Alan Ashton (Australian politician)
Encyclopedia
Alan John Ashton is an Australia
n politician, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
.
Ashton received a Master of Arts
and Diploma of Education
from the University of Sydney
and taught at schools in southwestern Sydney
. He was a councillor on the City of Bankstown
from 1977 to 1987 and 1987 to 1995. Ashton has represented East Hills
from 1999
, for the Australian Labor Party
, and is Deputy Government Whip
from 2003
Alan Ashton has emerged as a prominent opponent of the former Iemma
Government's plans to privatise the NSW electricity industry. He has been quoted as stating that privatisation would be "the Iemma Government's WorkChoices". He also warned of resulting swings to the Australian Greens
in inner-city seats. Ashton is a long resident of the East Hills
electorate. He is married with two children. His interests include politics, sport, history, education and the Health system. He is a member of the History Teachers Association and the NSW Teachers Federation.
Ashton was defeated by the Liberal's
Glenn Brookes
by a mere 494 votes at the 2011 New South Wales State election
. This means that East Hills
is now the most marginal seat
in Government. This was also the first time Labor had lost the seat since it's creation in 1953.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
.
Ashton received a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
and Diploma of Education
Diploma of Education
The Diploma of Education, often abbreviated to DipEd or GradDipEd, is a postgraduate qualification offered in many Commonwealth countries including Australia, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom...
from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
and taught at schools in southwestern Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He was a councillor on the City of Bankstown
City of Bankstown
The City of Bankstown is a city and Local Government Area in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, centred on the suburb of Bankstown....
from 1977 to 1987 and 1987 to 1995. Ashton has represented East Hills
Electoral district of East Hills
East Hills is a state electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is represented by Glenn Brookes of the Liberal Party of Australia.-Members for East Hills:-Election results:...
from 1999
New South Wales state election, 1999
Elections to the 52nd Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 27 March 1999. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election...
, for the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
, and is Deputy Government Whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
from 2003
Alan Ashton has emerged as a prominent opponent of the former Iemma
Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma , is a former Australian politician and 40th Premier of New South Wales, succeeding Bob Carr after he resigned on 3 August 2005. Iemma led the Australian Labor Party to victory in the 2007 election before resigning as Premier on 5 September 2008, and as a Member of Parliament on 19...
Government's plans to privatise the NSW electricity industry. He has been quoted as stating that privatisation would be "the Iemma Government's WorkChoices". He also warned of resulting swings to the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
in inner-city seats. Ashton is a long resident of the East Hills
Electoral district of East Hills
East Hills is a state electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is represented by Glenn Brookes of the Liberal Party of Australia.-Members for East Hills:-Election results:...
electorate. He is married with two children. His interests include politics, sport, history, education and the Health system. He is a member of the History Teachers Association and the NSW Teachers Federation.
Ashton was defeated by the Liberal's
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
Glenn Brookes
Glenn Brookes
Glenn Edward Brookes MP, an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing East Hills for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2011.-Early years and background:...
by a mere 494 votes at the 2011 New South Wales State election
New South Wales state election, 2011
Elections to the 55th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The 16-year incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Premier Kristina Keneally was defeated in a landslide by the Liberal-National coalition opposition led by Barry O'Farrell.New South Wales has...
. This means that East Hills
Electoral district of East Hills
East Hills is a state electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is represented by Glenn Brookes of the Liberal Party of Australia.-Members for East Hills:-Election results:...
is now the most marginal seat
Post-election pendulum for the New South Wales state election, 2011
The Mackerras Pendulum for the 2011 New South Wales state election:-Pendulum:-Legislative Council:-Current balance:-References:...
in Government. This was also the first time Labor had lost the seat since it's creation in 1953.