Lyn Breuer

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable{{cite book |title=Retention of the Title ‘Honourable’ in relation to the Parliament of South Australia |date=September 2003 |publisher=Parliament of South Australia |url=https://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/-/media/Project/Parliament/Documents/Members/Retention-of-the-title-Honourable-in-the-SA-Parliament.pdf |access-date=14 March 2025}}

| name = Lyn Breuer

| honorific_suffix = OAM

| image = Lyn Breuer.jpg

| native_name = {{Native name|kdd|Nyimbula}}

| native_name_lang =

| office = 33rd Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly

| term_start = 6 May 2010

| term_end = 5 February 2013

| predecessor = Jack Snelling

| successor = Michael Atkinson

| office1 = Member of the House of Assembly for Giles

| term_start1 = 11 October 1997

| term_end1 = 15 March 2014

| predecessor1 = Frank Blevins

| successor1 = Eddie Highes

| office3 = Mayor of the City of Whyalla

| term_start3 = 2016

| term_end3 = 2018

| predecessor3 = Jim Pollock

| successor3 = Clare McLaughlin

| office4 = Councillor of the City of Whyalla

| term_start4 = August 1991

| term_end4 = July 1997

| predecessor4 =

| successor4 =

| birth_name = Lynette Ruth Raymond

| birth_date = 28 March 1951

| birth_place = Whyalla, South Australia

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Labor Party

| occupation = Public servant, Lecturer

| alma_mater =

| Spose =

| children = 2 (Timothy & Kate)

}}

Lynette Ruth Breuer {{post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM}} ({{nee|Raymond}}, born 28 March 1951) is a former Australian politician. She represented the electoral district of Giles in the South Australian House of Assembly for the Labor Party from 1997 to 2014. She was the first female Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly from 2010 to 2013. She is also a former Councillor and Mayor of the City of Whyalla.

Early life and Family

Breuer was born Lynette Ruth Raymond on 28 March 1951 in Whyalla, in South Australia's mid-north.{{cite news |title=Births, Marriages and Deaths - Births |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/45698465# |access-date=12 March 2025 |publisher=The Advertiser |date=4 April 1951}} Her father, Keith Raymond and mother, Ruth Stephens, were originally from Kadina, but following their marriage on 24 April 1943 at the Victoria Square Methodist Church, they moved to Whyalla.{{cite news |title=Family Notices: Raymond-Stephens |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/124791250# |access-date=12 March 2025 |publisher=The Kadina and Wallaroo TImes |date=21 May 1943}} She has one younger brother, Gary.{{cite journal |last1=Breuer |first1=Lyn |title=Adjournment Debate - Valedictories |journal=Parliament of South Australia - Hansard - House of Assembly |date=28 November 2013 |url=https://hansardsearch.parliament.sa.gov.au/daily/lh/2013-11-28/60 |access-date=12 March 2025}}

Her parent's families were of Cornish mining heritage. Breuer recalls, as a child, sitting at the family dining room table listening to her father, his brothers, Ken and Douglas, and her Grandfather, Ray, regularly talking about politics, particularly Labor Party politics. Bruer credits her father for shaping her political ideology and instilling in her a "great sense of social justice" from a very early age.{{cite journal |last1=Breuer |first1=Lyn |title=Address In Reply |journal=Parliament of South Australia - Hansard - House of Assembly |date=9 December 1997 |url=https://hansardsearch.parliament.sa.gov.au/daily/lh/1997-12-09/pdf/download |access-date=12 March 2025}}

In 1971, she married James Breuer; however, the marriage did not last.{{cite web |title=Marriage Notice - Breuer-Raymond |url=https://www.genealogysa.org.au/index.php?option=com_hikashop&view=product&layout=show&Itemid=223&uid=bd00303d785f3179553af4341eef82f6&coid=newspaper-marriage&cid=4&Surname=Breuer&request_data=%7B%26quot%3Boption%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3Bcom_gsa%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3Bview%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3Bgsa%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3Blayout%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3Bessearch%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3BItemid%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3B193%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3Bcollection_id%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3Bnewspaper-marriage%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3Bpage_no%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3B1%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3Bsort_by%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3B%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3Bsort_direction%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3Basc%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3BSurname%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3BBreuer%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3BGivenName%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3BJames%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3Byear_from%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3B%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3Baccuracy%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3B%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3BShipName%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3B%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3B_ga%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3BGA1.3.1072082520.1741396582%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3B95626bcc2d5a516407fc742f25713c8c%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3Bcf5f1123c70708c2eb4fdb1ad4fdc617%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3B_gid%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3BGA1.3.1933383101.1741915946%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3B_gat_UA-145232469-1%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3B1%26quot%3B%2C%26quot%3B_ga_QXKDZTP4JE%26quot%3B%3A%26quot%3BGS1.3.1741915946.4.1.1741915965.0.0.0%26quot%3B%7D |website='Newspaper Marriages' Database |publisher=Genealogy SA |access-date=12 March 2025}} They had two children, Timothy and Kate. Her son, Tim, is also a former Whyalla City Councillor (2018-2018).{{cite web |title=Councillor Roll of Recognition |url=https://www.whyalla.sa.gov.au/our-city/elected-members/councillor-roll-of-recognition |website=Whyalla Council |publisher=Corporation of the City of Whyalla |access-date=14 March 2025}}

Early career

In 1978, Breuer was appointed as a Clerk for the Commonwealth Employment Service.{{cite journal |title=Employment Appointments |journal=Commonwealth of Australia Government Gazette |date=11 December 1978 |page=24 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/237262204# |access-date=12 March 2025}} Later, prior to entering politics, Breuer worked as a Vocational Education and Women's Studies lecturer at the Spencer Institute of TAFE in Whyalla.{{cite web |title=Profile - Lyn Breuer |url=https://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/Search/Member?type=member&id=619 |website=Former Members |publisher=Parliament of South Australia |access-date=12 March 2025}}

Politics

=Whyalla councillor=

Between 1991 and 1997, Breuer was elected as a Councillor on the Whyalla City Council, and also held the position of Deputy Mayor in 1994.{{cite web |title=Honours Profile - The Honourable Lynette Ruth Breuer |url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/search?searchText=Lyn%20Breuer |website=Australian Honours Database |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |access-date=12 March 2025}} Breuer is cited as assisting with the establishment of a range of services in the Whyalla community.

=Member for Giles=

At the 1997 South Australian state election, Breuer was nominated as the Country Labor Party candidate for the seat of Giles, the state's largest electorate covering over 40,000 km2.{{cite book |last1=Jaensch |first1=Dean |last2=Jaensch |first2=Dean |title=History of South Australian Elections - 1857-2006 (Volume 1: House of Assembly) |date=2007 |publisher=State Electoral Office |location=Rose Park, SA |isbn=978-0-9750486-3-4 |url=https://www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/component/edocman/1857-2006-house-of-assembly-v1-by-dean-jaensch/download?Itemid=0}} Breuer won the 1997 election with 61.4% of the two-party-preferred vote. In addition to winning the seat in 1997, she successfully contested the seat at the 2002, 2006, and 2010 elections.{{cite web |title=2010 Election Results - Giles |url=https://www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/elections/past-state-election-results/past-state-election-results-2009-2015?view=article&id=784:2010-state-election-giles&catid=12:elections |website=2010 State Election Results |publisher=Electoral Commission of South Australia |access-date=14 March 2025}}

Breuer retired at the 2014 state election after 16 years in Parliament. She announced her intention to retire in 2013, months after losing her position as Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly; the media speculated that her retirement was related to losing her position; however, Breuer stated that when she was first elected in 1997, she thought she would "probably do about four terms".{{cite news |title=Breuer to quit after losing speaker's chair |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-28/breuer-quits-after-losing-speaker27s-chair/4599306 |access-date=12 March 2025 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=28 March 2013}} She was replaced as the Member for Giles by her long-time staffer and Whyalla City Councillor Eddie Hughes. Breuer was granted the title The Honourable for life following her service as Speaker.{{cite journal |title=Gazette No 58 |journal=South Australian Government Gazette |date=19 September 2013 |url=https://governmentgazette.sa.gov.au/2013/September/2013_058.pdf |access-date=14 March 2025}}

In addition to being a Labor Member of Parliament, she also held the position of Junior Vice President of the Australian Labor Party National Executive for six years and was a member of the State Executive of the South Australian Labor Party State Branch for ten years.{{cite news |last1=Sherlock |first1=Grant |title=Interview with Mr Jones |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/267214982 |access-date=12 March 2025 |publisher=Port Lincoln Times |date=28 March 2000}}

=First Female Speaker=

On 6 May 2010, Breuer was appointed as the 33rd Speaker of the House of Assembly and, significantly, the first female to hold the position in Parliament's 174-year history. Breuer held the position until February 2013.{{cite journal |title=Commencement - Election of Speaker |journal=Parliament of South Australia - Hansard - House of Assembly |date=6 May 2010 |url=https://hansardsearch.parliament.sa.gov.au/daily/lh/2010-05-06/4 |access-date=12 March 2025}} As of 2025, she is still the only woman to hold the position of Speaker.{{cite web |title=Speakers of the House |url=https://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/en/Members/Speakers-of-the-House |website=House of Assembly |publisher=Parliament of South Australia |access-date=12 March 2025}} Bruer has stated that one of her greatest honours was being appointed as the first female Speaker in the state's history.

=Mayor of Whyalla=

At the 2016 Whyalla Supplementary Mayoral election, Breuer ran and was elected as the Mayor of the City of Whyalla with just above 47% of the vote.{{cite web |title=Mayoral Results - Whyalla |url=https://www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/component/edocman/2016-lg-supplementary-results-city-of-whyalla-09082016/download |website=Local Government Supplementary Elections 2016 |publisher=Electoral Commission of South Australia |access-date=14 March 2025}}{{Cite news |url=http://www.whyallanewsonline.com.au/story/4086162/its-a-win-for-lyn/?cs=4191 |title=It's a win for Lyn |last=Carcich |first=Matt |date=9 August 2016 |work=Whyalla News}}

In May 2017, Breuer was found guilty of a breach of the council's code of conduct over a "heated argument" with another council member and a third person who had complained.{{Cite web | url=https://www.whyallanewsonline.com.au/story/4669931/mayor-breaches-code/ |title = Mayor breaches code|date = 17 May 2017}} In January 2018, it was announced that Breuer was under investigation for the alleged assault of the wife of SA-Best 2018 state election candidate Tom Antonio, at a 2017 Remembrance Day function.{{cite web |url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/38771874/police-act-on-assault-accusations-against-lyn-breuer/ |title=Police act on assault accusations against Lyn Breuer |website=au.news.yahoo.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131141141/https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/38771874/police-act-on-assault-accusations-against-lyn-breuer/ |archive-date=2018-01-31}} However, in December 2018, Prosecutors withdrew the assault charge in the Adelaide Magistrates Court ahead of her scheduled court time.{{cite news |title=Prosecutors drop 2017 Remembrance Day assault case against former Whyalla mayor Lyn Breuer |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-21/lyn-breuer-charges-dropped/10646766 |access-date=14 March 2025 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=21 December 2018}}

Breuer ran in the 2018 local government elections, gaining only around 25% of first-preference votes, and being defeated by Clare McLaughlin.{{cite web |title=Whyalla Local Government Election Results 2018 |url=https://www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/component/edocman/2018-lg-whyalla-mayor/download |website=SA Local Government Election Results 2018 |publisher=Electoral Commission of South Australia |access-date=14 March 2025}}{{cite news | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-11/sa-council-elections-2018-women-take-control/10485206 | title=South Australian council elections see wave of women take control | work=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=11 November 2018 | access-date=11 November 2018}}

Honours

=Aboriginal honour=

On 23 March 2012, at a ceremony held in Coober Pedy, Breuer was made a Yankunytjatjara woman and given the aboriginal name Nyimbula by women elders of the Antakirinja Matu-Yankunytjatjara and

Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara peoples.{{cite journal |last1=Such |first1=Bob |last2=Breuer |first2=Lyn |title=Question Time - Member for Giles |journal=Parliament of South Australia - Hansard - House of Assembly |date=29 March 2012 |url=https://hansardsearch.parliament.sa.gov.au/daily/lh/2012-03-29/31 |access-date=12 March 2025}}

Breuer has stated that along with being appointed the first female Speaker in SA, being given her aboriginal name and made a Yankunytjatjara woman were her greatest honours.

=Order of Australia=

Breuer was presented with the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) at the Queen's Birthday 2020 Honours List, for service to the Parliament of South Australia, and to local government.