Paul Bernard Gibson (born 19 January 1944 in
Young, New South Wales
Young is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and the largest town in the Hilltops Region. The "Lambing Flat" Post Office opened on 1 March 1861 and was renamed "Young" in 1863.
Young is marketed as the Cherry Ca ...
), is an Australian former politician and former
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
footballer. He was a member of the
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, 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 ...
Legislative Assembly, and represented the electorates of
Blacktown
Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Great ...
between
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
and
2011 and the electorate of
Londonderry from
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
to 1999, for the
Labor Party.
Sporting career
Gibson initially commencing as a junior player with
Manly as a
winger. His first grade career in the
New South Wales Rugby League premiership commenced with
South Sydney in 1962, as a
centre
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
* Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
. He returned to Manly in 1966, moved to
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
in 1967, playing
five-eighth
Five-eighth or Stand-off is one of the positions in a rugby league football team. Wearing jersey number 6, this player is one of the two half backs in a team, partnering the . Sometimes known as the pivot or second receiver, in a traditional a ...
and then transferred to
Penrith in 1969.
Political career
Gibson was elected to represent the safe Labor western
Sydney electorate of Londonderry in 1988, and re-elected as the
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
and
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
state elections. For the 1999 election, Gibson transferred to Blacktown, and was re-elected at the
2003 and
2007 state elections. During his term in Parliament, he was chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety (Staysafe), a member of the Standing Committee on Public Works, chair of the Standing Committee on Broadband in Rural and Regional Communities, and a member of the Public Accounts Committee.
Controversies
ICAC inquiry
In 1998, he was subject to accusations of corruption by
Louis Bayeh (Witness A), a known criminal. After an investigation by the
Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) it was found that "there is insufficient evidence to make a finding that Gibson engaged in corrupt conduct". ICAC Assistant Commissioner, Jeremy Badgery-Parker,
QC in summing up his findings said that: "I find myself utterly unable to have any confidence whatsoever in the truth or reliability of anything said by Gibson when it conflicts with the evidence of any other witness, other than Bayeh," when commenting on Gibson's testimony, political judgement and credibility.
Under New South Wales electoral law, Gibson could not renominate for his seat while the inquiry was underway. By the time he was finally cleared, the Labor Party had already chosen
Allan Shearan to replace him, and Blacktown was the only west Sydney electorate where preselection hadn't been completed.
Alleged smear campaign
Following union pressure for Gibson to be included in the NSW Ministry and Cabinet
Premier Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma (; born 21 July 1961) is a former Australian politician who was the 40th Premier of New South Wales. He served from 3 August 2005 to 5 September 2008. From Sydney, Iemma attended the University of Sydney and the University of Techno ...
announced on 30 March 2007 that Gibson would become Minister for Sport, Minister for Western Sydney, and Minister Assisting the Minister for Roads (Road Safety).
However, immediate conflict arose due to an existing hostile relationship with the Member for the
Blue Mountains Phil Koperberg
Philip Christian Koperberg (born 28 April 1943), is the Chairman of the New South Wales Emergency Management Committee, responsible for advising the New South Wales government on emergency response strategies, since 2011.
Koperberg is a for ...
. Elected at the 2007 NSW state election, Koperberg was immediately appointed to the Ministry and Cabinet as Minister for Climate Change, the Environment and Water.
[ When Koperberg sought preselection for Blue Mountains in 2006, Labor officials were secretly notified (by way of an ]affidavit
An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a stateme ...
) that an apprehended violence order
An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in par ...
had been sought in 1987 by Koperberg's former wife, Katherine Specking. Koperberg alleges that Gibson was behind the 2006 plot to discredit his reputation and accused Gibson at the time of running a smear campaign against him that "bordered on evil". Central to the tension between Koperberg and Gibson was that in 1994, Koperberg parted from his wife after suspecting that Specking and Gibson were having an affair. Gibson and Specking (who had been Gibson's electorate secretary) went on to have a relationship lasting ten years.
Alleged assault
Gibson was due to be sworn into the Ministry on 2 April 2007, however almost immediately after his appointment to the Ministry was announced, allegations arose that Gibson was involved in an alleged incident causing criminal assault some 16 years earlier. These allegations were raised with Premier Iemma by another Member of Parliament. The alleged victim of the assault was Gibson's former partner, one time Minister for Sport, Sandra Nori
Sandra Christine Nori (born 16 June 1953 in Newcastle, New South Wales) is a former Australian politician and presently a company director and Member of Macquarie University Council.
Nori was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assemb ...
. Iemma referred the matter to the NSW Police for investigation and decided to not proceed with Gibson's appointment to the Ministry and Cabinet. The Police investigation determined that, due to insufficient evidence, there was no case to arrest or charge Gibson. Iemma chose to not reinstate Gibson as a Minister.
During this period, more media reports arose about Gibson's close links with the Australian Hotels' Association.[
]
Campaign against topless bathing
In December 2008, Gibson vowed to support a proposal by Rev Fred Nile, a conservative member of the Legislative Council, to ban topless bathing by women on New South Wales beaches. Gibson claimed that topless women on beaches made the public feel uncomfortable. "If you're on the beach do you want somebody with big knockers next to you when you're there with the kids," he said.
Alleged assault at McDonald's
In June 2010, it was reported that Gibson was the victim of an alleged assault at McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
restaurant car park in Thornleigh
Thornleigh is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region, or Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Thornleigh is located 22 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local governme ...
. Gibson claimed that he was physically assaulted after arguing with Mario Norman. The argument arose after Norman alleged that Gibson ran over Norman's foot whilst Gibson was parking his four-wheel-drive car. Gibson referred the matter to NSW Police who charged Norman with assault. Norman has pleaded not guilty to the assault charges with the matter due to be heard in court on 15 December 2010.
Resignation
On 10 November 2010 Gibson announced his intention to not contest the 2011 state election citing family reasons. It was reported that Gibson had earlier commented about New South Wales Labor on radio that "We've lost our credibility". Gibson had earlier speculated that he may run as an independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
candidate for election, should he not gain Labor endorsement. Just hours after Gibson's decision was made public, Transport Minister John Robertson announced that he would be seeking endorsement for the normally safe Labor seat.
References
External links
Speeches in Hansard by Paul Gibson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Paul
1944 births
Living people
21st-century Australian politicians
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales
Australian rugby league players
Australian sportsperson-politicians
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Parramatta Eels players
Penrith Panthers players
People from Young, New South Wales
Rugby league five-eighths
Rugby league players from Young, New South Wales
South Sydney Rabbitohs players