Murray Evan Sainsbury (born 14 September 1940) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1975 to 1983, representing the Division of Eden-Monaro as a member of the Liberal Party. He was a civil engineer before entering politics.

Murray Sainsbury
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Eden-Monaro
In office
13 December 1975 – 5 March 1983
Preceded byBob Whan
Succeeded byJim Snow
Personal details
Born (1940-09-14) 14 September 1940 (age 84)
Wollongong, New South Wales
NationalityAustralian
Political partyLiberal Party of Australia
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
OccupationCivil engineer

Early life

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Sainsbury was born in Wollongong, New South Wales. He graduated from the University of Sydney with the degrees of Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Economics.[1] He was a qualified civil engineer and operated his own building and construction company.[2]

Politics

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Sainsbury was elected to federal parliament in the Coalition's landslide victory at the 1975 federal election, defeating the incumbent Labor MP Bob Whan. He was re-elected in 1977 and 1980,[3] defeated by Labor's Jim Snow in 1983 and failed in an attempt to regain the seat in 1984.[4]

According to Paul Kelly, Sainsbury was part of "the vanguard of the free market lobby within the Liberal Party" along with three other backbenchers (Jim Carlton, John Hyde, and Peter Shack).[5] He briefly served as a deputy government whip from September to December 1981.[1]

In 1982, Sainsbury approached local artist Tom Thompson to depict proceedings of the House of Representatives. Thompson's sketches have been cited as "the first and only occasion that an artist has been permitted to draw in the house", and are now held by the Museum of Australian Democracy.[6]

Later career

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In 1991, Sainsbury was appointed CEO of a project management company within the Hindmarsh Group. He had previously worked with the group as a consultant for two years.[2]

As of 2014, Sainsbury was the president of the Association of Former Members of the Parliament of Australia. In a submission to a parliamentary committee on behalf of the organisation, he argued against the abolition of the Life Gold Pass Scheme, which provided former MPs and senators with 10 free return airfares within Australia each year.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Biography for SAINSBURY, Murray Evan". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Sainsbury for new Hindmarsh company". The Canberra Times. 25 March 1991.
  3. ^ "Sainsbury in danger of losing". The Canberra Times. 24 February 1983.
  4. ^ "Members of the House of Representatives since 1901". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 11 June 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
  5. ^ Kelly, Paul (2008). The End of Certainty: Power, Politics and Business in Australia. Allen & Unwin. p. 38. ISBN 9781741754988.
  6. ^ "Sketches of the parliament by Tom Thompson". Museum of Australian Democracy. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Parliamentary entitlements: Former MPs fight to keep lifetime 'gold pass' travel perks". ABC News. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Eden-Monaro
1975–1980
Succeeded by