Wayne Berry | |
|---|---|
| Member of theACT Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 4 March 1989 – 18 February 1995 | |
| Preceded by | new constituency |
| Succeeded by | multi-member multiple constituencies |
| In office 18 February 1995 – 18 October 2008 | |
| Preceded by | multi-member single constituency |
| Succeeded by | Meredith Hunter |
| Constituency | Ginninderra |
| 4thSpeaker of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 12 November 2001 – 18 October 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Greg Cornwell |
| Succeeded by | Shane Rattenbury |
| 8thOpposition Leader of the Australian Capital Territory | |
| In office 19 August 1997 – 20 February 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Andrew Whitecross |
| Succeeded by | Jon Stanhope |
| 3rdDeputy Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory | |
| In office 18 June 1991 – 13 April 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Bernard Collaery |
| Succeeded by | David Lamont |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1942-11-14)14 November 1942 (age 82) Sydney,New South Wales |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Labor Party |
| Spouse | Rhonda Berry |
| Children | Yvette Berry |
| Occupation | Fire officer; union official |
Wayne Bruce Berry (born 14 November 1942) is anAustralian former politician who was a member of theunicameralAustralian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 2008, representing theelectorate of Ginninderra (from 1995 to 2008) for theLabor Party.[1] Berry served asDeputy Chief Minister from 1991 to 1994,Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 1998 andSpeaker of the Assembly from 2001 to 2008.
Berry was born inSydney and educated inTaree,New South Wales.
Prior to entering politics, Berry was active in the union movement and a member of the Labor Party'sleft faction.[2] He served in theNew South Wales Fire Service from 1963 until 1972 and theAustralian Capital Territory Fire Brigade from 1972 until 1989. Berry is a Graduate Member of the Institute of Fire Engineers (UK). He was a member of theFederal Firefighters Union, serving as National President between 1986 and 1989.
Berry was elected to the first Legislative Assembly, initially as a member in amulti-member single electorate covering the entireAustralian Capital Territory (ACT) at the1989 ACT general election and re-elected at the1992 general election. Berry stood for theelectorate of Ginninderra at the1995 general election and was re-elected; and again at the1998,2001, and2004 elections.
He was the first Minister for Community Services and Health in theFollett-led Labor government in ahung parliament. After avote of no confidence was passed on Follett, Berry was forced to cross-benches. Surprisingly, Follett's deputy,Paul Whalan resigned from the Assembly in November 1990 and Berry became Follet's deputy. In 1991, when Follett succeededTrevor Kaine asChief Minister, Berry again assumed responsibilities asMinister for Health and becameDeputy Chief Minister. The responsibilities of industrial relations and sport were added, and he held all three portfolios until the a ministerial reshuffle in 1994 whenDavid Lamont replaced Berry in the ministry.
During his time in the Assembly, Berry campaigned strongly on pro-choice and abortion decriminalisation initiatives.[3] In the early years of the Assembly,anti-abortion activism was led byPaul Osborne andDave Rugendyke. The Assembly legislated that a 72-hour "cooling-off" period was required before a woman who requested an abortion could access one. Additionally, "information" that must be provided to women considering abortions was significantly weighted in favour of the decision to continue with a pregnancy instead of having an abortion.[4] Berry eventually successfully lobbied for abortion to be decriminalised in 2002.[5]
He became leader of the ALP in 1997 and his leadership ended when he led the party to defeat at the 1998 election.He and his predecessor Andrew Whitecross are the only ALP leaders who did not become Chief Ministers.
Berry went on to serve asSpeaker of the Legislative Assembly between 2001 and 2008. As Speaker, in 2006, he met with theAustralian Governor-General, Major GeneralMichael Jeffery and urged him not to disallow the ACT'scivil union legislation. Berry asked that the Commonwealth suggest amendments that the ACT Legislative Assembly could make so that the law was acceptable to the Federal Government. The Governor-General passed the request to the Commonwealth Government. Two hours later, theCommonwealth Attorney-GeneralPhilip Ruddock andMinister for TerritoriesJim Lloyd arrived at Government House and together with the Governor-General moved to disallow the ACT laws permitting civil unions.[6]
Berry retired from politics at the2008 election.[7]His daughterYvette was elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly at the 2012 election[8] and in 2016 she became Deputy Chief Minister, a position that Wayne himself held between 1991 and 1994.
| Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| New title | Member of theACT Legislative Assembly 1989–1995 Served alongside:Collaery,Connolly,Duby,Follett,Grassby,Humphries,Jensen, Kaine,Kinloch,Maher,Moore,Nolan,Prowse,Stefaniak,Stevenson,Wood,Whalan | Multi-member multiple constituencies |
| New title | Member forGinninderra in theACT Legislative Assembly 1995–2008 Served alongside:McRae/Stanhope,Hird/Dunne,Stefaniak,Horodny/Rugendyke/Dundas/Porter | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Deputy Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory 1991 – 1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly 2001 – 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Opposition Leader of the Australian Capital Territory 1997 – 1998 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
