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Having owned a number of pubs in his career, Sydney City Councillor Craig Chung knows a thing or two about how people in a community come together. And while many may perceive politics as a difficult subject to brooch in polite company, he believes that many of the topics people label 鈥榩olitics鈥 are actually more about 鈥榗ommunity鈥.
Chung is a fourth generation Chinese Australian, with strong family connections to Sydney dating back to 1882 on his mother鈥檚 side. His dad immigrated to Australia at seven, not speaking any English, though his commitment to study saw him win a Commonwealth Scholarship to Sydney University.
At 82 years old, his dad still practices as a GP, and his mum works alongside him in the practice. Both parents taught him hard work is something to be proud of.
鈥淪ome of the values I have today about hard work and education come from my parents. And I鈥檝e always been interested in the public service and advocacy side of the community,鈥 explains Chung, who enthusiastically got involved in politics in 1988 while studying for a Bachelor of Arts from the Macarthur Institute of Higher Education (now part of 91成人).
He was elected a member of the Student Representative Council and then the National Union of Students, working alongside other political hopefuls such as Penny Wong, Natasha Stott Despoja, and Luke Foley. When the Institute amalgamated to become the University in late1989, Professor David Barr (CEO of Macarthur), encouraged Chung to take a position on the Academic Board and mentored him in the fine art of working with committees.
鈥淚 really threw myself into campus life and made a lot of great friends, including Shane Alvisio who was a great advocate for sporting activities (later a member of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games organising team and Chung鈥檚 groomsman),鈥 he remembers. 鈥淚 was with him trying to get some inter-campus rivalry going in sport, even though sport was not my regular thing. I just really enjoyed organising the budgets and events side: we even managed to get a few rounds of the Student World Cup rugby at the Bankstown (Milperra) campus.鈥
But it wasn鈥檛 all fun and games being a student organiser: in 1991, Chung invited Federal Minister for Education Peter Baldwin to explain the introduction of HECS to a group of angry students. Then in August that year, he was one of around 500 students who made their views loudly known outside a nearly $1000-a-head 鈥淗igher Education Summit鈥 at the Hotel Nikko in Kings Cross attended by leaders from theeducation, government and business sectors.
鈥淢y university years were formative years of becoming really interested in public policy and advocacy,鈥 he says. 鈥淲e mounted a protest with a whole lot of other campuses down at the Hotel Nikko, where we knew all the vice chancellors were meeting. And afterwards, Brian Smith, the Vice Chancellor at the time, called me because he was quite upset with a news article that appeared that I suggested he gives back half of his salary. But you know, we鈥檝e moved on, I鈥檓 over 50 now and we moderate our views.鈥
Chung admits while he has always been passionate about getting involved in the communities he鈥檚 part of, he didn鈥檛 start out as a great scholar. Like some teenage boys, he felt he just didn鈥檛 fit in at the selective high school he attended, and he didn鈥檛 achieve a great HSC result. So, he travelled for a few years before he applied for a place at what is now 91成人.
鈥淢y advice for young people is the HSC is important but it鈥檚 not the end of the world. There are options,鈥 he says. 鈥淥ne of the things I love about 91成人 is it offered a generation of students in Western Sydney the opportunity for education, which otherwise may never have been there for anybody in their family. The University was so supportive, we had a lot of people there ready to help us succeed.鈥
He remembers some group assignments being tough 鈥 鈥淭hat hasn鈥檛 changed for students, whether you鈥檙e there in 1988 or 2021, but I thinkthey鈥檙e good because they make you work with people you鈥檝e never worked with before鈥 鈥 and his first big exposure to partisan dynamics in a big group was a video assignment he remembers fondly as part of the Communications course. Chung鈥檚 group was given the task to market a red liquid, which they called 鈥楯esus鈥檚 Strawberry Sauce at the Last Supper鈥.
鈥淵ou can imagine for some people that didn鈥檛 go down so well, but for others it did,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t was a great experience, and it was my firstbig challenge where some people didn鈥檛 like the work we did, even if the quality was good 鈥 but you know, as a politician you鈥檝e got to get used to the idea that not everybody鈥檚 going to like the work you do, even if it鈥檚 good.鈥
During an early foray into party politics Chung joined the Democrats because some the party鈥檚 values and ideas resonated with him. But during an overseas trip with his friend John Brogden (who would become leader of the opposition in NSW in 2002) he was persuaded to change allegiance and joined the Liberal party. He was elected to Ryde City Council in 2012-2016, then City of Sydney Council in 2016.
Like Brogden, Chung knows it can be very challenging trying to put forward change-making ideas when you鈥檙e not in the majority group, but it can be done: 鈥淚f you want to achieve in politics you have to draw on all your capacity to build relationships, to work with people and try and find ways in which you can get positive outcomes,鈥 he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 especially really proud of the work I鈥檝e been able to addresshomelessness here in Sydney. Homelessness is high on the agenda for a lot of community members and it鈥檚 not just about a roof over people鈥檚 heads.鈥
Chung is also proud of the work he鈥檚 doing on Sydney鈥檚 plan for 2030, strongly promoting ideas that can help make Sydney a 鈥楪lobal, Digital and Smart City鈥. He believes the key to its success will be leveraging data and technology to plan and deliver social, economic, environmental and liveability outcomes to the community.
鈥淭he community aspect is so important because although we come from all different walks of life, we share a lot of the same interests,鈥 he says. 鈥淧ut yourself in the shoes of the other person and try to understand their motivation. I think we need to remain grounded, look for things we have in common and find ways to collaborate.鈥
鈥淵ou鈥檇 be surprised that people who sit at polar ends of a political spectrum can be the greatest of friends outside politics. So you might not agree on everything but try to find the things you can agree on because that will make life easier 鈥 and a lot more fun.鈥
WORDS BY STUART RIDLEY
