Joe Tripodi

Joseph Guerino Tripodi (born 25 November 1967) is an Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Fairfield. He is currently the Minister for Finance, Infrastructure, Regulatory Reform, Ports and Waterways.

Early career

Tripodi was born in 1967 and raised in Fairfield, New South Wales, the eldest of four children to Italian migrants Angelo and Iolanda. [cite web| title =Inaugural speech: Mr Joe Tripodi MP (Public Health Amendment (Tobacco) Bill 1996)| publisher =Parliament of New South Wales | month =April | year =1996 | url =http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA19960430030 | accessdate =2008-04-23] He received a B.Ec (Hons) from the University of Sydney. He was an economist with the Reserve Bank of Australia from 1989 to 1991 and an official with the Labor Council from 1993 to 1995.cite web
title =The Hon. Joseph Guerino Tripodi, BEc(Hons) MP
work =Members of Parliament
publisher =Parliament of New South Wales
url =http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/Parlment/Members.nsf/d890a06557517cedca256e700008765e/7e00439f6a979e884a256745000165a1!OpenDocument
accessdate = 2007-02-22 ]

Political career

In 1995, Tripodi was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the Sydney electorate of Fairfield for the Australian Labor Party.

His early career was marked by a series of public allegations. In October 2000, he was accused of sexually assaulting an Australian Democrats staffer at a New South Wales Parliament House function the month before. [cite news
first = Camille
last = Funnell
title = MP at centre of sex scandal denies wrongdoing
work = ABC Radio
date =October 31 2000
url = http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s206478.htm
accessdate = 2007-02-25 ] The complainant made an initial statement to the NSW Police, but withdrew it the following day. It was later alleged that one of the police officers who investigated the original complaint was a member of Tripodi's branch of the ALP. However, a subsequent investigation found no evidence of inappropriate action by the police officer. Fact|date=March 2008

In 2001, the manager of a committee chaired by Tripodi took out an apprehended violence order (AVO) against the MP after he publicly opposed a development application by her husband for a tavern opposite a primary school in Tripodi's electorate. [cite news
title = Hansard
work = Parliament of New South Wales
date =February 28 2001
url = http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/PARLMENT/hansArt.nsf/V3Key/LA20010228069
accessdate = 2007-03-05 ] The AVO was withdrawn shortly afterward, and it was subsequently revealed that a number of similar AVO applications had been lodged against others who opposed her husband's business interests. [cite news
first = Kate
last = McClymont
title = The Packer witness who never made the news
work = Sydney Morning Herald
date =March 3 2007
url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/02/1172338881115.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
accessdate = 2007-03-05 ]

Both incidents are periodically raised in parliament by the Opposition.

Tripodi was also accused of branch stacking. In 1996, it was reported that he paid almost $7000 in cash to the ALP head office to fund a "branch stack" [ [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/03/1093939146357.html?from=moreStories Labor MP paid $7000 for branch stacking] ]

Ministerial career

Prior to entering the ministry Tripodi was the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly Public Accounts Committee. He was the Minister for Housing from February to August 2005, when he became Minister for Roads. In September 2005, he was chased and grabbed on the floor of the Assembly by National Party member, Andrew Fraser, apparently in relation to a road funding issue. [cite news
title =Road games: why Andrew Fraser went full throttle
work =The Sydney Morning Herald
date =October 22 2005
url =http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/road-games-why-andrew-fraser-went-full-throttle/2005/10/21/1129775959944.html
accessdate = 2007-02-19 ] In February 2006, he became Minister for Energy, Minister for Ports and Waterways and Minister Assisting the Treasurer on Business and Economic Regulatory Reform. In April 2007, he became Minister for Small Business, Regulatory Reform, Ports and Waterways.

Tripodi was named in the Orange Grove affair but subsequently cleared by the Independent Commission Against Corruption in 2005. [cite web
title =Report on investigation into planning decisions relating to the Orange Grove Centre
publisher =Independent Commission Against Corruption
month =August | year =2005
url =http://www.icac.nsw.gov.au/files/pdf/pub2_99i.pdf
format =pdf
accessdate =2007-02-25 ]

Coalition campaign advertising ahead of the 2007 election identified Tripodi—along with Treasurer Michael Costa and Planning Minister Frank Sartor—as one of the government's least popular. Independent MPs indicated that, in the event of a hung parliament, they would not support a minority Labor government in which Tripodi remained a minister. [cite news
last = Mitchell
first = Alex
title = Hung parliament will see Tripodi lynched
publisher = The Sydney Morning Herald
date = 2007-02-25
url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/state-election-2007/independents-want-tripodi-out/2007/02/24/1171734075413.html
accessdate = 2007-02-25 ] In 2007, former premier Bob Carr was critical of Tripodi's performance as waterways minister with regard to his management of harbour development. [cite news
last = Jopson
first = Debra
title = Carr: don't ease rules on new marinas
publisher = The Sydney Morning Herald
date = 2007-02-10
url = http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/02/09/1170524303922.html
accessdate = 2007-02-24 ]

During an ICAC investigation into Wollongong City Council in 2008, it was revealed that a former Council officer against whom corruption allegations had been made was a personal friend of Tripodi's and had subsequently appointed to a senior position in a department in his portfolio. [cite news| last =Benson |first =Simon |coauthors =& wire services |title =Joe Tripodi punts mate Joe Scimone over ICAC vice claims | work =The Daily Telegraph | publisher =News Limited| date =2008-02-20 | url =http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23245291-5001021,00.html | accessdate =2008-03-10] [ [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/20/2167482.htm Scimone resigns from NSW Maritime - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) ] ] Tripodi claimed the appointment had been "at arm's length" from him, and on March 3, 2008 the ICAC indicated there was no evidence that would sustain an investigation.cite news| title =Tripodi, Hay cleared of wrongdoing | work =The Sydney Morning Herald | publisher =Fairfax| date =2008-03-03 | url =http://news.smh.com.au/tripodi-hay-cleared-of-wrongdoing/20080303-1wia.html | accessdate =2008-03-10] This was criticised by Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell who stated that the community would feel let down by the ICAC's decision.

On 8 September 2008 incoming Premier Nathan Rees promoted Tripodi to the Finance and Infrastructure portfolios, in addition to his previous resonsibilities of Ports and Waterways, and Regulatory Reform. [cite news| last = |first = |coauthors = |title =Rees names top ministers | work =The Sydney Morning Herald | pages = | publisher =Fairfax Ltd | date =2008-09-08 | url =http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/rees-names-top-ministers/2008/09/08/1220725906417.html | accessdate =2008-09-08 ]

References

Persondata
NAME=Tripodi, Joseph Guerino
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=New South Wales politician
DATE OF BIRTH= 31 January 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=