Steve Georganas MP is the first politician of Greek Australian background to be appointed to the role of Second Deputy Chair. The appointment was made this week following the resignation of Speaker Peter Slipper.
Mr Georganas has been serving on the House of Representative’s Speakers Panel for the last five years and was approached by his party to nominate. He has sat in the Speaker’s chair since 2007, in the quieter sessions in parliament.
“When you sit in that chair you are an independent umpire and I am very conscious of that – I always operate as speaker impartially and fairly,” Mr Georganas told Neos Kosmos. When asked how he will address his role in the chair, Mr Georganas responded: “I expect I will continue to operate in the chair as I have been for the last five years and that’s with firmness and fairness,” adding, “for me, it’s an honour and a privilege to serve in any capacity in parliament.”
Mr Georganas is the son of Greek migrants whose roots stem from the Peloponnesian region of Greece. He has lived in his electorate of Hindmarsh all his life, and first won the seat of Hindmarsh in 2004 and was re-elected for a third term in 2010.
