David Lawrence Smith (born 12 October 1943) is a former Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1983 to 1996. He served as a minister in the governments of

Peter Dowding Peter McCallum Dowding SC (born 6 October 1943) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who served as the 24th Premier of Western Australia, from 25 February 1988 until his forced resignation on 12 February 1990. He was a member of parli ...

and

Carmen Lawrence Carmen Mary Lawrence (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian academic and former politician who was the Premier of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state. A member of the Labor Party, sh ...

. Smith was born in

Bunbury, Western Australia Bunbury is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's third most populous city after Perth and Mandurah, with a population of approximately 75,000. Located at ...

. He attended Marist Brothers' St Francis Xavier's boys school in Bunbury and St Ildephonsus college in New Norcia. After graduating from high school he studied law at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

.David Lawrence Smith
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 12 May 2016. A member of the Labor Party since 1967, he contested the seat of Bunbury at the 1977 state election, but lost to the sitting

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member,

John Sibson John Sibson (16 January 1930 – 11 December 2014) was an Australian politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1973 to 1983, representing the seat of Bunbury. Sibson was born in Perth, bu ...

. Smith served on the

City of Bunbury The City of Bunbury is a local government area in the South West region of Western Australia, covering an area of along the coast about south of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. The City of Bunbury is one of four local governments comp ...

council from 1979 to 1983, before being elected to the seat of Mitchell at the 1983 state election. After the 1989 election, he was appointed to the Dowding ministry as

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

, Minister for Community Services, and Minister for the South-West. Smith was retained in the ministry when Carmen Lawrence succeeded Peter Dowding as premier in February 1990, with the same titles. Following a reshuffle in February 1991, he was replaced as Minister for Community Services by

Eric Ripper Eric Stephen Ripper (born 13 September 1951) is a retired Australian politician. From 2008 to 2012 he was Leader of the Opposition and leader of the Labor Party in Western Australia. He grew up on a wheat/sheep farm near Nyabing. Ripper late ...

, but was additionally made Minister for Lands, Minister for Planning, and Minister for Local Government. Smith lost his ministerial titles after Labor's defeat at the 1993 election, but remained in parliament until his retirement at the 1996 election. Between 2005 and 2013, he was the mayor of Bunbury.

Personal life

David Smith's mother was Evelyn Smith, who is renowned for her special relationship with local dolphins. He is married to Tresslyn Smith, a councillor with the City of Bunbury. He has three adult children: Matthew, Nicholas and Penelope; and two grandchildren: Josie and Dylan. He is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, David 1943 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia 20th-century Australian lawyers Australian Roman Catholics Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Bunbury, Western Australia University of Western Australia alumni Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Western Australian local councillors Mayors of Bunbury, Western Australia