Duncan John Gay (born 2 May 1950), an Australian politician, was the Vice-President of the Executive Council of New South Wales and the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council from May 2014 to January 2017; and the Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight from April 2015 to January 2017. Gay was the Leader of the Nationals in the Legislative Council until January 2017 and was a member of the Council from 1988 to 2017, representing The Nationals. He served as the Minister for Roads and Freight, and as the Minister for the North Coast between 2014 and 2015 in the first Baird government; and the Minister for Roads and Ports in the

O'Farrell ministry The O'Farrell ministry was the 93rd ministry of the Government of New South Wales, and was led by Barry O'Farrell, the state's 43rd Premier. The Liberal– National coalition ministry was formed following the defeat of the Keneally-led Labor ...

between 2011 and 2014.

Early life

Gay was born and raised in

Crookwell, New South Wales Crookwell is a small town located in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Upper Lachlan Shire. At the , Crookwell had a population of 2,641. The town is at a relatively high altitude of 887 metres and there are several s ...

near Goulburn and educated at Crookwell District Rural School. He attended

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

(1962–1967) in Sydney as a boarding student before studying accountancy and wool classing. He is married to Katie and they have two children. Prior to his political career, Gay owned a small trucking company and managed his family's grazing property at Crookwell.

Political career

Gay was elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council in March 1988 and has been a member of the National Party since 1974; and served in various portfolios and positions while in opposition. Following the election of the O'Farrell government at the 2011 election, Gay was appointed as the Minister for Roads and Ports in the New South Wales government. Following the resignation of

Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is a former Australian politician who has been Australia's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan since May 2020. O'Farrell was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minis ...

as Premier, and the subsequent ministerial reshuffle by

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South W ...

, the new Liberal Leader, in April 2014 the name of Gay's portfolio changed to Minister for Roads and Freight; the responsibilities as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council were added in May 2014; and as Minister for the North Coast added in October 2014. Following the 2015 state election, Gay's portfolio responsibilities were amended slightly and renamed as Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight. Major activities in Gay's term as Minister for Roads included Bridges for the Bush, Fixing Country Roads and Fixing Country Rail as well as commencement of planning for the introduction of the

WestConnex WestConnex is a predominantly underground motorway scheme in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. As of 2022, it is partially completed and partially still under construction. A joint project of the New South Wales and Australian governments, t ...

; a road project that has had its costs reported to be overrun by A$1.4 billion. Gay announced the preferred construction contractor for the

NorthConnex NorthConnex is a twin-tube motorway tunnel in northern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, opened on 31 October 2020. It acts as a tunnel bypass of the congested Pennant Hills Road, connecting the M1 Pacific Motorway to the M2 Hills Motorway. ...

; and the continued duplication of the Pacific Highway. In January 2017 Gay was replaced in the reshuffle of the Berejiklian ministry. He retired from politics at the end of July and took up a paid advisory role with private transport and infrastructure consultancy MU Group. Gay is a Director of ARC Asia-Pacific Consortium and in September 2018 was appointed Chair of the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.

Honours

Gay was appointed as an 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 ...

in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours for "significant service to the people and Parliament of New South Wales, and to the community".

References

External links

Legislative Council of NSW Oral History Project - Interview on 10 December 2018
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gay, Duncan John 1950 births Living people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Members of the Order of Australia National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales People educated at Newington College 21st-century Australian politicians Chairman of Committees of the New South Wales Legislative Council