Joe Tripodi

Joe Tripodi
Member of the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
for Fairfield
In office
25 March 1995 – 4 March 2011
Preceded byGeoff Irwin
Succeeded byGuy Zangari
Personal details
Born
Joseph Guerino Tripodi

(1967-11-25) 25 November 1967 (age 56)
Fairfield, New South Wales
NationalityAustralian
Political partyLabor Party (1983–2014)[1][2][3]
SpouseMaria Tripodi
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
OccupationEconomist and union organiser
WebsiteNSW Parliament profile

Joseph Guerino Tripodi (Italian: [ɡweˈriːno triˈpɔːdi]; born 25 November 1967) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Fairfield for the Labor Party between 1995 and 2011. He was Minister for Finance, Infrastructure, Regulatory Reform, Ports and Waterways under former Premier Nathan Rees.[4] He was a controversial figure during his time in politics, known as a factional boss,[5] within the NSW Labor Right whose Terrigals sub-faction has twice dumped the sitting Labor Premier during 2007 and 2009. On 11 November 2010, he announced his decision to not contest the 2011 state election.[6]

Tripodi had his membership of the Labor Party terminated in June 2014 after the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) found that Tripodi acted in corrupt conduct by deliberately failing to disclose to his Cabinet colleagues his awareness of the Obeid family's financial interests in Circular Quay leases.[1][2][3] In 2016 ICAC made a second finding of corruption against Tripodi for leaking confidential Treasury information to benefit Nathan Tinkler's business interests, and recommended charges.[7] In 2017 ICAC made a third finding of corruption against Tripodi for using his ministerial position to try to award a government water contract to benefit the Obeid family.[8]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ICACsmh2014-06-05 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ICACaust2014-06-05 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ICACabc2014-06-05 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Silmalis, Linda (15 November 2009). "Rees axes Tripodi, Macdonald". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 15 November 2009.
  5. ^ Nicholls, Sean (11 November 2010). "Tripodi was the dead wood that had to go". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  6. ^ Benson, Simon (11 November 2010). "Factional warlord Joe Tripodi falls on his sword". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  7. ^ Whitbourn, Michaela (30 August 2016). "ICAC's Operation Spicer report live: the findings revealed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  8. ^ Hall, Louise; Gerathy, Sarah (3 August 2017). "Three former Labor ministers engaged in corrupt conduct, ICAC finds". ABC News. Retrieved 7 August 2017.