Terence Allan "Terry" Griffiths (22 June 1944 – 18 June 2009) was a

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 ...

(NSW) state

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from 1988 to 1995, and NSW government

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from 1991 to 1994, whose political career ended in disgrace over sexual harassment, molestation and bullying claims.

Political career

Griffiths joined the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

in 1987. In 1988, he was elected as the member for the southern

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 ...

seat of

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in the NSW Legislative Assembly, defeating sitting Labor MP Frank Walker. Following an electorate boundary redistribution, he was re-elected easily in 1991 and became Minister for Justice then, in 1992, Minister for Police and Minister for Emergency Services. In 1994, Griffiths was forced to resign from both the government ministry and the Liberal Party over claims of sexual harassment. He continued as an

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member of the NSW Legislative Assembly but did not stand for re-election at the 1995 election.

Background and personal life

Griffiths was born in

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local gove ...

, NSW; his father was Richard Patrick Griffiths, an army officer of the Cadet School Portsea. He was educated at

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Boys High School. In 1962 he was trained at the Officer Cadet School, Portsea and the School of Military Engineering and was commissioned as an army officer. In 1965 he married Jann Mariette Hart, with whom he had two children. He served in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

1969–70. He and Jann divorced and, on 19 January 1974, he married Diane Maree von Westernhagen with whom he had three children. Griffiths was an army attache in

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1978–81. After reaching the rank of Major, he left the army in 1982. From 1983 to 1988 he was employed as the chief executive officer of The Scout Association of Australia's NSW branch. During his time as chief executive officer of The Scout Association of Australia NSW branch, serial sexual abuse by Scout Association of Australia NSW branch officers took place, including by commissioner and NSW branch council officer, Darryl Rubiolo. He repeatedly backed and protected Rubiolo who lived in and was the Scout Association of Australia commissioner for his electorate. Following the failure of his political career on claims of sexual harassment, molestation and bullying of staff, he was removed from The Scout Association of Australia NSW branch council and his second wife divorced him in 2000. Military honours and awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Terry 1944 births 2009 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Independent members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly People from Marrickville 20th-century Australian politicians Graduates of the Officer Cadet School, Portsea