Peter Besseling
| Peter Besseling | |
|---|---|
| 9th Mayor of Port Macquarie-Hastings | |
|
In office 8 September 2012 – 8 May 2017 |
|
| Deputy | Trevor Sargeant Adam Roberts Justin Levido Lisa Intemann |
| Preceded by | Neil Porter (Administrator) |
| Succeeded by | Lisa Intemann (acting) |
| Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Port Macquarie |
|
|
In office 18 October 2008 – 4 March 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Rob Oakeshott |
| Succeeded by | Leslie Williams |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
8 March 1970 Penrith, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Independent |
Peter Edward Besseling (born 8 March 1970) is an Australian politician. Besseling was the Mayor of Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, from 8 September 2012 to 8 May 2017, as an independent. Besseling served as Member for Port Macquarie between 2008 and 2011. Bessling is now General Manager at Birdon Pty Ltd.
Prior to entering politics, he was a professional rugby union player.
Besseling played 15 games for the NSW Waratahs from 2000 to 2001 and is a former second-rower and 1999 Ken Catchpole Medallist.
Besseling was elected as an independent member in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the seat of Port Macquarie; winning the seat in a 2008 by-election. The seat came open when the former member, independent Rob Oakeshott, resigned to make an ultimately successful run for the federal seat of Lyne. Besseling worked as a political adviser for his sometime rugby teammate Oakeshott for the previous three years.
Besseling won the seat with 35.9 percent of the primary vote and 54.5 percent of the two-party vote. This was a significant drop from Oakeshott's last victory in 2007; at the time of his resignation, Oakeshott sat on a majority of 28.2 percent, the safest in the Legislative Assembly.Alby Schultz, the Liberal Member for Hume, was seen campaigning a few times for Besseling, referring to him as "the pick of the candidates". Similar support was provided from Bill Heffernan, a Liberal Senator, sparking anger and resentment within the federal coalition.
...
Wikipedia