Gregory Eugene Smith SC (born 26 November 1947), an Australian politician, was 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 Ho ...

representing Epping for the Liberal Party from

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

to 2015. Smith served as the

Attorney General of New South Wales The Attorney General of New South Wales, in formal contexts also Attorney-General or Attorney General for New South Wales and usually known simply as the Attorney General, is a minister in the Government of New South Wales who has responsibili ...

and as the

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Justi ...

in the O'Farrell

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

between 2011 and 2014.

Early career and background

Born to parents Ted and Noreen, Smith grew up in the Sydney suburbs of Strathfield,

Beverley Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

, Coogee, and Maroubra and the regional town of

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

. He was educated at St. Joseph's Primary School, Goulburn and

Marcellin College, Randwick Marcellin may refer to: * Marcellin (given name) * Raymond Marcellin (1914–2004), French politician * Marcellin Champagnat (1789-1840), Catholic Saint and educator ; places * Marcellin College, Bulleen, a Marist Catholic secondary boys' school ...

and graduated from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

. In 1987, Smith became a public prosecutor, and he eventually became Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions. He was appointed as a

Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdictio ...

before the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court ...

. Smith, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, was the president of prolife

right to life The right to life is the belief that a being has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including capital punishment, with some people seeing it a ...

organisation called ''Right to Life'' prior to entering politics.

Political career

In 2006, Smith gained Liberal Party endorsement against

Pru Goward Prudence Jane "Pru" Goward (born 2 September 1952) is a former Australian politician and was a Liberal member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2019, representing the seat of Goulburn. She was the New South Wales Minis ...

for the seat of Epping to replace retiring Liberal member,

Andrew Tink Andrew Arnold Tink AM (born 13 July 1953) is a former Australian politician, having served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the Liberal Party from 1988 to 2007. He was in the shadow cabinet from 1995 until March 2006 ...

. Smith was elected as the Member for Epping at the 2007 state election. Smith voiced his opposition to a relationships register, passed by the NSW Parliament in May 2010. The register gave recognition to unmarried couples, opposite- and same-sex couples. Smith said: "The passing of this bill will be another increment in the undermining and destruction of marriage and the traditional family." Former NSW Attorney-General

John Hatzistergos John Hatzistergos (born 20 August 1960) is an Australian judge of the District Court of New South Wales. He is a former politician who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council representing the Labor Party between 1999 and 2011, ...

, of the Labor Party, speculated that Smith had previously objected to putting same-sex couples on the same level as heterosexual couples. Following the 2011 state election, Smith was appointed Attorney General and Minister for Justice in the O'Farrell–Stoner coalition government. After the resignation of

Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is a former Australian politician who has been Australia's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan since May 2020. O'Farrell was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Mini ...

as Premier, and the subsequent ministerial reshuffle in April 2014 by

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South ...

, Smith was dropped from the ministry. In July that year, Smith announced his retirement from politics and that he would not seek Liberal endorsement as a candidate for Epping at the 2015 election.

Personal life

Smith has been married for over 35 years and is the father of five children. One son,

Nathaniel , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate ...

, also serves in the New South Wales Parliament as Member for

Wollondilly Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wollondi ...

. Consistent with his Roman Catholic faith, he is a former president of the New South Wales Right to Life Association and the St Thomas More Society. Smith is a keen cricket and Rugby League fan and has supported

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

(now the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...

) and the Eastwood Rugby Union Club. Smith is also a lead singer of a band called The Tokens and he has also stated that he would have followed singing career had he not been a lawyer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Greg 1947 births Living people Attorneys General of New South Wales Australian Roman Catholics Australian Senior Counsel Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Sydney Law School alumni 21st-century Australian politicians