Russell Paul Wortley is an Australian politician who has served in the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly. It sits in Parli ...

for the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party since the 2006 election. He has served as

President of the South Australian Legislative Council The president of the South Australian Legislative Council is the presiding officer of the South Australian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of South Australia. The other presiding officer is the speaker of the South Australia ...

from 2014 to the 2018 election.

Early life

Wortley worked as a plumber and gas fitter before being elected as a union official in 1984. He is a former head of the Gas sub-branch of the Transport Workers Union in South Australia. He was a councillor for the Fitzroy Ward of the

Prospect City Council Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mini ...

from 1987 to 1993. He has served as a member of a number of government and community organisations including the Occupational Health and Safety Commission, the Workers Appeal Tribunal and the Industrial Relations Advisory Committee. He is a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

Parliament

First elected at the 2006 election, Wortley was re-elected at the 2014 election for a second eight-year term. Policy interests include education, health, industrial relations, aged care, environment and natural resources. Wortley has served in many committees and select committees, and served as Minister for Industrial Relations and State/Local Government Relations from 2011 to 2013. He served as

from 6 May 2014 until 3 May 2018.Russell Wortley gets nod for Legislative Council presidency in SA Parliament: ABC 29 April 2014
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Personal life

Wortley is married to fellow state Labor politician

Dana Wortley Dana Johanna Wortley (born 1959) is an Australian politician, representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Torrens for the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party since the 2014 state election. She was previously ...

. They have one son.

References

External links

Parliamentary Profile: SA Labor website
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wortley, Russell Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of South Australia Presidents of the South Australian Legislative Council Australian trade unionists 21st-century Australian politicians