Glenn Brookes
Australian politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Glenn Edward Brookes (born 13 August 1959) is an Australian politician who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing East Hills from 2011 to 2019.[1] A member of the Liberal Party, he resigned to become an independent in 2016 after questions were raised about his 2015 campaign, but rejoined the party in 2017.[2]
Glenn Brookes | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member of the New South Wales Parliament for East Hills | |
| In office 26 March 2011 – 23 March 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Alan Ashton |
| Succeeded by | Wendy Lindsay |
| Majority | 0.6 points |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 August 1959 |
| Party | Liberal Party (2011–16, 2017–present) Independent (2016–17) |
| Occupation | Politician |
Early years and background
Brookes was born at Bankstown Hospital and attended East Hills Primary and High Schools. Leaving school at a young age, he built a successful large business, Sydney Signs, in a monopoly market. He now manages several companies.[3]
Political career
In 2004, Brookes was elected to serve as a councillor on Bankstown City Council and continues to hold this position.[4] He first ran for East Hills in the 2003 NSW election, losing to incumbent Labor member Alan Ashton who achieved 68.5 per cent of the two-party preferred vote.[5] He ran again for East Hills at the 2007 NSW election, losing again to Ashton, on a two-party preferred margin of 64.1 per cent for Labor. Brookes was the recipient of a 3.8-point increase in support from the 2003 election.[6]
In 2011, Brookes again contested East Hills; Ashton was again his main competitor. With the election strategies implemented by his Campaign Manager, Geoffrey Grasso, Brookes defeated Ashton, with a swing of 14.3 per cent, winning the seat from Labor for the first time in history, and holding the seat with 50.6 per cent of the two-party vote.[6] Since the seat of East Hills was created in 1953, up until the 2011 NSW election, it had been held continuously by Labor, represented by only three members of parliament.[6] On 21 March 2016, Brookes resigned from the Liberal Party to sit as an independent after his election campaign manager, Jim Daniels, was charged with electoral offences.[7] He later rejoined the party.