Walt Secord facts for kids

Walter Secord (born 25 December 1964) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the Labor Party. He served in the New South Wales Legislative Council from May 2011 to March 2023.

Before becoming a politician, Secord was a top advisor to Kristina Keneally. She was a former Premier of New South Wales. He also supports the Labor Israel Action Committee in New South Wales.

Early Life and Education

Walt Secord was born on December 25, 1964, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He grew up on the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation reserve. This is a special area set aside for Indigenous people.

He is a Mohawk-Ojibwe man. His father is a registered Indigenous person in Canada. Walt spent his first 17 years living on this reserve. He has said he is very proud of his Indigenous background. He feels it helps him care deeply about social justice.

Walt has two siblings. His brother, Dan, works to support Indigenous rights in Canada. Dan also helps lead Ojibway language camps for Indigenous prisoners. Walt was the first person in his father's family to finish high school. He was also the first to fly in an airplane.

Early Career and Higher Education

Walt Secord studied arts at York University in Toronto, Canada. After university, he worked as a journalist for a newspaper called the Toronto Star.

In September 1988, he moved to Australia. He became an Australian citizen in June 1992. From 1988 to 1991, he worked at the Australian Jewish News. In 1991, he won an Australian Human Rights Award. He received it for a series of articles he wrote for the newspaper.

Later, in 2013, Walt earned a Master’s Degree. He studied Strategic Public Relations at Sydney University.

Political Career

Before he became a politician, Walt Secord held many important roles. He worked as a senior advisor for different leaders. These roles included:

• Chief of staff for the New South Wales (NSW) Premier (2009–2011). A chief of staff is a main advisor to a leader.
• Chief of staff for the NSW Treasurer (2009). The Treasurer manages the state's money.
• Communications director for the longest-serving NSW Premier (1995–2005). He helped share their messages.
• Communications director for the Federal Opposition leader (who later became Prime Minister) (2007).
• Chief of staff for the national Minister for Ageing (2007–2009).

Walt Secord was the communications director for Bob Carr during the 1999 state election. During this time, he met Kristina Keneally. She later became the Premier of New South Wales. Secord also worked as the communications director for Kevin Rudd, who became Prime Minister.

Serving in the Legislative Council

In 2011, Walt Secord became a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. This is one of the two parts of the New South Wales Parliament. He served for almost twelve years.

During his time in Parliament, Secord held many different roles. He was a "Shadow Minister" for various areas. A Shadow Minister is a member of the opposition party. They watch over a specific government department. They also develop their party's policies for that area.

Some of his Shadow Ministerial roles included:

• Shadow Minister for Health
• Shadow Minister for Police and Counter Terrorism
• Shadow Minister for the Arts and Heritage
• Shadow Treasurer (managing the state's money from the opposition side)

In July 2019, he was appointed Shadow Treasurer. He also became Shadow Minister for the Arts and Shadow Special Minister of State. These roles were part of Jodi McKay's team.

In May 2021, Walt Secord resigned from his Shadow Ministerial roles. He stated that he and Jodi McKay had different ideas. He felt he could no longer serve under her leadership.

He continued to serve as a Shadow Minister for other areas. These included the Arts, Heritage, Police, and the North Coast. He held these roles until August 2022.

In 2022, Secord led a parliamentary inquiry. This inquiry looked into the major floods that happened that year. He also held other important roles in Parliament. He was deputy chair of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel. He was also deputy chair of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Armenia.

Resignation from Shadow Ministry

In August 2022, reports were made about his behavior. These reports suggested that he had been difficult to work with. Walt Secord apologized for his actions. He then resigned from his Shadow Ministerial roles on August 15, 2022.

Later, in the Australian Jewish News, Secord said the claims against him were a "political assassination." He called it an "orchestrated plan."

Walt Secord retired from politics at the 2023 New South Wales state election.

Personal Life

Walt Secord got married in October 2021. He is the deputy chair of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel. This group supports friendly relations with Israel.

In 2020, he announced he was converting to Judaism. He has visited Israel many times. He also used to work for the Australian Jewish News. He described his conversion as a natural step in his life's journey.