Paul John Zammit (born 28 April 1941) is a former Australian

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 ...

politician. He was born into the Maltese-Egyptian community in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, the son of a Maltese father and a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

mother. He and his family migrated to Australia in 1955, aboard SS ''Strathnaver'', and settled in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburb of Punchbowl. Zammit was a businessman before entering politics. He was the member for the state electorate of Burwood from 1984 to 1988. After Burwood was abolished, he was elected as the member for

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A ...

at the 1988 state election. In 1991, he was made Assistant Minister to the Premier

Nick Greiner Nicholas Frank Hugo Greiner (;) (born 27 April 1947) is an Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. Greiner was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 an ...

and held that post when John Fahey took over as

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

in 1992. In 1996, Zammit stepped down from state parliament to contest the federal

Division of Lowe The Division of Lowe was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was located in the inner western suburbs of Sydney, on the south shore of the Parramatta River. It included the suburbs of Drummoyne, Five Dock, Cro ...

, which he won. Zammit attracted criticism for announcing that he would seek Liberal pre-selection for Lowe a day after he had been re-elected in Strathfield. It had been understood that he would serve as the member for Strathfield for the full term. In 1998, Zammit resigned from the Liberal Party, citing dissatisfaction with the way the Howard Government was dealing with the problem of aircraft noise, and contested the seat at the 1998 election 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 ...

. He gained only 16% of the vote, losing to Labor's John Murphy.

References

1941 births 20th-century Australian politicians Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Lowe Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Egyptian emigrants to Australia Australian people of Maltese descent Australian people of Greek descent {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub