Ernest Thomas (Ernie) Page (18 February 1935 – 20 May 2018) was an Australian politician, who served nine terms as Mayor of Waverley and was a Labor Party 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 1981 to 2003. Page was Minister for Local Government in the first government of

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 ...

from 1995 to 1999.

Early life and career

Page was educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill and the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

, and served two years as a conscript in the army in 1954–55. He worked as an engineer in the electricity industry before entering state politics, and was an active member of both the Labor Party and the trade union movement. Page was a councillor for the

Waverley Municipal Council Waverley Council is a Local government area in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First incorporated on 16 June 1859 as the Municipality of Waverley, it is one of the oldest-surviving local government area ...

from 1962 to 1987, nine of those years as mayor.

Parliament of New South Wales

Page nominated for Labor preselection for the local seat of

Waverley Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stree ...

at the 1981 state election after the retirement of Wran government minister

Syd Einfeld Sydney David Einfeld (17 June 1909 – 16 June 1995) was an Australian politician and Jewish community leader. Einfeld is credited with changing Australia's immigration policy to provide a refuge for Holocaust survivors. As a result, Austra ...

, and was successful. He easily defeated the

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 ...

candidate on election day, and was re-elected twice more, before switching to the seat of Coogee when Waverley was abolished in 1991. He served another three terms as the member for Coogee. Page also served as Minister for Local Government in the first Carr government from 1995 to 1999, but was not reappointed to the ministry after the 1999 state election. Page retired at the 2003 election.

Later life

In the Queen's Birthday 2006 Honours List, Page was awarded the

Medal 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 service to the New South Wales Parliament and to local government. On 22 May 2018, the Deputy Speaker Thomas George informed the Legislative Assembly that Page had died on 20 May.

References

1935 births 2018 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Mayors of Waverley, New South Wales People educated at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill University of New South Wales alumni Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia 21st-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Labor-NewSouthWales-MP-stub