Richard Torbay: Speaker of the NSW Legislative Assembly and Member for Northern Tablelands

Richard Torbay is a community leader who has earned a well-deserved reputation for re-inventing himself. It is well known that he has climbed the ladder in a remarkably short time from kitchen hand to Speaker of the NSW Legislative Assembly, making him one of the most powerful politicians in the State. What distinguishes each new role he takes on is that he redefines it and stretches it to the boundaries of possibility and sometimes well beyond.

Mr Torbay is well known at the University of New England as a member of its Council since 1996 and as the former head of the UNE Union, which he served for 20 years, starting as a kitchen hand at the age of 18. In each of his promotions through the ranks of the University’s commercial services provider, he made a name for himself, becoming CEO in 1991. During that time he expanded the organisation to 170 staff, made record profits, opened the Belgrave Twin Cinema in Armidale and acquired Tattersalls Hotel as an asset for the Union.

During that period he made his first foray into politics, standing as a candidate in the 1991 Armidale City Council elections. He moved up to the position of Deputy Mayor and served as Mayor from 1995-2000. As Mayor he became chairman of the New England Local Government Group and chairman of the NSW Country Mayors Association. Amongst his achievements was the Building the Future Forum, launched by the NSW Premier, which set guidelines for Armidale’s growth and development on many fronts. Along with the late Peter Monley he guided the voluntary amalgamation of Armidale City and Dumaresq Shire Councils.

In 1999 Mr Torbay was challenged to stand for the seat of Northern Tablelands as an Independent. At the time it was considered a safe and virtually unassailable National Party seat. Come election day he romped home after a robust campaign which he won with 59 per cent of the vote following the distribution of preferences. In two subsequent elections he has increased that majority and in 2007 was second only to Premier Morris Iemma with the highest two party preferred result in the State.

As well as building a public profile, achieving record funding for the electorate and hosting more Ministers’ visits than had been seen in the Northern Tablelands for decades, he also served on several top level Parliamentary Committees. These include the Public Accounts Committee, the Speaker’s Technology Advisory Group, the Joint Committee on the Office of the Valuer-General, the Regional Investment Taskforce, the Joint Select Committee on Bushfires, the Standing Committee on Public Works and the Joint Committee on Tobacco Smoking in NSW.

Following the 2007 election he was elected unanimously as the first non-aligned Independent Speaker of the NSW Legislative Assembly and a key member of a new Rural Task Force to report to the government on issues affecting regional communities. One of his first priorities as Speaker was to change the NSW Constitution to allow him to speak, debate issues and deliver Members Statements on the floor of the House when they affect his electorate. While some commentators have seen this as just an aggregation of power for the role of Speaker, Mr Torbay has made it clear that he is primarily a representative of his local communities and he cannot see they should be disadvantaged in any way.

It also explains Richard Torbay’s success as a Member of Parliament. His focus on his family and delivering results for the communities he serves has made him a popular figure in the Northern Tablelands. His astute judgement and capacity to take on an enormous work load has won him the respect of his colleagues in Parliament from all political denominations. Richard is only 47 and whatever new roles he takes on in the future, there is no doubt he will continue to make his mark as a remarkable community leader, an astute businessman and politician, an extroverted participant in charity events and a compassionate champion of those suffering hardship.

(Biography prepared by the University of New England for the 6 October 2007 Graduation Ceremony and the awarding to Richard Torbay of an Honorary Doctorate in recognition of his contribution to the University.)