Paul Osborne
Encyclopedia
Paul Osborne is an Australian former professional rugby league
footballer, administrator and politician. He played first-grade rugby league for the St George Dragons and Canberra Raiders
before serving as a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
from 1995 until 2001. He was the chief executive officer of the Parramatta Eels
in the National Rugby League
from 2009 to 2011.
and was educated at Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham
. He was formerly a police detective. He is married to Sally and they have 9 children.
rugby league team between 1992 - 1994. His form for St.George Dragons between 1986-1991 was inconsistent as he was sometimes considered a future star for the club and a captaincy candidate and at other times was considered a liability, although, he starred in the victorious St George Dragons team that won the Panasonic Cup in 1988. He left the Club at the end of Brian Smith's first year of Coaching in 1991 to join the weakened Canberra club who had lost so many forwards after the 1991 salary cap investigation.
Osborne was unlucky in that Canberra made the Grand final in his last three years at St George and then St George made the grand final in the following 2 seasons. Although he was a regular first grader in his first two seasons with the Raiders, in his 1994, he injured his foot earlier in the season and didn't play much first grade. He had been organised a release from finals bound Canberra, and had been ready to fly to England to finish his career there.
In the 1994 Preliminary Final victory over North Sydney, John Lomax
was sent off, and subsequently suspended. Tim Sheens
(Canberra's Coach) felt that the reserve forwards he had been using in the finals (Brett Hetherington and David Westley
) would lose their impact if they started, so he literally called Osborne back from the airport for the opportunity to play one last game - in the Grand Final. Osborne laid on two offloads which led directly to tries in the earlier stages of the match, playing an important role as Canberra won, claiming the 1994 Winfield Cup, and giving him a dream ending to his career.
Missing the flight to England terminated his agreements, so left without a club, Osborne joined the local Canberra competition, and got involved in local politics.
representative for the electorate of Brindabella
in 1995
. Prior to the 1998 general election
, Osborne formed a group called the Osborne Independents Group and ran two candidates in each of the three seats. Osborne was re-elected and Dave Rugendyke
, a former police officer, was a seat in the Assembly, representing Ginninderra
. The Osborne Independent Group ran on a strong pro-life ticket with stated objectives of blocking both euthanasia legislation and legislation to decriminalise abortion. However, on taking up his seat in the Assembly, Rugendyke chose not to sit with Osborne, but sat as an independent in the Assembly. Less than a year later, at the request of the party, the ACT Electoral Commission
deregistered the Osborne Independent Group on 15 February 1999. Osborne and Rugendyke sat in the Assembly as independents from that date.
In 1995, with the support of Osborne and Michael Moore
, another independent, Liberal
leader, Kate Carnell
, formed a minority government. Moore later went on to serve as an independent Minister for Health
in the Carnell-led government. In 1998, with support of Rugendyke, Osborne introduced an anti-abortion
bill, requiring that more information be provided to women considering the procedure and that there be a 72-hour cooling-off period. His move was vehmently opposed by the Health Minister, Moore. The Bill, while consistent with Osborne's Catholic
beliefs, damaged his popularity among the suburban voters who had been his chief supporters. (Abortion was decriminalised and the legislation repealed in 2002).
Osborne voted against the 2000 budget in a successful attempt to stop the opening of a supervised injecting room. Although the injecting room had the support of a majority of the Assembly members, Osborne's support was needed to approve the funding in the budget. A new budget without funding for the injecting room was presented to the Assembly soon after and it passed with Osborne's support.
In late 2000, Labor gave notice of an intention to move a no confidence vote against Carnell over the Bruce Stadium affair. The Assembly adjourned for seven days and, despite her attempts to secure support from Osborne, Carnell was forced to resign as Chief Minister before the vote was put to the Assembly. She was replaced by Gary Humphries
. Osborne had a crucial role in determining Carnell's future, initially proposing an early election (which was outside the provisions of the ACT Constitution) to resolve the lack of confidence in Carnell.
In 2001
, Osborne and Rugendyke defended their respective seats, but this time, on separate tickets. Both were not re-elected.
In July 2004 the Canberra Times claimed that he was considering running for that year's ACT election with the Liberal Party, but it did not run. He worked as community-relations officer for the Raiders for a time after leaving politics.
's rugby league coverage.
In October 2008 he took 6 NRL Players, Nathan Hindmarsh
, Justin Poore
, Todd Payten
, Jared Hickey, Jared Warea-Hargreaves and Todd Carney
to Rwanda
to work in the Village of Hope for Hope Rwanda. They worked in the village building houses for widows and orphans. They visited the famed Mountain Gorillas and News Limited and Fox Sports had extended coverage of the trip. All the players reported how much the trip had affected them and how far the country had come since the 1994 Genocide. He returned in 2009 with 6 Parramatta Eels Players, Justin Poore, Joel Reddy, Matthew Keating, Joe Galavou, Tim Mannah and Joe Paulo. They worked in the same village and also made the trip to the border of Rwanda and the Congo at the Volcanoes National Park to visit the Mountain Gorillas.
Midway through the 2009 NRL season, Parramtta Eels Chief Executive Denis Fitzgerald
was replaced by Osborne. He then oversaw the troubled club's rise to the grand final winning 7 regular season matches in a row on the way. The Eels under Osborne broke the record for the biggest crowd at a match outside of the Grand Final when 75,000 people attended the Preliminary Final. The Eels defeated the Bulldogs in that match. His friendship with Rugby convert Timana Tahu was pivotal in him returning to the Eels from Rugby for the 2010 Season.
On the 15th of November 2011 Paul Osborne announced that he would no longer be Chief Executive of the Parramatta Eels after Christmas due to "A working relationship between Paul Osborne and the club's major naming rights sponsor Pirtek is no longer tenable"
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer, administrator and politician. He played first-grade rugby league for the St George Dragons and Canberra Raiders
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
before serving as a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory...
from 1995 until 2001. He was the chief executive officer of the Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
in the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
from 2009 to 2011.
Background
Osborne grew up in Hurlstone Park, New South WalesHurlstone Park, New South Wales
Hurlstone Park is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hurlstone Park is located 10 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is mostly in the local government area of the City of Canterbury, and partly in the Municipality of...
and was educated at Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham
Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham
Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham , is a Roman Catholic, day school for boys, located in Lewisham, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
. He was formerly a police detective. He is married to Sally and they have 9 children.
Rugby league football career
He was a member of the St George rugby league team between 1986–1991 and the Canberra RaidersCanberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
rugby league team between 1992 - 1994. His form for St.George Dragons between 1986-1991 was inconsistent as he was sometimes considered a future star for the club and a captaincy candidate and at other times was considered a liability, although, he starred in the victorious St George Dragons team that won the Panasonic Cup in 1988. He left the Club at the end of Brian Smith's first year of Coaching in 1991 to join the weakened Canberra club who had lost so many forwards after the 1991 salary cap investigation.
Osborne was unlucky in that Canberra made the Grand final in his last three years at St George and then St George made the grand final in the following 2 seasons. Although he was a regular first grader in his first two seasons with the Raiders, in his 1994, he injured his foot earlier in the season and didn't play much first grade. He had been organised a release from finals bound Canberra, and had been ready to fly to England to finish his career there.
In the 1994 Preliminary Final victory over North Sydney, John Lomax
John Lomax (rugby league)
John Junior Lomax is a New Zealand former rugby league player who represented his country. He is the brother of another international, David Lomax.-Early years:...
was sent off, and subsequently suspended. Tim Sheens
Tim Sheens
Tim Sheens is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. He currently coaches the Wests Tigers of the National Rugby League and in 2009 was appointed coach of the Australian national team, the Kangaroos...
(Canberra's Coach) felt that the reserve forwards he had been using in the finals (Brett Hetherington and David Westley
David Westley
David Westley is a retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. A Papua New Guinea international front-rower, he played club football for the Canberra Raiders, with whom he won the 1994 Winfield Cup Premiership before spending time with the Parramatta Eels and the Northern...
) would lose their impact if they started, so he literally called Osborne back from the airport for the opportunity to play one last game - in the Grand Final. Osborne laid on two offloads which led directly to tries in the earlier stages of the match, playing an important role as Canberra won, claiming the 1994 Winfield Cup, and giving him a dream ending to his career.
Missing the flight to England terminated his agreements, so left without a club, Osborne joined the local Canberra competition, and got involved in local politics.
Political career
Osborne was elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly as an independentIndependent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
representative for the electorate of Brindabella
Brindabella electorate
The Brindabella electorate is one of the three electorates for the unicameral 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It has five seats, and is the largest of the electorates in geographic area.-History:...
in 1995
Australian Capital Territory general election, 1995
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 18 February 1995. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Rosemary Follett, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Kate Carnell. For the first time, candidates were elected to fill three multi-member...
. Prior to the 1998 general election
Australian Capital Territory general election, 1995
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 18 February 1995. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Rosemary Follett, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Kate Carnell. For the first time, candidates were elected to fill three multi-member...
, Osborne formed a group called the Osborne Independents Group and ran two candidates in each of the three seats. Osborne was re-elected and Dave Rugendyke
Dave Rugendyke
David Ross "Dave" Rugendyke is an Australian politician and was a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly elected to the multi-member of Ginninderra for the Osborne Independent Group. Rugendyke was elected on the Osborne Independents ticket at the 1998 general election but...
, a former police officer, was a seat in the Assembly, representing Ginninderra
Ginninderra electorate
The Ginninderra electorate is one of the three electorates for the unicameral 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It has five seats, and is the smallest of the electorates in geographic area.-History:...
. The Osborne Independent Group ran on a strong pro-life ticket with stated objectives of blocking both euthanasia legislation and legislation to decriminalise abortion. However, on taking up his seat in the Assembly, Rugendyke chose not to sit with Osborne, but sat as an independent in the Assembly. Less than a year later, at the request of the party, the ACT Electoral Commission
Australian Capital Territory Electoral Commission
The Australian Capital Territory Electoral Commission is the agency of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory with responsibility for the conduct of elections and referendums for the unicameral ACT Legislative Assembly; the determination of electoral boundaries for the ACT; and the...
deregistered the Osborne Independent Group on 15 February 1999. Osborne and Rugendyke sat in the Assembly as independents from that date.
In 1995, with the support of Osborne and Michael Moore
Michael Moore (Australian politician)
Michael John Moore , former Australian politician and socially progressive health academic, was the first independent Member of any Australian Parliament to be appointed as a Minister to a Government Executive; serving as Minister of Health and Community Care from 1998 to 2001 in the Liberal...
, another independent, Liberal
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...
leader, Kate Carnell
Kate Carnell
Anne Katherine Carnell AO was the third Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, serving from 1995 to 2000. She is currently Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Food and Grocery Council.-Pharmacy career:...
, formed a minority government. Moore later went on to serve as an independent Minister for Health
Minister for Health (Australian Capital Territory)
The Minister for Health is the head of the Australian Capital Territory Department of Health and appointed by the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory.The current Minister for Health is Katy Gallagher....
in the Carnell-led government. In 1998, with support of Rugendyke, Osborne introduced an anti-abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
bill, requiring that more information be provided to women considering the procedure and that there be a 72-hour cooling-off period. His move was vehmently opposed by the Health Minister, Moore. The Bill, while consistent with Osborne's Catholic
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
beliefs, damaged his popularity among the suburban voters who had been his chief supporters. (Abortion was decriminalised and the legislation repealed in 2002).
Osborne voted against the 2000 budget in a successful attempt to stop the opening of a supervised injecting room. Although the injecting room had the support of a majority of the Assembly members, Osborne's support was needed to approve the funding in the budget. A new budget without funding for the injecting room was presented to the Assembly soon after and it passed with Osborne's support.
In late 2000, Labor gave notice of an intention to move a no confidence vote against Carnell over the Bruce Stadium affair. The Assembly adjourned for seven days and, despite her attempts to secure support from Osborne, Carnell was forced to resign as Chief Minister before the vote was put to the Assembly. She was replaced by Gary Humphries
Gary Humphries
Gary John Joseph Humphries has been a member of the Australian Senate representing the Australian Capital Territory for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2003...
. Osborne had a crucial role in determining Carnell's future, initially proposing an early election (which was outside the provisions of the ACT Constitution) to resolve the lack of confidence in Carnell.
In 2001
Australian Capital Territory general election, 2001
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 20 October 2001. The incumbent Liberal Party, led by Gary Humphries, was challenged by the Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope. candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single...
, Osborne and Rugendyke defended their respective seats, but this time, on separate tickets. Both were not re-elected.
In July 2004 the Canberra Times claimed that he was considering running for that year's ACT election with the Liberal Party, but it did not run. He worked as community-relations officer for the Raiders for a time after leaving politics.
Life after politics
In 2005, he was appointed as the CEO of the National Rugby League's Player Manager Accreditation Program. He was also a match day commentator on the ABCABC Sport
ABC Sport is the name given to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's sport's programming broadcast on ABC Television and ABC Local Radio.-Television:ABC Television broadcasts significantly less sport than the other Free-to-air Australian TV networks...
's rugby league coverage.
In October 2008 he took 6 NRL Players, Nathan Hindmarsh
Nathan Hindmarsh
Nathan William Hindmarsh is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League and the Australian Prime Minister's XIII...
, Justin Poore
Justin Poore
Justin Poore is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Parramatta Eels of the NRL. A New South Wales State of Origin representative prop or second-row forward.-Playing career:...
, Todd Payten
Todd Payten
Todd Payten is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League competition. He previously played for the Sydney Roosters and the Canberra Raiders, and played junior football with the Temora Dragons...
, Jared Hickey, Jared Warea-Hargreaves and Todd Carney
Todd Carney
Todd Carney is an Australian professional rugby league football player. Carney has represented Australia, Country New South Wales and, in the National Rugby League, the Canberra Raiders between 2003 and 2008, and the Sydney Roosters between 2010 and 2011...
to Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
to work in the Village of Hope for Hope Rwanda. They worked in the village building houses for widows and orphans. They visited the famed Mountain Gorillas and News Limited and Fox Sports had extended coverage of the trip. All the players reported how much the trip had affected them and how far the country had come since the 1994 Genocide. He returned in 2009 with 6 Parramatta Eels Players, Justin Poore, Joel Reddy, Matthew Keating, Joe Galavou, Tim Mannah and Joe Paulo. They worked in the same village and also made the trip to the border of Rwanda and the Congo at the Volcanoes National Park to visit the Mountain Gorillas.
Midway through the 2009 NRL season, Parramtta Eels Chief Executive Denis Fitzgerald
Denis Fitzgerald
Denis William Fitzgerald, OAM, is an Australian former rugby league footballer and former Chief Executive Officer of the Parramatta Eels....
was replaced by Osborne. He then oversaw the troubled club's rise to the grand final winning 7 regular season matches in a row on the way. The Eels under Osborne broke the record for the biggest crowd at a match outside of the Grand Final when 75,000 people attended the Preliminary Final. The Eels defeated the Bulldogs in that match. His friendship with Rugby convert Timana Tahu was pivotal in him returning to the Eels from Rugby for the 2010 Season.
On the 15th of November 2011 Paul Osborne announced that he would no longer be Chief Executive of the Parramatta Eels after Christmas due to "A working relationship between Paul Osborne and the club's major naming rights sponsor Pirtek is no longer tenable"