Alex McTaggart

Alexander John McTaggart (born 24 January 1949) is an Australian politician who was an independent member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Pittwater between 2005 and 2007. At the time of his election, McTaggart was also the Mayor of Pittwater Council.[1]

Councillor Alex McTaggart
Councillor of the Northern Beaches Council for Pittwater Ward
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 September 2017
6th Mayor of Pittwater Council
In office 12 September 2005 – September 2007
Deputy	Patricia Giles
Preceded by	Lynne Czinner
Succeeded by	David James
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Pittwater
In office 26 November 2005 – 24 March 2007
Preceded by	John Brogden
Succeeded by	Rob Stokes
Councillor of Pittwater Council for North Ward
In office September 1999 – 13 September 2008
In office 8 September 2012 – 12 May 2016
Personal details
Born	24 January 1949

Early life

Alex McTaggart grew up in the Pittwater area of Sydney, attending Avalon Public School and then St Paul's Catholic College in Manly, before finishing with his Leaving Certificate and then gaining an Associate Diploma of Teaching (Technical) as well as horticulture and landscape design qualifications.[2]

Political career

Following the sudden resignation of John Brogden as Liberal Opposition Leader[3] and his subsequent resignation from Parliament,[4] McTaggart was elected to the Legislative Assembly in a 2005 by-election for Pittwater in what many considered as a shock result.[5][6] The Liberals lost over 22 percent of their primary vote from 2003, allowing McTaggart to win with 55 percent of the two-party vote.

His victory was cited as a "disastrous loss" for the Liberal Party in a seat it had held for 32 years.[1] McTaggart attributed his election win to his opposition to the television show Baywatch being filmed at Avalon beach.[7] In 1999, McTaggart had been a protester against a proposal for Baywatch to film permanently at the beach.[8]

McTaggart was defeated in the 2007 state election, with Pittwater returning to the Liberal Party's Rob Stokes.[9] McTaggart continued to serve on Pittwater Council as a North Ward Councillor, for which he was first elected in September 1999, until its amalgamation into the Northern Beaches Council on 12 May 2016.

Northern Beaches Council

On 12 May 2016, with the release of the Local Government (Council Amalgamations) Proclamation 2016, the Northern Beaches Council was formed as per Warringah's submission, from Manly, Pittwater and Warringah councils.[10] McTaggart was then named by Northern Beaches Administrator Dick Persson as a member of the Implementation Advisory Group, one of several advisory committees composed of former councillors and mayors of the three councils.[11]

McTaggart then stood as an independent candidate for Pittwater Ward of the Northern Beaches Council and was elected in the second ward position on 9 September 2017.[12]

References

1. "Wipeout: party brawls begin". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 28 November 2005. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
2. "Alex McTaggart - Pittwater Ward". Northern Beaches Council. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
3. "NSW politician quits after slur". BBC News. BBC. 29 August 2005. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
4. "Shattered Brogden's suicide bid". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 31 August 2005. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
5. "Pittwater Shock". Radio National. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 28 November 2005. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
6. "Mr (Alex) Alexander John McTaggart (1949- )". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
7. Pearlman, Jonathan (13 January 2007). "The political power of one". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
8. "Entertainment Wave of protest over Baywatch move". BBC News. BBC. 26 February 1999. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
9. "Pittwater". NSW Votes 2007. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 April 2007. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
10. "Page 25 Local Government (Council Amalgamations) Proclamation 2016 [NSW] - Schedule 13 - Provisions for Northern Beaches Council" (PDF). Parliament of New South Wales. 2012. p. 25. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
11. Morcombe, John (20 May 2016). "Former councillors to return in advisory capacity". The Manly Daily.
12. Patterson, Robbie (19 September 2017). "Northern Beaches Council election results: Independents claim majority of seats". Manly Daily. Retrieved 30 September 2017.