Raymond John Groom (born 3 September 1944) is an Australian lawyer and former sportsman and politician, representing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in the

Federal Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-gen ...

1975–84 and the

Tasmanian Parliament The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the Governor of Tasmania, the Tasmanian House of Assembly (the lower house), and ...

1986–2001. He was a Federal and state minister for a total of 13 years. He was

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of Ta ...

from 1992 to 1996 and also served as Deputy Premier and Attorney-General.

Early life

Ray Groom was born in

Elsternwick Elsternwick is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Elsternwick recorded a population of 10,887 at the 2021 ...

, a suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. His family moved to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

when he was a young child. He attended schools in both

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and Tasmania.

Australian rules football career

He initially played senior

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

in Tasmania with the Cooee Football Club commencing at 16 years of age. He represented the

North Western Football Union The North West Football Union (NWFU) was an Australian rules football competition which ran from 1910 to 1986. In its time it was one of the three main leagues in Tasmania, with the Tasmanian Football League and Northern Tasmanian Football Asso ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

before joining the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL) club

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

. He played 96 senior games with Melbourne at centre half forward, as a ruck rover and at centre half back. On

Ron Barassi Ronald Dale Barassi Jr. (born 27 February 1936) is a former Australian rules footballer, coach and media personality. Regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of the game, Barassi was the first player to be inaugurated into ...

's retirement, Groom was invited by Melbourne coach

Norm Smith Norman Walter Smith (21 November 1915 – 29 July 1973) was an Australian rules football player and coach in the Victorian Football League (VFL). After more than 200 games as a player with and , Smith began a twenty-year coaching career, inc ...

to wear the club's prized Number 31 guernsey. He represented

and won the

Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal The Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player(s) adjudged the best and fairest at the Melbourne Football Club throughout the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League (VF ...

as Melbourne's Best and Fairest player in 1968. Groom later represented Tasmania at the 1969 National Carnival in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Playing statistics

: , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, , 15 , , 19 , , 17 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.9 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, , 15 , , 12 , , 9 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.8 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

, , 31 , , 8 , , 2 , , 5 , , 52 , , 20 , , 72 , , 18 , , , , , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 6.5 , , 2.5 , , 9.0 , , 2.3 , , , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1966 , , 31 , , 16 , , 7 , , 9 , , 181 , , 47 , , 228 , , 50 , , , , 80 , , 0.4 , , 0.6 , , 11.3 , , 2.9 , , 14.3 , , 3.1 , , , , 5.3 , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1967 , , 31 , , 18 , , 1 , , 2 , , 212 , , 42 , , 254 , , 71 , , , , 136 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 11.8 , , 2.3 , , 14.1 , , 3.9 , , , , 7.6 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1968 , , 31 , , 19 , , 0 , , 0 , , 246 , , 28 , , 274 , , 76 , , , , 34 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 12.9 , , 1.5 , , 14.4 , , 4.0 , , , , 1.9 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 92 ! 36 ! 16 ! 691 ! 137 ! 828 ! 215 ! ! 250 ! 0.4 ! 0.3 ! 11.3 ! 2.2 ! 13.6 ! 3.5 ! ! 4.9

Athletics

He won state titles in both Tasmania and Victoria as a sprinter and long jumper. In 1962, at 18 years of age, he represented Tasmania at the National Athletics Championships in Sydney, was a nationally ranked athlete and was chosen as a member of the Australian

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

selection squad.

Early legal career

After obtaining a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

in 1967 he practised as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and later in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. He was a partner in the Tasmanian firm of Crisp, Hudson & Mann and appeared regularly in the

Supreme Court of Tasmania The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the middle level, with both an appellate jurisdiction over lower courts, and de ...

on trial and appeal matters and the Magistrates Courts.

Political career

Federal politics

Groom first stood for the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

seat of Braddon in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

at the age of 30 but was unsuccessful. In

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

he ran for Braddon again and won, and held it until 1984. His 1975 election result was significant in that as a

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 he outpolled a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

opponent on the West Coast of Tasmania, the first time this had ever occurred. In the 1974 and 1983 Australian federal elections, he achieved the largest swing of any Liberal candidate in the nation. Between the election of 1974 and his last election in 1983, the Liberal two-party vote in Braddon increased from 38% to 63%. He served in the second Fraser Ministry as Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development from December 1977 to December 1978 and then Minister for Housing and Construction until November 1980. He retired from the Australian Parliament immediately prior to the 1984 election.

State politics

He and his family moved from

Burnie Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. When founded in 1827, it was named Emu Bay, being renamed after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, in the early 1840s. , Burnie had an urban popu ...

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

at the end of 1984 and he was then appointed senior advisor to the Tasmanian Premier Robin Gray. In 1986 he re-entered politics as a member for Denison in the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

, topping the poll in that electorate. He immediately became the Minister for Forests, Mines and Sea Fisheries. In November 1988, he became deputy leader of the state Liberal Party and hence Deputy Premier of Tasmania. He became deputy opposition leader after the Liberals' defeat in 1989. In 1991, he successfully challenged Gray's leadership and became Tasmanian state leader of the Liberal Party.

Tasmanian Premier

Groom became

after leading the Liberals to victory in the 1992 state election with a majority of 19 seats on a swing of over seven percent. After the 1996 election, the Liberals suffered a three-seat swing, losing their majority. The balance of power rested with the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...

, but the Labor Party refused to enter into any agreement with them. This left a Liberal minority government supported by the Greens as the only realistic option. However, Groom had promised before the election that he would only govern in majority and resigned. He was replaced by

Tony Rundle Anthony Maxwell Rundle AO (born 5 March 1939 in Scottsdale, Tasmania) was the Premier of the Australian State of Tasmania from 18 March 1996 to 14 September 1998. He succeeded Ray Groom and was succeeded himself by Jim Bacon. He is a Liberal ...

, who quickly reached an agreement with the Greens. He remained in Parliament until 2001, serving as Attorney-General, Minister for Tourism and Minister for Workplace Standards until the 1998 election, when the Rundle Government was defeated.

Life after politics

Groom is actively involved in community affairs and has been a chairman/director of several community organisations since retiring from politics. He is a former Chairman of Southern Cross Care Tasmania and Southern Cross Care Australia. Since retiring from parliament, he has practised as a

and

and as an arbitrator and mediator. He was appointed a Deputy President of the Australian

Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is an Australian tribunal that conducts independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT review decisions made by Australian Gover ...

in 2004 and continues in that position. He is currently a member of the Tribunal's Executive Deputy Presidents Committee and the Practice and Procedure Committee.

Honours

In the

2010 Australia Day Honours The 2010 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2010 by the Governor General of Australia, Quentin Bryce. The Australia D ...

, he was appointed an Officer (AO) 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 Parliament of Tasmania as Premier and through a range of portfolio responsibilities, and to the community through leadership roles within organisations supporting Indigenous, aged and welfare groups".It's an Honour
/ref>

Personal life

He is married to Gillian Crisp and they have four sons and two daughters. One of his sons

Matthew Groom Matthew Guy Groom (born 24 November 1970) is an Australian lawyer and former politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division), Liberal Party member for Division of Denison (state), Denison in the Tasmanian House of Assembly ...

also served as a member of the

Tasmanian parliament The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the Governor of Tasmania, the Tasmanian House of Assembly (the lower house), and ...

until 2018

References

External links

Demonwiki profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Groom, Ray 1944 births Living people Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Deputy Premiers of Tasmania Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Tasmania Melbourne Football Club players Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy winners Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Braddon Premiers of Tasmania Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Melbourne Law School alumni Australian sportsperson-politicians Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Cooee Football Club players Leaders of the Opposition in Tasmania Treasurers of Tasmania Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame inductees 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians People from Elsternwick, Victoria