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Jerome Laxale

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Jerome Laxale
MP
File:Jerome-4935.jpg
Member of the Australian Parliament for Bennelong
Incumbent
Assumed office
21 May 2022
Preceded byJohn Alexander
Mayor of Ryde
In office
26 September 2017 – 11 January 2022
DeputyChristopher Gordon
Simon Zhou
Peter Kim
Roy Maggio
Preceded byBill Pickering
Succeeded byJordan Lane
In office
8 September 2015 – 16 September 2016
DeputyRoy Maggio
Preceded byBill Pickering
Succeeded byBill Pickering
Personal details
BornUnknown
NationalityAustralian
French (renounced)
Mauritian (renounced)
Political partyLabor
SpouseJo Taranto (Partner)
Children3
Alma materUniversity of New South Wales
Websitewww.jeromelaxale.com

Jerome Alexandre Alain Laxale[1] He was elected Member of Parliament for Bennelong in the 2022 federal election.[2]

Laxale is currently a Councillor of the City of Ryde since 2012 and was the City's Mayor from 2015 to 2016 and from 2017 to 2022.[3]

Early life and career

Laxale was born in Australia to a father from Mauritius and a mother from Réunion, a French overseas department.[4] His father was a member of the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM).[5] Laxale was educated at The King's School.[6][7] He then attended University of New South Wales and majored in Politics and International Relations and the French language.[8] After finishing university, he joined the family business supplying hair and beauty products as a small business director.[9]

Political career

Laxale joined the Labor Party in 2004 and was the Eastwood Labor branch president since 2008.[8]

Attempt to enter state politics

Laxale contested the state seat of Ryde as the Labor candidate in the 2011, 2015 and 2019 state elections but lost to incumbent Liberal Party member Victor Dominello in all three occasions.[8][10][11] However, his primary vote and two-party-preferred vote (TPP) had increased in each election, starting with 17.0% primary vote and 24.3% TPP in 2011 before they increased to 30.4% and 41% respectively in 2019.

City of Ryde

Laxale was first elected to the City of Ryde for the West Ward in the 2012 local government elections.[12]

Laxale became Mayor of the Council on 8 September 2015 and was the youngest ever in this role at the age of 31 (until Jordan Lane in 2022).[13][14] This came after he was tied in the first vote with independent Councillor Terry Perram on three votes, with Liberal Councillor Artin Etmekdjian having six votes. In order to break the tie, Perram was drawn randomly by lot and was eliminated from the next round of voting. The final round of voting was held between Etmekdjian and Laxale, resulting in another tie at 6–6. Laxale was then drawn randomly by lot and became the new Mayor for a one-year term.[15] At the end of the one-year term on 16 September 2016, Laxale was defeated and replaced as Mayor by Liberal Councillor Bill Pickering by a 7–5 vote of the Council.[16]

After the local government elections in September 2017, with none of the parties achieving majority control in the Council, on 26 September 2017, the newly-elected Council elected Laxale to be the Mayor again for a two-year term.[17] He was re-elected in September 2019[18] and in September 2021.[19]

In the local government elections in December 2021, the Liberal Party won six of the twelve seats in the Council.[20] Laxale and Liberal Councillor Jordan Lane nominated for the mayoral position, and on 11 January 2022, the newly-elected Council voted 7–5 for Lane to be the new Mayor.[21][22] After losing the mayoralty, Laxale continued to be a Councillor in the Council.

In addition to his duties as a Councillor in the City of Ryde, Laxale is also the Treasurer in the Local Government NSW (LGNSW) Board, a position he was elected to in October 2019.[23][24]

Controversies

In 2019, it was alleged that Laxale began congratulating residents on significant birthdays in writing. However, Council staff confirmed that they had not provided personal details to Laxale, leading Liberal Councillor Lane to suspect that Laxale was continuing to access the electoral roll from the March state election when he was the Labor Party candidate.[25][26] Lane reported Laxale to the New South Wales Electoral Commission, which the Electoral Commission confirmed that such a practice was not permitted.

Also in the same year, Laxale's deputy Simon Zhou (from 2018 to 2020) had also been accused of failing to disclose a $4 million financial connection with disgraced Chinese property developer Huang Xiangmo. This meant that a planning decision which may have delivered Huang a $135 million profit was the subject of scrutiny. Laxale referred the matter to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), and clarified he himself had nothing to hide.[25] Laxale and Zhou faced a motion on 13 November 2019 to stand aside during the ICAC investigation but the motion was unsuccessful.[27]

In July 2020, Laxale posted a TikTok video where he was dancing in his mayoral robes and chains. He was accused by Liberal Party Councillors that Laxale "doesn’t take the office seriously". Laxale responded that the video wasn't made to be taken seriously and was more of a way "to engage young people".[28]

Federal politics

Laxale was the Labor Party candidate for the Division of Bennelong in the 2022 federal election. In order to stand for election, he renounced his French and Mauritian citizenships, which he inherited from his mother and father respectively.[1] He was successful in his election and won the seat from the Liberal Party.[29]

Personal life

Laxale has a son and twin daughters from a previous marriage.[30] Laxale's current partner is Jo Taranto.[31]

Laxale has been living in the City of Ryde local government area and the electorate of Bennelong since 2006. First living in Marsfield, he now lives (as of April 2022) in North Ryde.[9]

Laxale is highly proficient in the French, German and French-based Creoles and Pidgin languages.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b "Candidate checklist and additional documentation- Jerome Laxale" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Labor wins John Howard's former seat for only second time in more than 70 years". ABC News. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Clr Jerome Laxale". City of Ryde. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  4. ^ Stavrinos, Anthony (26 March 2022). "Ryde Councillor Jerome Laxale announced as Labor's Bennelong candidate". Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Jerome Laxale, D'origine Mauricienne, Fait Partie Du Gouvernement Travailliste d'Albanese". Le Matinal (in French). 26 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Distinguished Achievers List – 2001 HSC". NSW Educations Standards Authority. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  7. ^ "HSC Courses for implementation in Year 11, 2000". NSW Educations Standards Authority. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "NSW Votes 2011 - Ryde". ABC News. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Jerome Laxale | Labor". Ryde District Mums. 28 April 2022.
  10. ^ "NSW Election 2015". ABC News. 14 April 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  11. ^ "2019 NSW election - Ryde". ABC News. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  12. ^ "2012 NSW Local Council Elections". ABC News. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  13. ^ Bastians, Kate (9 September 2015). "New Ryde mayor Jerome Laxale chosen in bizarre twist of double lucky dip". Northern District Times. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  14. ^ Robertson, James (10 September 2015). "Ryde's Jerome Laxale is mayor after name drawn from a hat – twice". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  15. ^ "Extraordinary Council Meeting - Minutes of Meeting No. 16/15" (PDF). 8 September 2015. p. 3-4. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Extraordinary Council Meeting - Minutes of Meeting No. 10/16" (PDF). 16 September 2016. p. 5. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  17. ^ Deare, Steven (26 September 2017). "LABOR'S JEROME LAXALE IS RYDE COUNCIL MAYOR". Northern District Times. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  18. ^ "Clr Jerome Laxale re-elected as City of Ryde Mayor". City of Ryde. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  19. ^ "Clr Jerome Laxale re-elected as Mayor". City of Ryde. 28 September 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  20. ^ "City of Ryde". ABC News. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Extraordinary Council Meeting - Minutes of Meeting No. 1/22" (PDF). 11 January 2022. p. 4. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  22. ^ "City of Ryde elects young Liberal mayor as seats shift on Sydney councils". Sydney Morning Herald. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  23. ^ "LGNSW Board". Local Government NSW. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Cr Jerome Laxale". Local Government NSW. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Labor mayor bows to pressure and calls in ICAC". Australian Financial Review. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  26. ^ "NSW Labor headquarters reported for possible data breach". Australian Financial Review. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  27. ^ "'Ryde residents are lucky to have me'". Daily Telegraph. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  28. ^ "Ryde Mayor defends TikTok dance in his mayoral robes and chains". 2GB 873AM. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  29. ^ "Labor wins John Howard's former seat for only second time in more than 70 years". ABC News. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  30. ^ "'I got home and burst into tears': Intimidation allegations fly in Ryde in lead up to NSW election". Sydney Morning Herald. 10 March 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  31. ^ @jeromelaxale (24 May 2022). "THANK YOU, BENNELONG" – via Instagram.
Civic offices
Preceded by
Bill Pickering
 Mayor of Ryde
2015–2016 		Succeeded by
Bill Pickering
Preceded by
Bill Pickering
 Mayor of Ryde
2017–2022 		Succeeded by
Jordan Lane
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Bennelong
2022–present 		Incumbent
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