Grant Anthony McBride (29 December 1949 – 12 February 2018) was an Australian politician who was a 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 ...

representing the electorate of The Entrance on the

New South Wales Central Coast The Central Coast is a peri-urban region in New South Wales, Australia, lying on the Tasman Sea coast to the north of Sydney and south of Newcastle. The local government area of the Central Coast Council has an estimated population of 333, ...

for the Labor Party between 1992 and

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Political career

McBride won Australian Labor Party preselection for The Entrance in the 1991 state election, losing to

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 ...

incumbent

Bob Graham Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham (born November 9, 1936) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States senator from Florida from 1987 to 2005. He is a member of the Dem ...

by 116 votes. However, due to the late completion of the 1991 redistribution, hundreds of voters received absentee ballots for

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extre ...

. As a result, the Court of Disputed Returns ordered a by-election for 1992, which was won by McBride. In 2003, McBride was appointed Minister for Gaming and Racing and, in 2005, appointed Minister for the Central Coast. As Minister for Gaming and Racing, in 2005, he proposed a ban on

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

beer Shag, claiming its name was offensive to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

ns. McBride said the beer's name linked it, "directly with sexual intercourse". McBride held both Ministerial positions until a controversy arose during 2006, when he was accused of wasting $50,000 on an overseas trip in November 2005. It was alleged that McBride was accompanied by former Gosford City Councillor, Daniel Cook and his former chief of staff (and son of former Police Minister Paul Whelan) John Whelan. Media reports of the incident suggested McBride had taken the trip knowing he might be removed from the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. McBride lost his position as Minister for Gaming and Racing and Minister for the Central Coast in April 2007. In May 2007, McBride was appointed Assistant

Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly The Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly, New South Wales's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is Jonathan O'Dea, who was elected on 7 May 2019. Traditionally a ...

. On 8 November 2010, McBride announced that he would not contest the 2011 state election.

Personal life and death

McBride was a qualified engineer who worked as an electorate officer to former

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

. He was married and lived in The Entrance with his wife and eight children, and was an avowed

teetotaller Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

and non-gambler. His daughter, Emma McBride, is the current federal MP for

Division of Dobell The Division of Dobell is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. Dobell is a Central Coast (New South Wales), NSW Central Coas ...

. He died on 12 February 2018 from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

at the age of 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McBride, Grant 1949 births 2018 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Deaths from dementia in Australia Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Place of birth missing Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Deputy and Assistant Speakers of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian politicians