Victor Michael Dominello (born 30 July 1967 in

Ryde Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...

, New South Wales), is an Australian politician who has been the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Minister for Customer Service in the

second Berejiklian ministry The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

since April 2019, and in the Perrottet ministry. Dominello is 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 the electorate of

for the

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since 2008. He had previously served as the Minister for Finance, Services and Property in the

first Berejiklian ministry First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

between January 2017 and March 2019; as the Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation between April 2015 and January 2017 in the second Baird government; as the Minister for Citizenship, Communities and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs between 2011 and 2015, and the Minister for Veterans Affairs and Assistant Minister for Education between 2014 and 2015, in the

O'Farrell O'Farrell is an anglicised form of the Old Irish patronym ''Ó Fearghail''. People with the surname * Barry O'Farrell, Australian politician * Bernadette O'Farrell (1924–1999), Irish actress * Bob O'Farrell, American baseballer * Brett O'Farrel ...

and first Baird governments. After a career as a solicitor and local councillor, Dominello was elected to the Parliament of New South Wales following a Ryde by-election triggered by the resignation of his predecessor John Watkins. The by-election saw Dominello receive a

two-party A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referr ...

swing of 23.1 points. Dominello increased his margin at the 2011 election; however, the margin was reduced to 11.5 points at the 2015 state election.

Early life and career

Dominello was born at Ryde Hospital and was educated at Holy Spirit School (North Ryde) and

Marist College Marist College is a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded in 1905, Marist was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. In 2003, it became a secular in ...

(Eastwood). He went on to study law at Macquarie University. In 1991, he was admitted as a practitioner of 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 ...

and the High Court of Australia after taking the solicitor's admission board examinations. In one of his first cases, Dominello represented applicants in the

Maralinga Maralinga, in the remote western areas of South Australia, was the site, measuring about in area, of British nuclear tests in the mid-1950s. In January 1985 native title was granted to the Maralinga Tjarutja, a southern Pitjantjatjara Aborig ...

cases, who sought compensation following the findings made by the Royal Commission into British nuclear tests in Australia. He successfully obtained an order that the limitation period be significantly extended to enable the applicants' claims to be maintained. In 1994, Dominello commenced employment with Etheringtons Solicitors of North Sydney, and in 2000 became a partner. In the same year he represented applicants in complex proceedings in the

Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales The Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales conciliates and arbitrates industrial disputes, sets conditions of employment and fixes wages and salaries by making industrial awards, approves enterprise agreements and decides claims of u ...

, where staff members sought damages against members of

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and the

Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly The Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer of the Legislative Assembly, New South Wales's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is Jonathan O'Dea, who was elected on 7 May 2019. Traditionally a ...

for unfair contract. Following his election to the Parliament of New South Wales in October 2008, Dominello stepped down as partner at Etheringtons.

Political career

Local government

He joined the Liberal Party in the early 1990s, and in 1995 Dominello was elected as a councillor for the City of Ryde. While on Council, Dominello was chair of a number of committees including the development committee and had a significant involvement in the establishment of the Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre and the development of the Macquarie Business Park. Dominello served two terms, but did not nominate for the 2004 local government elections, citing his desire to concentrate on his legal career, and subsequently let his Liberal membership lapse.

New South Wales politics

On 3 September 2008, Labor Deputy Premier John Watkins, who was also the local Member for Ryde, resigned from parliament, resulting in the need for a by-election. Dominello nominated for preselection and won, defeating Ryde Mayor Vic Tagg and several other local party members. On paper, Ryde was a safe Labor seat; Dominello needed a 10-percent swing to win it. However, it was located in territory that had historically been marginal at the federal level. Additionally, the by-election came at a very bad time for the government, whose polling numbers had rapidly tailed off only a year after winning a fourth term. Dominello went into the contest as the overwhelming favourite to win. He duly defeated Labor candidate Nicole Campbell in a landslide, receiving a swing of more than 25 points on the day of the by-election. The swing, at the time the largest a sitting NSW government had ever suffered, turned Ryde into a safe Liberal seat in one stroke. He was subsequently sworn as a member of the Legislative Assembly in on 25 October 2008. Dominello has spoken in Parliament about a number of local issues including the future of Ryde Hospital, the Homebush V8 Supercar race and the increase to the Parking Space Levy. Dominello won the seat in his own right at the 2011 state election, picking up a healthy swing of 12.7 points and increasing his vote to 75 percent, making Ryde the 10th-safest Liberal seat. Following the electoral victory of the

government at that election, Dominello was appointed as the Minister for Citizenship, Communities and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Due to 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 Minis ...

as Premier, and the subsequent ministerial reshuffle 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 W ...

, the new Liberal Leader, in April 2014 in addition to his existing responsibilities as a minister, Dominello was appointed as the Minister for Veterans Affairs and the Assistant Minister for Education. Following the 2015 state election, Dominello was sworn in as the inaugural Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation in the second Baird government. In 2017 Dominello was appointed as the Minister for Finance, Services and Property in the first Berejiklian ministry. Following the 2019 state election, Dominello was sworn in as the Minister for Customer Service in the second Berejiklian ministry, with effect from 2 April 2019. Dominello was additionally appointed Minister for Digital on 31 March 2021.

Personal life and health

In September 2018, Dominello broke an arm while arm-wrestling NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman in an office. On 18 August 2021, while fronting the media in a press conference, Dominello's face was seen to be drooping and he was blinking slowly with his left eye. Concerned viewers contacted his office to urge him to seek medical help, which he did later that afternoon and was diagnosed with Bell's palsy. On subsequent days, he wore an eyepatch to prevent infection.

References

External links

Victor Dominello, NSW Liberal PartyState Electoral District – Ryde
–

New South Wales Electoral Commission The New South Wales Electoral Commission is a statutory agency with responsibility for the administration, organisation, and supervision of elections in New South Wales. It reports to the NSW Government Department of Premier and Cabinet. ...

State Electoral District – Ryde Results 2008 By-election
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dominello, Victor Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Living people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 1967 births New South Wales local councillors 21st-century Australian politicians