Paul John Zammit (born 28 April 1941) is an Australian former politician. He was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from 1996 to 1998, representing the seat of Lowe. He was elected as a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, but resigned from the party and unsuccessfully sought re-election as an independent at the 1998 federal election. He had previously been a Liberal 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 1984 to 1996.

Early life

Zammit was born into the Maltese-Egyptian community in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, Egypt, the son of a Maltese father and a Greek mother. He and his family migrated to Australia in 1955, aboard SS ''Strathnaver'', and settled in the

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 ...

suburb of Punchbowl. Zammit was a businessman before entering politics.

State politics

Zammit was the member for the state electorate of Burwood from 1984 to 1988. After Burwood was abolished, he was elected as the member for Strathfield at the 1988 state election. In 1991, he was made Assistant Minister to the Premier Nick Greiner and held that post when John Fahey took over 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 ...

in 1992.

Federal politics

In 1996, Zammit stepped down from state parliament to contest the federal Division of Lowe, which he won. Zammit attracted criticism for announcing that he would seek Liberal pre-selection for Lowe a day after he had been re-elected in Strathfield. It had been understood that he would serve as the member for Strathfield for the full term. In 1998, Zammit resigned from the Liberal Party, citing dissatisfaction with the way the Howard government was dealing with the problem of aircraft noise, and contested the seat at the 1998 election as an Independent. He gained only 16% of the vote, losing to Labor's John Murphy.

References

1941 births Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Lowe Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Egyptian emigrants to Australia Australian people of Maltese descent Australian people of Greek descent Australian MPs 1996–1998 {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub