Barrie Unsworth

Unsworth, the son of Joseph and Olive Unsworth, was born in Dubbo, New South Wales, and educated in Sydney, at Kogarah High School. On leaving school at age 15, he was apprenticed as an electrical fitter. In 1955, aged 21 years, he married Pauline Hennessy and they subsequently had one daughter and three sons, one of whom has died; he and his wife have nine grandchildren, and two great-grandsons. Unsworth was initially an Apprentice Electrical Fitter, then Electrical Fitter, Electrical Testing Officer and subsequently Sales Representative for Sydney County Council from 1950 until 1960.{{cite NSW Parliament |title=The Hon. Barrie John Unsworth (1934–) |id=1921 |former=Yes |access-date=10 May 2019}}

Unsworth had a brief period of military national service in 1953–1954 in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

In 1961, Unsworth became an organiser of the Electrical Trades Union, and continued to build his career in the labour movement. He was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1966 to attend Harvard University Trade Union Program. The following year he was elected to the Labor Council of NSW and was its elected Secretary from 1979 to 1984. Unsworth was an Australian delegate to His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh Study Conference, Oxford University in 1974.{{cite web | title =The Hon. Barrie John Unsworth (1934–) | work =NSW Parliamentary Papers | publisher =State Library of New South Wales | url =http://www.parlpapers.sl.nsw.gov.au/display.cfm?parl_id=19300 | access-date =13 June 2010 | archive-date =19 February 2011 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110219003403/http://www.parlpapers.sl.nsw.gov.au/display.cfm?parl_id=19300 | url-status =dead }}

During his career as an elected union official, he was appointed by the Wran Labor NSW Government to a range of positions on government bodies including:

• Public Transport Commission of New South Wales, Commissioner (1972–1975)
• Pipeline Authority, Member (1973–1978)

While working in the union movement Unsworth worked for the United States of America in what a historian has called "a discreet relationship".Coventry, C. J., "The Eloquence of Robert J Hawke: United States informer, 1973-79," Australian Journal of Politics and History, 67:1 (2021), 69.

File:Barrie Unsworth 1972.jpg

Unsworth was elected a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1978. While serving in the Legislative Council, he represented Australia as a delegate at the International Labour Organization (ILO) Worker Participation in Management Conferences held in Geneva (1980) and The Hague (1981).

In the Wran Labor Government, Unsworth was Minister for Transport (1984–1986) and Minister for Health (February–July 1986).{{cite web| title =Chronological List of Ministries (1856 to 2009)| work =Former Members of Parliament| publisher =Parliament of New South Wales| url =http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/Archives_MemberPage| access-date =13 June 2010| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110315063124/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/Archives_MemberPage/| archive-date =15 March 2011| df =dmy-all}}

After the surprise retirement of Premier Neville Wran in May 1986, Unsworth became leader of the NSW Labor Party and thus Premier, and was also Minister for Ethnic Affairs and Minister for State Development. As Premiers are required by convention to be members of the Legislative Assembly, Brian Bannon, the member for the normally safe Labor seat of Rockdale, resigned to accept a government job as Chairman of the Homebush States Sport Centre Trust,{{Cite NSW election |title=1986 Rockdale By-election |year=1984 |district=Rockdale_1 |access-date=1 July 2020}} and Unsworth contested the resulting by-election held on 2 August 1986. He only narrowly won the seat, with a 17.1% dive in the primary vote and hostile independent preferences giving him a margin of just 54 votes.{{cite news | date=27 November 2005 | title=By-election bloodbaths | publisher=Crikey | url=http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2005/11/27/by-election-bloodbaths/ | access-date=13 June 2010 | archive-date=5 October 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005115337/http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2005/11/27/by-election-bloodbaths/ | url-status=dead }}

Unlike several of his predecessors including Wran, Unsworth chose not to be his own Treasurer.

Unsworth was Premier for two years until the Labor Party's landslide defeat by the Liberals' Nick Greiner in the 1988 elections. Unsworth did not contest the 1991 election.

Immediately following politics, Unsworth had little political involvement with his only public commitment being as deputy chairman and then Chairman of the Australian Executive Committee for His Royal Highness Duke of Edinburgh Study Conference (1982–1998). Unsworth was General Manager of 2KY Broadcasters Pty Ltd Racing Radio 1992–2000. In 2001, he was a recipient of the Centenary Medal.{{cite web |title=Centenary Medal |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1125163 |work=It's an Honour |publisher=Australian Government |date= 1 January 2001 |access-date=11 February 2013}}

Following the election of the Carr Labor Government in 1995, Unsworth was placed on a number of key government and community bodies, including:

• Australia Day Council of New South Wales, Chairman (1995–2003)
• Totalizator Agency Board, Director (1997–2004)
• Delta Electricity, Director (1997–2006)
• New South Wales Centenary of Federation Committee, Chairman (1997–2002)
• Tempo Services, Director (1999–2005)
• Ambulance Service of New South Wales, Chairman (2001–2008)
• RailCorp, Director (2005–2008)
• State Transit Authority, Chairman (November 2004 to November 2009)
• WorkCover Authority of New South Wales, Chairman (1995–1997)
• Constitution Education Fund Australia, Trustee

During 2003–2008, Unsworth was a Director of Father Chris Riley's charity, Youth off the Streets, that provides crisis care, refuges, schools, drug programs and alcohol programs to young people in Australia and throughout Asia. Unsworth has also been a Director of Entherm Pty Ltd (2003–2005), Member of Overseas Trade Authority of New South Wales (1978) and a Director of Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (2004–2006).

In 2003 and 2004, Unsworth was commissioned by the NSW Government to conduct a formal review of public bus services.{{cite web | title = Ministerial Review of Bus Services in NSW (Unsworth Review) | publisher = NSW Government, Ministry of Transport | date = 15 July 2004 | url = http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/inquiries/unsworth.html | access-date = 26 November 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071109062132/http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/inquiries/unsworth.html | archive-date = 9 November 2007 | url-status = dead}} In 2008 he headed a committee that considered the privatisation of the New South Wales' electricity industry.{{cite news| url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/unsworth-to-head-electricity-committee/2008/01/20/1200764081362.html | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | title=Unsworth to head electricity committee | date=21 January 2008}} The committee and Unsworth supported the sale.{{cite news |url= http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/03/2234589.htm |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120716083237/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/03/2234589.htm |url-status= dead |archive-date= 16 July 2012 |title= NSW electricity privatisation bid rejected |publisher= ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |date= 3 May 2008 }}

Unsworth lives in the Northern Beaches where he has participated in community campaigns to stop overdevelopment in NSW.{{Cite web |title=Former NSW Premier Barrie Unsworth sells Mona Vale townhouse - realestate.com.au |url=https://www.realestate.com.au/news/former-nsw-premier-barrie-unsworth-sells-mona-vale-townhouse/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=www.realestate.com.au |language=en}} He also led the effort to purchase and preserve the former home of Gough Whitlam as a historic site which would be open to the public.{{Cite news |date=2021-02-19 |title=Group led by former NSW Premier buys Sydney home of Gough Whitlam after bidding war |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-19/gough-whitlams-former-sydney-home-sells-to-labor-grandees/13172684 |access-date=2023-04-30}}

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Category:1934 births

Category:Australian public servants

Category:Australian republicans

Category:Australian trade unionists

Category:Living people

Category:Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

Category:Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council

Category:People from Dubbo

Category:People from the Northern Beaches

Category:Premiers of New South Wales

Category:Royal Australian Navy sailors

Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales

Category:Ministers for health (New South Wales)