Jewish mayor set for Parliament
BOTANY Bay Mayor Ron Hoenig seems set to become the second Jewish member of the NSW Parliament after the forthcoming Heffron by-election.
BOTANY Bay Mayor Ron Hoenig seems set to become the second Jewish member of the NSW Parliament after the forthcoming Heffron by-election.
Hoenig, who attends Maroubra shul regularly and keeps a kosher home, will vacate the mayoral post he has held for over 30 years to run as Labor’s candidate in a by-election the party is almost certain to win in the absence of a Liberal challenger.
And while the barrister and senior lawyer with the office of the NSW Public Defender said the by-election result was not a fait accompli, he said he was looking forward to the chance to work for his community in a new forum.
“I think the best way to really be an effective voice for the community now is actually state Parliament,” he said.
“I think I can represent them better and make my voice heard [better] now than I can in the office of mayor.”
As mayor of Botany Bay, Hoenig spoke out when neighbouring Marrickville Council tried to implement the global Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel as policy.
“There is a place for representative government at any level to express opinions on foreign affairs and express opinions on human rights and express opinions on democracy,” he said.
“But to do it in the way in which Marrickville Council did it was a complete breach of duty in my view.
“They were neither informed, nor were they fair, nor were they objective, and nor were they acting in the interest of their residents and ratepayers.”
Having visited Israel last year and again a few months ago, Hoenig has announced he will join the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel if elected.He also recently joined Labor Upper House MP Walt Secord in meeting with Jewish House CEO Rabbi Mendel Kastel to discuss ways of working together.
“I think he’s [Rabbi Kastel] doing a terrific job and the work that he does really needs to be supported,” he said.
“When we embark upon those sort of exercises like Jewish House, we actually show the whole community that the Jewish community can play a very fundamental role in the entire community. We’re not an insular community only concerned about ourselves.”
Hoenig will replace former NSW premier Kristina Keneally in the seat if elected.
In an interesting twist, Keneally’s husband Ben is Labor’s candidate to replace Hoenig as mayor of Botany Bay in September’s local government elections.
GARETH NARUNSKY
From left: Ron Hoenig with Jewish House CEO Rabbi Mendel Kastel and NSW Upper House MP Walt Secord.
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