Thomas Gregory Stephens (born 15 November 1951 in

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 ...

, New South Wales

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

) is a former Australian parliamentarian.

Early life and career

Youngest son to John Joseph and Ellen Genevieve Stephens six children; five sons and one daughter. The family were living at the time on the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. ...

Brooklyn, New South Wales Brooklyn is a town and the north most suburb on the Pacific Highway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in the local government area of Hornsby Shire with a population of 722 as of the . Brooklyn is surrounded by the Muogamarra Nature Reserve ...

. Tom was educated by the Sisters of Mercy at their convent school in

Parkes, NSW Parkes is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the main settlement in the local government area of Parkes Shire. Parkes had a population of 11,224 as at 30 June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2 ...

; then at Campbelltown NSW by the Good Samaritan Sisters before his secondary schooling at St Gregory's Marist Brothers Agricultural College in Campbelltown. After completing his secondary schooling, Tom entered St Colomba's Seminary in Springwood where he commenced studies for the Catholic Priesthood. After undertaking studies for a BA at the ANU, Tom continued on to Theology Studies at Manly's St Patrick's College but did not complete those studies for priesthood. Tom had been working closely with Aboriginal people in Redfern, assisting Father Ted Kennedy and Aboriginal leader Shirley Smith, known as Mum Shirl. This work led Tom to the Kimberley region of WA where he became closely involved with many indigenous communities across the region and was centrally involved in establishing the

Kimberley Land Council Kimberley Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, known as Kimberley Land Council (KLC), is an association of Aboriginal people in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The land council was formed at a meeting at Noonkanbah Station in May 197 ...

in 1978. Tom became a

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

n state parliamentarian at age 31; he served as a Labor Party member of the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Western Australia, forming the legislative branch of the Government of Western Australia. The parliament consists of a lower house, the Legislative Ass ...

from 1982 to 2013; serving first in the Legislative Council from 1982 to 2004, and then in the Legislative Assembly from 2005 until his retirement on 9 March 2013. Tom served first as a minister, albeit briefly, in the Lawrence Labor Government from 1992 to 1993 and then in the Gallop government from 2001 to 2004. Stephens was first elected to the Legislative Council at a 1982 by-election for the seat of North Province, sparked by the resignation of Liberal MLC

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...

. He was re-elected for North Province in 1983, and then in 1989 for the redistributed seat of the new Mining and Pastoral electoral region. He was re-elected in Mining and Pastoral in 1993, 1996 and 2001. Stephens served as a parliamentary secretary and as a minister in the

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

government in the 1990s; he was Leader of the Labor Opposition in the Legislative Council until the 2001 election of the new Labor government under

Geoff Gallop Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) is an Australian academic and former politician who served as the 27th Premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. He is currently a professor and director of the Graduate School of Government at ...

, when he was elected into the ministry. He initially served as Minister for Housing and Works, and then later added Local Government and Regional Development to his portfolios. He also held the portfolios of the Kimberley, Pilbara and Gascoyne, Regional Development and Heritage. In late 2004, the Labor candidate for the rural seat of

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

for the 2004 federal election, Kevin Richards, died suddenly during the final stages of that Federal campaign. Stephens, who was already preselected for the Legislative Assembly seat of Central Kimberley-Pilbara, was drafted as a last-minute replacement candidate for the Federal seat of Kalgoorlie. Stephens duly resigned from the WA State Cabinet and the WA Legislative Council, nominated and ran for that Federal seat; he was defeated at that contest by incumbent Liberal MP

Barry Haase Barry Wayne Haase (born 19 November 1945) is a former Australian politician who served as a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from October 1998 to August 2013. He initially represented the Western Australian Division of ...

. Stephens subsequently contested and won the WA state seat of Central Kimberley Pilbara at the 2005 election. He chaired the Education and Health Standing Committee until September 2008 and was elected as Member for Pilbara at the October 2008 elections and served as a member of the Standing Committee on Community Development & Justice. Stephens retired from the WA State Parliament at , aged 61, having served in the parliament for more than 30 years. Stephens served on the Boards of Good to Great Schools Australia (Noel Pearson's Education Reform agency), DSF-SPELD (WA), Lost & Found Opera, IBN and previously served on the Board of Yindjibarndi CCL; he sings (as a bass) with the University of Western Australia Choral Society and is an avid cyclist. Stephens was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2014 Australia Day Honours for "service to Indigenous affairs, and to the Parliament of Western Australia".

References

External links

* http://www.luccagrapevine.com/july2016/francigena.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Tom 1951 births Living people Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia 21st-century Australian politicians Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia