Ron Hoenig

Ron Hoenig (born 21 April 1953)[1] is an Australian barrister who served as Mayor of the City of Botany Bay in New South Wales from 1981 to 2012, a record 31 years, before standing down and winning the 25 August Heffron by-election in the state parliament for the Labor Party.[2][3]

Ron Hoenig MP
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Heffron
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 August 2012
Preceded by	Kristina Keneally
Mayor of Botany Bay
In office September 1981 – 8 September 2012
Deputy	George Glinatsis
Preceded by	Robert Mann
Succeeded by	Ben Keneally
Alderman of the Municipality of Botany for Mascot Ward
In office 20 September 1980 – 24 September 1983
Personal details
Born	21 April 1953 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Labor Party
Residence	Mascot, New South Wales
Profession	Barrister
Website	ronhoenig.com.au

Legal career

Hoenig was a practising barrister and public defender, who acted as the counsel assisting the inquiry into the death of Dianne Brimble, where he made recommendations that up to three of the persons assisting the inquiry could face prosecution. He defended David Dinh, who was accused of killing New South Wales MP John Newman. Dinh was acquitted by a jury. Hoenig later had to step back from performing public defender duties once he took office in the Legislative Assembly.[4]

Local council

After being elected as an Alderman of the Municipality of Botany in September 1980, Hoenig was elected mayor in 1981 and became the first popularly-elected mayor of the council in 1983, with 85% of the vote. He was re-elected mayor in 1987 (unopposed), 1991 (80%), 1995 (88%), 1999 (unopposed), 2004 and 2008.[5] Hoenig was mayor when Botany was proclaimed the City of Botany Bay on 11 May 1996.

During his time as mayor, Hoenig campaigned on various issues such as heritage protection, where he supported the establishment of the Botany Historical Trust in 1994 and commissioned the Botany Bay Heritage Study in 1996, the non-expansion of both the Botany Port and Sydney Airport.[6][7] He did not seek re-election at the 2012 local government elections.[8]

State parliament

Hoenig was preselected as the Labor candidate for 25 August 2012 Heffron by-election in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, following the parliamentary resignation of former Premier and state Labor MLA Kristina Keneally. Hoenig drew top spot on the ballot paper, with three other candidates from the CDP, Greens and Democrats.[2][9] Hoenig won with a 60 percent primary and 70 percent two-candidate-preferred vote.[10]

Personal life

Hoenig's parents Ernest and Edith migrated to Australia after World War II. Edith was a Holocaust survivor born in Czechoslovakia and Ernest was born in Austria. Hoenig is married to Christine and has two sons; Benjamin and Matthew. Hoenig is a member of the Maroubra Synagogue.[11]

References

1. Mr Ron HOENIG, Who's Who in Australia 2017, ConnectWeb, 2017.
2. 2012 Heffron by-election: Antony Green ABC
3. "Mr Ron HOENIG, DipLaw (SAB) MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
4. "Brimble: Up to three may be charged". The Australian. 19 July 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
5. "Councillor Ron Hoenig". City of Botany Bay. Archived from the original on 15 July 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
6. Dempster, Quentin (11 July 2003). "Saving Port Kembla". Stateline. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
7. Irvine, Jessica (13 February 2007). "Airport mall's future cloudy after veto". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
8. "List of Candidates". botanybay.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
9. "Ron Hoenig, Labor candidate for Heffron". www.nswalp.com. 6 July 2012. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
10. "Election Night: Two Candidate Preferred" (PDF). elections.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
11. "State member candidate visits Jewish House". jwire.com.au. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.

External links

• www.ronhoenig.com.au