Deputy Walt
State Labor MP and NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel deputy chair, Mr Walt Secord has been elected Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the NSW Legislative Council (Upper House) in the NSW Parliament.
Walt Secord visits Auschwitz
It is the fourth most senior position in NSW Labor.
Mr Secord, who is a former journalist in Australian Jewish media was also re-appointed Labor’s Shadow Health Minister and Shadow Minister for the North Coast.
The appointments were announced by NSW Labor Opposition leader, Luke Foley.
Mr Secord was elected to the leadership position by the Labor caucus on April 7 – at its first meeting after the March State election. Fourteen Labor MPs were also elected to the NSW Legislative Assembly in the March State election.
Mr Secord worked at the Australian Jewish News from 1988 to 1991 as a senior journalist.
Other appointments include Labor Upper House MP, Ms Sophie Cotsis as Labor’s spokesperson for Multiculturalism, who will be responsible for working with the State’s various ethnic and ethno-specific communities in the Jewish community and Upper House MP Ernest Wong as shadow parliamentary secretary to the Opposition leader.
Mr Secord said he was honoured by the promotion and looked forward to new challenges of the new Parliament, which resumes on May 5.
“As well as my leadership position in the NSW Labor Party, I will continue to be active in the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel and the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Armenia,” Mr Secord said
“I also look forward to attending the annual Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration next month hosted by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and the State Zionist Council of NSW.”
“Furthermore, I intend to continue to maintain my life-long connection to the Jewish community and hope to visit Israel for a third time in this term of Parliament.”
In 2011, Mr Secord visited Auschwitz-Birkeneau and Israel on a personal trip. A year later, he returned to Israel as part of a multi-party NSW Parliamentary delegation – sponsored by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies.
Other leadership positions were Luke Foley (Labor leader and Opposition leader in the Legislative Assembly); Linda Burney (Deputy Labor leader) and Adam Searle (Opposition leader in the Legislative Council).
Mr Secord has been in the NSW Parliament since May 2011. He has previously served as Shadow Minister for Water, Shadow Special Minister of State and Shadow Minister for Roads.
Mr Foley said: “Labor’s Shadow Cabinet team is made up of experienced MPs and will be supported by a team of energetic new MPs to take the fight to the Baird Liberal Government.”
“This government will be a better government because we have a stronger and more energetic opposition than we were able to muster after our very heavy defeat in 2011,” Mr Foley said.
