Don Harwin

Donald Thomas Harwin (born 5 July 1964[1]) is an Australian politician. He is the New South Wales Special Minister of State and the Minister for the Public Service and Employee Relations, Aboriginal Affairs, and the Arts in the second Berejiklian ministry since April 2019;[2][3][4] and the Vice-President of the Executive Council, and the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council since January 2017 in the Berejiklian government.[5] He briefly resigned from his roles on 10 April 2020, effective 15 April 2020,[6][7] but was reinstated on 3 July 2020.[8]


Don Harwin

Special Minister of State
Assumed office
3 July 2020
In office
2 April 2019  15 April 2020
PremierGladys Berejiklian
Preceded byAnthony Roberts
Minister for the Public Service and Employee Relations, Aboriginal Affairs, and the Arts
Assumed office
3 July 2020
In office
2 April 2019  15 April 2020
PremierGladys Berejiklian
Preceded byDominic Perrottet (as the Minister for Industrial Relations)
Sarah Mitchell (as the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs)
himself (as the Minister for the Arts)
Vice-President of the Executive Council
Assumed office
3 July 2020
Preceded byDamien Tudehope
In office
30 January 2017  15 April 2020
PremierGladys Berejiklian
Preceded byDuncan Gay
Succeeded byDamien Tudehope
Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council
Assumed office
3 July 2020
Preceded byDamien Tudehope
In office
30 January 2017  15 April 2020
Preceded byDuncan Gay
Succeeded byDamien Tudehope
Member of Legislative Council of New South Wales
Assumed office
27 March 1999
Minister for Resources
In office
30 January 2017  23 March 2019
PremierGladys Berejiklian
Preceded byAnthony Roberts (as Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy)
Succeeded byMatt Kean (as the Minister for Energy and Environment)
Minister for Energy and Utilities
In office
30 January 2017  23 March 2019
PremierGladys Berejiklian
Preceded byAnthony Roberts (as Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy)
Succeeded byMatt Kean (as the Minister for Energy and Environment)
Minister for the Arts
In office
30 January 2017  23 March 2019 (2019-03-23)
PremierGladys Berejiklian
Preceded byTroy Grant
Succeeded byhimself (as Minister for the Public Service and Employee Relations, Aboriginal Affairs, and the Arts)
20th President of the New South Wales Legislative Council
In office
3 May 2011  30 January 2017
Preceded byAmanda Fazio
Succeeded byJohn Ajaka
Personal details
Born (1964-07-05) 5 July 1964
Sydney, New South Wales
Political partyLiberal Party
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
OccupationPolitician

Harwin is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council representing the Liberal Party since 27 March 1999.[9]

Harwin has previously served as the Minister for the Arts, the Minister for Resources and the Minister for Energy and Utilities in the first Berejiklian ministry, from January 2017 until March 2019;[5] and served as the twentieth President of the New South Wales Legislative Council between May 2011 and January 2017.

Early years and background

Harwin was born to parents Don and Evelyn Harwin.[1] He joined the Liberal Party in Lugarno and the Young Liberals in Earlwood in 1983 and graduated from the University of Sydney in 1985 with a Bachelor of Economics (Honours). While at university, Harwin was a member of the Sydney University Liberal Club and subsequently had life membership conferred by that club.[9]

In 1987, Harwin commenced working as an assistant on electoral matters in the office of Ron Phillips. Harwin worked for a number of ministers in the Greiner and Fahey Liberal governments between 1988 and 1990 and 1991 and 1995.[9] Between 1988 and 1990, Harwin was NSW President of the Young Liberal movement, becoming a member of the State Executive of the NSW branch of the Liberal Party during the same period. Harwin was re-elected to the Liberal Party State Executive, serving between 1994 and 2000.[9] Appointed the Assistant Campaign Director of the NSW Liberal Party between 1990 and 1991, Harwin became a public affairs consultant between 1995 and 1999.[9]

He takes a strong interest in psephological matters as well as political history, frequently providing strategic advice to the Liberal party on State and Federal redistribution processes.[10] He has also contributed two chapters to the book Social Justice: Fraud or Fair Go? edited by Dr Marlene Goldsmith. He also contributed "1971 State General Election" to The People's Choice (Volume III), edited by Hogan and Clune, "Sir Joseph Carruthers" to The Premiers of NSW (Volume II), edited by Clune and Turner, and "Women in the NSW Coalition Parties" (with Jenny Gardiner MLC) to No Fit Place for Women, edited by Brennan and Chappel.

Political career

Pre-selected[11] for the sixth position on the joint LiberalNational coalition election ticket for the 1999 NSW state election, Harwin was elected as a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, being the thirteenth candidate elected at that election.[12] Serving an eight-year term, Harwin was re-elected at the 2007 NSW state election, at which he was the seventh candidate elected. He continued to serve as opposition whip in the Legislative Council.[13]

Harwin was elected Opposition Whip on 3 April 2003 following the retirement of John Jobling AM. Harwin was also appointed a Trustee of the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Fund. In 2000, he raised the issue of unsafe railway tracks in the Illawarra region, claiming that trains could only run at twenty kilometres because of faulty maintenance.[14]

Following his re-election, Harwin served as Deputy Chair of the Procedure Committee and had successfully moved a motion in the Upper House to create a Select Committee on Electoral and Political Party Funding, of which he served as Deputy Chair. Following the election of the O'Farrell-Stoner Liberal/National coalition government, Harwin was elected President of the Legislative Council[9][15] and chair of the Procedure Committee. In a submission to the Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs in regards to the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2010, he expressed his strong support for legal equality for same-sex couples. In reference to calls for civil unions he stated "The establishment by government of a new and separate institution for same-sex couples only compounds rather than resolves this issue of inequality."[16] On 19 June 2014, in his role as President of the Legislative Council, he controversially used the powers under Standing Order 192 to eject a Greens MP, Jeremy Buckingham, from the chamber until the end of the sitting after the MP accused him of "running interference" in defence of government members during Question Time.[17]

In October 2016, in the wake of the release of taped conversations where U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump bragged about his fame allowing him to grope women, a motion was tabled by Greens Legislative Councillor Jeremy Buckingham to condemn the Republican nominee's statements. The motion included the statement that the NSW parliament "agrees with those who have described Mr Trump as 'a revolting slug' unfit for public office". As the president of the upper house, Harwin allowed the term "revolting slug" to stand as suitable parliamentary language. The motion was passed.[18]

Following the resignation of Mike Baird as Premier, Gladys Berejiklian was elected as Liberal leader and sworn in as Premier. The first Berejiklian ministry was subsequently formed. Harwin resigned as President of the Legislative Council and was subsequently sworn in as the Minister for Resources, the Minister for Energy and Utilities, the Minister for the Arts, and the Vice-President of the Executive Council with effect from 30 January 2017.[5] Following the 2019 state election Harwin was sworn in as the Special Minister of State, the Minister for Public Services and Employee Relations, Aboriginal Affairs and the Arts, and the Vice-President of the Executive Council in the second Berejiklian ministry with effect from 2 April 2019. He continued in his previous role as the Leader of the Government Business in the Legislative Council.[19]

Harwin resigned as Minister of the Arts on 10 April 2020, effective 15 April 2020, after being fined for supposedly defying the ban on non-essential travel during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[6][7][20] On 3 July 2020, his fine was dismissed and his ministerial and parliamentary portfolios were reinstated.[8]

Personal life

In a speech to the Legislative Council on 20 November 2014, Harwin publicly disclosed that he is gay.[21]

See also

References

  1. Who' Who Australia
  2. "Government Notices (30)" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 2 April 2019. p. 1088-1090. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  3. "Premier announces new Cabinet" (Press release). Premier of New South Wales. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  4. Han, Sophie (2 April 2019). "Berejiklian's new massive cabinet sworn in amid peals of laughter". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  5. "Refreshed NSW cabinet sworn in". Sky News. Australia. AAP. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  6. "Statement from Don Harwin". NSW Government. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  7. Kelly, Vivienne (10 April 2020). "NSW Arts Minister Don Harwin resigns". Mumbrella. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  8. "NSW Police boss hits back after former Arts minister Don Harwin gets off coronavirus fine". ABC News. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  9. "The Hon. (Don) Donald Thomas Harwin MLC". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  10. Liberal Party NSW: Don Harwin "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. Morris, Rachel (30 November 1998). "MP squeaks back on ticket". The Daily Telegraph.
  12. "1999 Elected Members of the Legislative Council". 1999 Legislative Council Results. New South Wales Electoral Commission. 24 April 1999. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  13. "Candidates in sequence of election" (pdf). 2007 Legislative Council Results. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 12 April 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  14. Failes, Geoff (2 March 2000). "'Unsafe' South Coast Rail Lines Anger MP". Illawarra Mercury.
  15. "O'Farrell pledges loyalty to NSW". ABC News. Australia. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  16. Harwin, Don. "Submission: Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2010". Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  17. "Legislative Council Question Time 19 June 2014". 20 June 2014.
  18. "Donald Trump a 'revolting slug' unfit for public office, NSW Parliament decides". ABC News. Australian. 13 October 2016.
  19. Sas, Nick (31 March 2019). "Gladys Berejiklian says Liberal Party has no women problem as re-elected NSW Premier shuffles Cabinet". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  20. "NSW Arts Minister Don Harwin resigns after visiting holiday home in breach of coronavirus lockdown rules". ABC News. Australia. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  21. Hasham, Nicole (20 November 2014). "Liberal MP Don Harwin discloses he is gay". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
Political offices
Preceded by
Anthony Roberts
Special Minister of State
2020–present
2019–2020
Incumbent
Preceded by
Duncan Gay
Vice-President of the Executive Council
2020–present
2019–2020
Succeeded by
Damien Tudehope
Preceded by
Damien Tudehope
Incumbent
Preceded by
Dominic Perrottet
as Minister for Industrial Relations
Minister for the Public Service and Employee Relations,
Aboriginal Affairs, and the Arts

2020–present
2019–2020
Incumbent
Preceded by
Sarah Mitchell
as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs
Preceded by
himself
as Minister for the Arts
Preceded by
Troy Grant
Minister for the Arts
2017–2019
Succeeded by
himself
as Minister for the Public Service and Employee Relations,
Aboriginal Affairs, and the Arts
Preceded by
Anthony Roberts
as Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy
Minister for Resources
2017–2019
Succeeded by
Matt Kean
as Minister for Energy and Environment
Minister for Energy and Utilities
2017–2019
New South Wales Legislative Council
Preceded by
Amanda Fazio
President of the New South Wales Legislative Council
2011–2017
Succeeded by
John Ajaka
Party political offices
Preceded by
Duncan Gay
Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council
2020–present
2019–2020
Succeeded by
Damien Tudehope
Preceded by
Damien Tudehope
Incumbent
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