Chris Harris (New South Wales politician) explained

Chris Harris
Order:Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney
2Blankname:Lord Mayor
2Namedata:Clover Moore
Term Start:18 September 2006
Term End:17 September 2007
Predecessor:Verity Firth
Successor:Tony Pooley
Order1:Councillor of the City of Sydney
Term Start1:27 March 2004
Term End1:8 September 2012
Birth Date:1951 6, df=yes
Birth Place:Wentworthville, New South Wales, Australia
Party:Greens (since 1997)[1]

Chris Harris (born 28 June 1951) is an Australian former politician who served as the first Greens Councillor of the City of Sydney, and for a single term as the Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney from 2006 to 2007.

Early life and career

Christopher David Harris was born in Wentworthville on 28 June 1951 and schooled at Parramatta Marist High School. He attended the University of New South Wales and graduated with Bachelor of Commerce in the 1970s and a Bachelor of Laws in 2005. He married Kathy in 1972 and together they raised two daughters.

Harris worked in the Commonwealth Bank then moved on to a position in research in the Reserve Bank. After moving into small business, his work focused on campaigns, communications, conflict resolution, and project coordination.

Political career

In 2004, Harris was preselected by his party prior to the March 2004 local government election, and was the first Greens Councillor to be elected to the City of Sydney.[2] He served as Deputy Lord Mayor (2006-2007) and in 2008 was re-elected along with a second Greens Councillor, Irene Doutney.[3] Early in his constituency, he took residence in a Moreton Bay Fig tree as a protest against planned removal.[4]

Harris was an opponent of the Sydney cross-city tunnel which opened in 2005.[5] In March 2007, he was involved in a scuffle with Liberal senator Bill Heffernan while handing out how-to-vote cards for the NSW State Election.[6]

In June 2007, Harris fought against the redevelopment of the Carlton United Brewery site in Chippendale, taking the then Minister for Planning to the Land and Environment Court.[7] In August 2007, Harris heavily opposed the security measures put in place for the hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference.[8] Harris was the unsuccessful Greens candidate in the 2012 Sydney by-election, and retired from council at the September 2012 local government elections.

Harris was a long time Treasurer of the NSW Greens but quit the position in 2016, criticising the party as acting like a major bank trying "to shaft their customers".[9]

In 2019, Harris threatened legal action in an attempt to change the party’s upper house ticket just weeks before the state election. This followed a messy factional brawl within the Greens where the left faction of the party secured the top two positions on the party’s ticket.[10]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: #1 Mayoral Candidate . NSW Greens . Chris Harris joined The Greens in 1997.
  2. Web site: AAP. Greens announce first ever Lord Mayor nominee for Sydney. 14 February 2004. 2008-06-20.
  3. News: Sydney Mayor backs down after election battle . 17 June 2018 . ABC News . 19 September 2006.
  4. News: Debus labels Greens protest a stunt. The Age, Melbourne. 14 April 2004. 2008-06-20.
  5. News: Sydney Morning Herald. 29 August 2005. Sydney facing tunnel teething trouble. 2008-06-20 . Melbourne.
  6. News: Heffernan thwarts Greens. Sunday Telegraph. 25 March 2007. 2008-06-20 . Linda . Silmalis.
  7. News: News.com.au . Fight for green buildings . 12 June 2007 . 2008-06-20 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070615015223/http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C23599%2C21892289-2%2C00.html . 15 June 2007 . dmy-all .
  8. Web site: ABC News. Sydney councillor angered by APEC security measures. 27 August 2007. 2008-06-20.
  9. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-26/nsw-greens-internal-war-over-party-control/7447340
  10. https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/26/nsw-greens-members-plan-legal-action-over-upper-house-ticket