Craig John Knowles (born 27 February 1959) is a former Australian politician and member of the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...
from 1990 to 2005.
Early life
Knowles' parents were Marie and
Stan Knowles, member for
Ingleburn from 1981 to 1988 and
Macquarie Fields
Macquarie Fields is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Macquarie Fields is located 38 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Campbelltown and ...
from 1988 to 1990. He was born in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
New South Wales
)
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and educated at
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
Boys High School,
Sydney College of Technical and Further Education. He worked in the New South Wales Department of Business and Consumer Affairs from 1988 and was the Western Sydney Co-ordinator in the Office of State Development of New South Wales Premiers' Department from 1987 to 1988. He was an
alderman
An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...
on
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards.
The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor ...
from 1982 to 1994 and Mayor from 1986 until 1988.
Political career
Knowles served as a
Labor Party member for
Macquarie Fields
Macquarie Fields is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Macquarie Fields is located 38 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Campbelltown and ...
from May 1990 to May 1991,
Moorebank
Moorebank is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Moorebank is located 27 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Liverpool.
Moorebank features a ...
from 1991 to 1999 and Macquarie Fields from 1999 to 2005. He was
Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning from 1995 to 1999, Minister for Health from 1999 to 2003 and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning and Minister for Natural Resources from 2003 to 2005.
Knowles introduced a number of changes during his time as Planning Minister. These included the introduction of private certification of buildings. Another controversial change was the introduction of Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, which increased the powers of the Minister in approving major developments and superseded heritage and environmental protection legislation.
Knowles' political career was damaged by allegations raised by nurse
Nola Fraser
Nola Therese Fraser ( née Chalhoub) is an Australian small business owner, former Registered Nurse and former Liberal Party and Independent candidate for the New South Wales state seat of Macquarie Fields.
Fraser first rose to public prominen ...
in relation to deaths at
Campbelltown and
Camden hospitals when he was Minister for Health. An
Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry into Knowles' behaviour cleared the minister in September 2005, but he had already been moved from the health portfolio. He was also damaged by the
Orange Grove affair
The Orange Grove affair was a political scandal in Australia concerning the dealings of the New South Wales state Australian Labor Party government with multinational corporation The Westfield Group. It resulted from a court decision in 2004 to ...
, as a supporter of a retail outlet, which was later found to have been opened in contravention of zoning regulations in his electorate, while he was Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning. In April 2005, he was charged with drink-driving at a random breath test, with a low-level over the limit reading.
Knowles had been considered a possible successor to
Bob Carr
Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He later en ...
as
Premier but declined to be nominated when Carr retired in August 2005; himself resigning from the ministry the same day as Carr and his deputy,
Andrew Refshauge
Andrew John Refshauge (born on 16 January 1949) was a former Australian politician who was Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1983 and 2005, and a senior minister in ...
. Knowles resigned from parliament a few days later, sparking the
2005 Macquarie Fields by-election. He was ultimately succeeded by Labor's candidate
Steven Chaytor.
After politics
After his retirement from politics, Knowles became a consultant and political lobbyist.
He has a number of advisory roles, statutory appointments, and non-profit directorships, including:
*President, the Asthma Foundation of New South Wales (since 2008–present)
*Director, the
Black Dog Institute
__NOTOC__
The Black Dog Institute is a not-for-profit facility for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mood disorders such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. It was founded in 2002 by the UNSW School of Psychiatry Scientia Professor ...
*Director, the
Children's Medical Research Institute
Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI) is an Australian medical research institute located in Westmead that conducts research into children's genetic diseases. , current research is focused on cancer, birth defects, neurological condition ...
(2007–present)
*Director, the Học Mãi Foundation at The University of Sydney
*Member, Advisory Board, Built Holdings Pty Limited
*Chair,
Murray Darling Basin Authority (2011–2015)
At the
2015 Australia Day Honours, Knowles was appointed a
Member of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
for significant service to local government, to the Parliament of New South Wales, and to the community through a range of health initiatives.
In January 2018, Knowles was appointed by Trade Minister
Steven Ciobo
Steven Michele Ciobo ( ) (born 29 May 1974) is a retired Australian politician who represented the Division of Moncrieff in the House of Representatives from the 2001 federal election until his retirement at the 2019 election. He was a membe ...
as the
Consul-General of Australia in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, New Zealand.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Craig
1959 births
Living people
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Members of the Order of Australia
Politicians from Sydney
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales
21st-century Australian politicians
Australian consuls
Mayors of places in New South Wales