11 Facts About Stephen Bali

Stephen Bali has been a Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the Electoral District of Blacktown since a by-election held to replace former Labor leader John Robertson in late 2017.

Stephen Bali previously served as the mayor of Blacktown City Council between 2014 and 2019.

Stephen Bali graduated with a Bachelor of Business from the Macarthur Institute of Higher Education, a Master of Commerce from the University of Western Sydney, and a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance from the Finance Institute of Australia.

Between 1996 and 2000 Stephen Bali was an associate lecturer at the University of Western Sydney, and from 2000 to 2004 a lecturer at the University of Newcastle.

Stephen Bali was first elected to Blacktown City Council in 2004, representing Ward 4.

Stephen Bali was deputy mayor between 2009 and 2010, before being elected as mayor in 2014 by its 15 councillors.

In 2016 mayor Stephen Bali was elected as the president of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils, an organisation of local government areas in Western Sydney including Blacktown City.

Stephen Bali continued to serve as both the member and the mayor of Blacktown; but due to legislation introduced by the Liberal O'Farrell State Government in 2012, members of the NSW State Parliament could not hold office in local government concurrently for more than two years.

Stephen Bali was announced as Parliamentary Secretary for Planning and Public Spaces on 26 April 2023.

In 2015 mayor Stephen Bali had heavily opposed the controversial SBS documentary Struggle Street, which depicted what residents called an "unflattering depiction of [Mount Druitt]".

Stephen Bali serves as the chair of the Better Foundation [1], a charity created in 2016 which operates in the Blacktown and Mount Druitt area specifically to raise funds for Blacktown Hospital and Mount Druitt Hospital for equipment, training, and other resources that the state government's budget does not fund.