Brian Joseph Langton (24 January 1948 – 17 October 2023) was an Australian Labor Party politician, who served both as mayor of Kogarah in the

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

area of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and as the member for Kogarah in 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 ...

. In 1998 Langton was found by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to have been involved in corruption, having deceptively lodged travel allowances.

Early years

Brian Joseph Langton was born in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra on 24 January 1948. Prior to Parliament, he went to school at Marist Brothers, Kogarah and was an investment banker and manager of a travel company. He showed an early interest in politics, being elected to Kogarah Council in 1971 at the age of just 23. He served on the council for twelve years and was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

in 1979 and 1980.

Political career

In 1983, Langton was elected to the New South Wales Parliament as a Labor Party member for Kogarah and served continuously in that role for sixteen years. When Labor formed a government in 1995, Brian Langton was appointed a minister, looking after the portfolios of

Transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

and

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

from April 1995 to December 1997 and then Fair Trading and

Emergency Services Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety, security, and health by addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies, while ot ...

in December 1997. In April 1998, Langton relinquished his ministerial duties due to his involvement in a political scandal, after the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found him guilty of corruptly rorting charter plane expenses. The ICAC deemed that Langton had sought advantage for himself by deliberate deception of the Parliamentary Accounts Department. Langton stepped down at the 1999 state election, and left politics with a $90,000 indexed entitlement. In May 2008, the New South Wales Transport Minister, John Watkins, appointed Langton to the position of Chairman of

Sydney Ferries Sydney Ferries is the public transport ferry network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales. Services operate on Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour and the connecting Parramatta River. The network is controlled by the New South Wales Government ...

Personal life and death

Langton was married with three daughters. Brian Langton died on 17 October 2023. He was 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langton, Brian 1948 births 2023 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party mayors Mayors of places in New South Wales Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Ministers for emergency services (New South Wales) Ministers for better regulation and fair trading