since 2007.
Early life and background
Williams is the son of a former heavyweight boxing champion of Australia and the South Pacific, Allen Williams and Margaret Williams, the daughter of English migrants from CornwallCornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. 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.
Williams previously was a panel beater and maintenance manager with the Hillsbus company. He was serving as a councillor on Baulkham Hills Shire Council until September 2008. He was a former 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.
Political career
In 2003New South Wales state election, 2003
Elections to the 53rd Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday 22 March 2003. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election...
, Williams contest the seat of Riverstone
Electoral district of Riverstone
Riverstone is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales.It is a 94.30 km² urban and semi-rural electorate in Sydney's north west, taking in the suburbs of Stanhope Gardens, Rouse Hill, Quakers Hill and Riverstone...
, but was unsuccessful. In an internal Liberal Party preselection prior to the 2007 State election, Williams defeated incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Steven Pringle
Steven Pringle
Steven Bruce Scott Pringle is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2003 to 2007, representing the electorate of Hawkesbury....
. As a result, Pringle decided to run for the seat as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
candidate. Williams proceeded to win the seat in the 2007 State Election with a 6.07% majority.
Since his election to parliament, Williams has been appointed the Deputy Chair of the Liberal Party's Western Sydney Taskforce. In June 2010, Williams was appointed the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Western Sydney, replacing the retiring Wayne Merton
Wayne Merton
Wayne Ashley Merton , a former Australian politician, was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electorates of Carlingford between 1988 and 1991 and Baulkham Hills between 1991 and 2011 for the Liberal Party of Australia...
. He won the seat again 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...
with a swing of 29.7 per cent, wining 84.7 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis.