Victor Dominello

Victor Dominello MLA
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Ryde
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 October 2008
Preceded by	John Watkins
Majority	13.0%
Personal details
Born	(1967-07-30) 30 July 1967 Ryde, New South Wales
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Residence	Meadowbank, New South Wales
Profession	Solicitor

Victor Michael Dominello MLA (born 30 July 1967) is an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Ryde. He was sworn in on 28 October 2008.

After a career as a solicitor and Local Councillor, Dominello was elected to the Parliament of New South Wales following a Ryde by-election triggered by the resignation of his predecessor John Watkins. The by-election saw Dominello receive one of the largest recorded two-party swings in Australian political history at 23.1 percent.

Early life and career

Dominello was born at Ryde Hospital and was educated at Holy Spirit School, North Ryde, and Marist College Eastwood. Dominello then went on to study law through the Solicitors Admissions Board.

In 1991, Dominello was admitted as a practitioner of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the High Court of Australia after taking the Solicitor’s Admission Board Examinations. In one of his first cases, Dominello represented applicants in the Maralinga cases, who sought compensation following the findings made by the Royal Commission into British nuclear tests in Australia. Dominello successfully obtained an order that the limitation period be significantly extended to enable the applicants’ claims to be maintained.

In 1994, Dominello commenced his employment with Etheringtons Solicitors of North Sydney, and in 2000, became a Partner. In 2000, Dominello also represented applicants in complex proceedings in the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales, where staff members sought damages against members of Parliament and the Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for unfair contract. Following his election to the Parliament of New South Wales in October 2008, Dominello stepped down as Partner at Etheringtons.

Local Government

In 1995, Dominello was elected as a Councillor for the City of Ryde and served two terms, stepping down in 2004 to focus on his legal career.

While on Council, Dominello was chair of a number of committees including the Development Committee and had a significant involvement in the establishment of the Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre and the development of the Macquarie Business Park.

Member for Ryde

NSW Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell celebrates the 2008 Ryde by-election win with Victor Dominello and NSW Deputy Opposition Leader Jillian Skinner

On 3 September 2008, the Deputy Premier and Transport Minister, John Watkins, resigned, triggering a by-election in his seat of Ryde. Within a matter of weeks following the failure of the Government's plan to privatisation of the power industry, the NSW Labor caucus elected Emergency Services Minister Nathan Rees as Premier, with Premier Morris Iemma and Health Minister Reba Meagher resigning from Parliament, also resulting in by-elections in their seats of Lakemba and Cabramatta.

Dominello was preselected as the Liberal Party candidate, beating Ryde Mayor Vic Tagg and several other local party members.

Polling leading up to the by-election suggested that the Liberals were on course to secure 10.2% swing to win the seat and some media outlets predicted a narrow Liberal win. However, Dominello won with a swing of 23.1%. ABC election analyst Antony Green stated that the swing received by Dominello and the Liberals was the largest recorded swing in NSW history and most likely the largest in Australia since Federation.

Victor Dominello posing with Andrew Stoner, NSW Leader of The Nationals, Barry O'Farrell, NSW Opposition Leader and Gladys Berejiklian, Shadow Minister for Transport

Dominello was sworn in as a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly on October 28 2008. Since then, he has spoken in Parliament about a number of local issues including the future of Ryde Hospital, the Homebush V8 Supercar race and the increase to the Parking Space Levy . Dominello employed his legal expertise in the examination of the Government's covert search powers bill and discovered an omission in a section of the bill relating to the definition of serious offences. As a result, the Opposition was able to have the bill amended in the Legislative Council to reflect the discovery.

Dominello has also fought for the installation of flashing lights at school zones within his electorate. With the assistance of School Zone Flashing Lights advocate Peter Olsen, Dominello has organised the installation of private non-RTA school zone flashing lights at Denistone East Public School. Since the lights became operational in May 2009, several other schools have contacted Dominello for the private signs to be installed as the RTA have not announced any new installations in the Ryde area.

Personal life

Prior to entering politics, Dominello traveled extensively around the world, visiting locations such as India, Central and South America, Europe, the United States and Asia. He was a member of the North Ryde Golf Club for many years and is a dedicated supporter and member of the Wests Tigers.

Shortly after the by-election, Dominello moved to Marsfield to fulfil his election commitment of moving into the electorate if successful. In July 2009, he moved permanently to his new residence in Meadowbank.

External links

• Victor Dominello Facebook Page
• Mr Victor Michael Dominello MP. Parliament of New South Wales
• Etheringtons Solicitors of North Sydney - Victor Dominello
• State Electoral District - Ryde - New South Wales Electoral Commission
• State Electoral District - Ryde Results 2008 By-election