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Craig John Knowles (born 27 February 1959) is a former Australian politician and 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 ...
from 1990 to 2005.


Early life

Knowles' parents were Marie and Stan Knowles, member for Ingleburn from 1981 to 1988 and Macquarie Fields from 1988 to 1990. He was born in
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
,
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 ...
and educated at
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
Boys High School, Sydney College of Technical and Further Education. He worked in the New South Wales Department of Business and Consumer Affairs from 1988 and was the Western Sydney Co-ordinator in the Office of State Development of New South Wales Premiers' Department from 1987 to 1988. He was an
alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...
on
Liverpool City Council Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Mayor J ...
from 1982 to 1994 and Mayor from 1986 until 1988.


Political career

Knowles served as a Labor Party member for Macquarie Fields from May 1990 to May 1991,
Moorebank Moorebank is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Moorebank is located 27 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Liverpool. Moorebank features a ...
from 1991 to 1999 and Macquarie Fields from 1999 to 2005. He was Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning from 1995 to 1999, Minister for Health from 1999 to 2003 and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning and Minister for Natural Resources from 2003 to 2005. Knowles introduced a number of changes during his time as Planning Minister. These included the introduction of private certification of buildings. Another controversial change was the introduction of Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, which increased the powers of the Minister in approving major developments and superseded heritage and environmental protection legislation. Knowles' political career was damaged by allegations raised by nurse Nola Fraser in relation to deaths at Campbelltown and
Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
hospitals when he was Minister for Health. An Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry into Knowles' behaviour cleared the minister in September 2005, but he had already been moved from the health portfolio. He was also damaged by the Orange Grove affair, as a supporter of a retail outlet, which was later found to have been opened in contravention of zoning regulations in his electorate, while he was Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning. In April 2005, he was charged with drink-driving at a random breath test, with a low-level over the limit reading. Knowles had been considered a possible successor to
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 NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He later e ...
as
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
but declined to be nominated when Carr retired in August 2005; himself resigning from the ministry the same day as Carr and his deputy,
Andrew Refshauge Andrew John Refshauge (born on 16 January 1949) was a former Australian politician who was Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1983 and 2005, and a senior minister in ...
. Knowles resigned from parliament a few days later, sparking the 2005 Macquarie Fields by-election. He was ultimately succeeded by Labor's candidate Steven Chaytor.


After politics

After his retirement from politics, Knowles became a consultant and political lobbyist. He has a number of advisory roles, statutory appointments, and non-profit directorships, including: *President, the Asthma Foundation of New South Wales (since 2008–present) *Director, the
Black Dog Institute __NOTOC__ The Black Dog Institute is a not-for-profit facility for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mood disorders such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. It was founded in 2002 by the UNSW School of Psychiatry Scientia Profess ...
*Director, the
Children's Medical Research Institute Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI) is an Australian medical research institute located in Westmead that conducts research into children's genetic diseases. , current research is focused on cancer, birth defects, neurological conditions ...
(2007–present) *Director, the Học Mãi Foundation at The University of Sydney *Member, Advisory Board, Built Holdings Pty Limited *Chair, Murray Darling Basin Authority (2011–2015) At the
2015 Australia Day Honours The 2015 Australia Day Honours were announced on 26 January 2015 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove. The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, announced on Australia Day (26 January), with ...
, Knowles was appointed a
Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian ...
for significant service to local government, to the Parliament of New South Wales, and to the community through a range of health initiatives. In January 2018, Knowles was appointed by Trade Minister
Steven Ciobo Steven Michele Ciobo ( ) (born 29 May 1974) is a retired Australian politician who represented the Division of Moncrieff in the House of Representatives from the 2001 federal election until his retirement at the 2019 election. He was a membe ...
as the Consul-General of Australia in
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
, New Zealand.


References

  , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Craig 1959 births Living people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the Order of Australia Politicians from Sydney Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 21st-century Australian politicians Australian consuls Mayors of places in New South Wales