Andrew John Refshauge (born 16 January 1949) is a former Australian politician who was

Deputy Premier of New South Wales The deputy premier of New South Wales is the second-most senior officer in the Government of New South Wales. The deputy premiership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1932, and the deputy premier is appointed by the governor on the advice o ...

from 1995 to 2005, a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

between 1983 and 2005, and a senior minister in the Carr ministry.

Background and early career

Refshauge was born in Melbourne, the son of Major General Sir William Refshauge who later became Honorary Physician to

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and Director-General of the Commonwealth Department of Health. He has three brothers and one sister. One brother, Richard Refshauge, was a Judge of the ACT Supreme Court. His sister, Kathryn Refshauge, is the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. Educated at

Scotch College, Melbourne Scotch College is a private, Presbyterian day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The college was established in 1851 as The Melbourne Academy in a house in Spri ...

, Refshauge studied medicine at the University of Sydney, and after graduating, worked in NSW hospitals and later at the

Aboriginal Medical Service Aboriginal Medical Services Redfern, known as AMS Redfern, formerly the Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) is an Aboriginal Australian health service in the Sydney suburb of Redfern. Established around 1971, it was the first Aboriginal community- ...

in . He helped establish Aboriginal Medical Services in Wilcannia and Kempsey.

Political career

Angered by the dismissal of the Whitlam Government, Refshauge joined the Australian Labor Party. In 1983 he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the member for Marrickville on the same day that

Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the New South Wales Labor Party, New South Wales branch of the A ...

was elected the member for Maroubra in by-elections. He served in a variety of portfolios, as well as rising to be the leader of the left faction of the party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in 1988, and Deputy Premier in 1995 following the election of the Carr government. Refshauge was the Legislative Assembly representative on the Senate of the University of Sydney between 1987 and 1988 and was the Deputy Leader of the Opposition between 11 April 1988 and 4 April 1995. Prior to entering politics he was a member of the Aboriginal Affairs Policy Committee (1981–1986). Refshauge was a delegate to Labor's State Conference (1984–2005); an executive committee member of the H.V. Evatt Memorial Foundation; a board member of the Mandela Foundation; and a Fellow of the Senate of the University of Sydney (1983–1986). During his term in parliament, Refshauge served as minister between 1995 and 2005 in portfolios covering

Health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

, Aboriginal Affairs, Urban Affairs and Planning, Housing, Education and Training, State Development and as

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

. Refshauge announced his resignation from Parliament, as Deputy Premier and from the ministry in August 2005, a few days after Bob Carr announced his retirement as Premier and from Parliament. Refshauge originally had planned to retire at the 2007 election but was prompted to go earlier with Carr's retirement and a request by the replacement premier,

Morris Iemma Morris Iemma (; born 21 July 1961) is an Australian former politician who was the 40th Premier of New South Wales, serving from 3 August 2005 to 5 September 2008. From Sydney, Iemma attended the University of Sydney and the University of Techn ...

that Refshauge stand aside to allow for a new Deputy Premier so that there could be a new leadership team.

Career after politics

Refshauge presently holds a number of senior community leadership roles, including the Chairman of CareFlight (NSW), since December 2007; a director of Family Care Medical Services, since 2007; a director of the Aged Care Standards Accreditation Agency, since 2008 and chair since 1 July 2012; and the Chair of the Investment Committee of the

Aboriginal Land Council Land councils, also known as Aboriginal land councils, or land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations, generally organised by region, that are commonly formed to represent the Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australians ...

of New South Wales, since 2008. He has previously served in a range of other community roles, including the Chair of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; a director of the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, later to become Neuroscience Research Australia; a member of the Foundation for Research and Treatment of Alcoholism and Drug Dependence; and a director of the Family Care Medical Services.

Background and early career

Political career

Career after politics

References

Further reading