Dick Gross
Richard Andrew Landa Gross AM (born 16 November 1954 in Melbourne, Australia) was President of the Municipal Association of Victoria, and former three-time Mayor of the City of Port Phillip, Australia, from 1998–2000 and in 2004, and had served on the Port Phillip City Council, representing the Blessington Ward, since its creation in 1996. He is known for his enthusiastic style in highlighting important social and legal issues in the community.
During this time he supported a proposal for Sex Tolerance Zones in St Kilda were street prostitutes would not be arrested in about 25 locations, including one near St Kilda Park Primary School. However after wide community protests, including a march on St Kilda Town Hall, Gross and then Albert Park District parliamentarian, John Thwaites MLA, backed down.
Gross was defeated at two later elections the last being in Junction Ward.
On 26 January 2010, Gross was appointed as a Member of the Order Australia, after his brother-in-law John Webster nominated him, in recognition for his contribution to local government and his community.
Gross was elected to council again in 2016, in Canal Ward, and on 01 Feb 17 proposed a motion at council to request the government to allow illegal drug pill testing at entertainment venues in Port Phillip. However the government has said such a trial will not occur.
Literary works
Dick Gross has written several fiction and non-fiction works, on topics ranging from atheism to merchant banks:
- Money for Jam, How to spread it and not make a mess (1990)
- Tricontinental: The Rise and Fall of a Merchant Bank with Hugo Armstrong (1995)
- A Godless Gospel (1999)
- Jesus, Judas and Mordy Ben Ruben: Three good Jewish boys in Jerusalem (2005)
External links
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