Ray Williams (politician)

The Honourable
Ray Williams
MP
Minister for Multiculturalism
Assumed office
30 January 2017
Premier Gladys Berejiklian
Preceded by John Ajaka
Minister for Disability Services
Assumed office
30 January 2017
Premier Gladys Berejiklian
Preceded by John Ajaka
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
for Castle Hill
Assumed office
28 March 2015
Preceded by Dominic Perrottet
Majority 29.4
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
for Hawkesbury
In office
24 March 2007 – 28 March 2015
Preceded by Steven Pringle
Succeeded by Dominic Perrottet
Personal details
Born Raymond Craig Williams
(1960-09-27) 27 September 1960
Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality Australia
Political party Liberal Party
Spouse(s)
Wendy Lorraine (m. 1982)
Occupation Maintenance manager

Raymond Craig Williams (born 27 September 1960) is an Australian politician who is the New South Wales Minister for Multiculturalism and the Minister for Disability Services since January 2017 in the Berejiklian Ministry.[1] He has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the seat of Castle Hill for the Liberal Party since 2015, and represented the seat of Hawkesbury from 2007 to 2015.

Early life and background

Williams is the son of Allen Williams, a former heavyweight boxing champion of Australia and the South Pacific and Margaret Williams, the daughter of English migrants from Cornwall. 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.[2]

Williams was a panel beater and maintenance manager with the Hillsbus company.[3] He was a councillor on Baulkham Hills Shire Council[4][5] until September 2008.[6] He was a 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.[7]

Political career

In 2003, Williams contested the seat of Riverstone, and was unsuccessful.[7] In an internal Liberal Party preselection for Hawkesbury prior to the 2007 state election, Williams defeated incumbent Steven Pringle.[5] As a result, Pringle decided to run for the seat as an independent candidate. Williams won the seat in the 2007 state election with a 6.07% majority.[8] In 2007, Williams was accused of branch stacking after a local pastor stated in a statutory declaration that Williams paid him party membership fees for churchgoers. This claim was denied by Williams, and has not been substantiated.[9]

In 2008, Williams was ejected from state parliament by the Speaker Richard Torbay for pretending to wrestle a toy iguana, in reference to the Belinda Neal – John Della Bosca scandal known as Iguanagate.[10][11][12]

Since his election to parliament, Williams has been appointed the Deputy Chair of the Liberal Party's Western Sydney Taskforce.[13] In June 2010, Williams was appointed the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Western Sydney and replaced Wayne Merton who retired.[14] He won the seat again at the 2011 state election with a swing of 29.7 points, winning 84.7 per cent of the two-party vote.[7] At the 2015 state election, Williams traded seats with Dominic Perrottet, the member for the equally safe seat of Castle Hill. Williams was preselected for Castle Hill while Perrottet was preselected for Hawkesbury, and both were re-elected.[15]

Following the resignation of Mike Baird as Premier,[16] Gladys Berejiklian was elected as Liberal leader and sworn in as Premier.[17][18][19] The Berejiklian ministry was subsequently formed with Williams sworn in as the Minister for Multiculturalism and the Minister for Disability Services with effect from 30 January 2017.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Refreshed NSW cabinet sworn in". Sky News. Australia. AAP. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  2. ↑ "Inaugural speech". Hansard. Parliament of New South Wales. 30 May 2007.
  3. ↑ Mitchell, Alex (14 October 2006). "Sitting MP given boot by hard right". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  4. ↑ "Cr Ray Williams". Councillors. Baulkham Hills Shire Council. Archived from the original on 4 April 2008.
  5. 1 2 Dempster, Quentin (27 October 2006). "Right vs Right". Stateline. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  6. ↑ Macfarlane, Stuart (18 April 2007). "Ray to stay on Council". Hawkesbury Gazette. Fairfax Media.
  7. 1 2 3 Green, Antony (4 April 2011). "Hawkesbury". NSW Votes 2011. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  8. ↑ "Preferential Count – Hawkesbury". NSW State Election, 2007. New South Wales Electoral Commission. 15 November 2010.
  9. ↑ "Liberal Ray Williams accused in member scandal". The Daily Telegraph.
  10. ↑ Liberal ejected for stuffed iguana prank, News.com.au 25 June 2008
  11. ↑ MP thrown out for stuffed iguana, SMH, 25 June 2008
  12. ↑ Lizard eats MP: Just another day in 'Iguana Gate', Hawkesbury Gazette, 3 July 2008
  13. ↑ "Ray Williams weighs in Penrith by-election". Penrith City Star. Fairfax Media. 17 May 2010.
  14. ↑ "Ray Williams Appointed To Key Western Sydney Role". Liberal Party of Australia (NSW).
  15. ↑ Green, Antony (9 April 2015). "Electorate: Castle Hill". NSW Election 2015. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  16. ↑ Jacques, Owen (19 January 2017). "Baird resigns: NSW Premier to quit top job and Parliament". The Satellite. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  17. ↑ "Swearing-In of The Honourable Gladys Berejiklian MP, the 45th Premier of New South Wales, and The Honourable John Barilaro MP, Deputy Premier". Vice Regal Program. Governor of New South Wales. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  18. ↑ "Ministers". www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  19. ↑ Clennell, Andrew (26 January 2017). "Premier Gladys Berejiklian plans major reshuffle for cabinet". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
Parliament of New South Wales
Preceded by
Steven Pringle		 Member for Hawkesbury
2007–2015		 Succeeded by
Dominic Perrottet
Preceded by
Dominic Perrottet		 Member for Castle Hill
2015–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
John Ajaka		 Minister for Multiculturalism
2017–present		 Incumbent
Minister for Disability Services
2017–present
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