Tom Stephens was educated by the Sisters of Mercy at their convent school in Parkes, NSW; then at Campbelltown NSW by the Good Samaritan Sisters before his secondary schooling at St Gregory's Marist Brothers Agricultural College in Campbelltown.
15 Facts About Tom Stephens
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Tom Stephens had been working closely with Aboriginal people in Redfern, assisting Father Ted Kennedy and Aboriginal leader Shirley Smith, known as Mum Shirl.
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Tom Stephens became a Western Australian state parliamentarian at age 31; he served as a Labor Party member of the Parliament of Western Australia from 1982 to 2013; serving first in the Legislative Council from 1982 to 2004, and then in the Legislative Assembly from 2005 until his retirement on 9 March 2013.
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Tom Stephens served first as a minister, albeit briefly, in the Lawrence Labor Government from 1992 to 1993 and then in the Gallop government from 2001 to 2004.
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Tom Stephens was first elected to the Legislative Council at a 1982 by-election for the seat of North Province, sparked by the resignation of Liberal MLC Bill Withers.
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Tom Stephens was re-elected for North Province in 1983, and then in 1989 for the redistributed seat of the new Mining and Pastoral electoral region.
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Tom Stephens was re-elected in Mining and Pastoral in 1993,1996 and 2001.
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Tom Stephens served as a parliamentary secretary and as a minister in the Lawrence government in the 1990s; he was Leader of the Labor Opposition in the Legislative Council until the 2001 election of the new Labor government under Geoff Gallop, when he was elected into the ministry.
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Tom Stephens initially served as Minister for Housing and Works, and then later added Local Government and Regional Development to his portfolios.
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Tom Stephens held the portfolios of the Kimberley, Pilbara and Gascoyne, Regional Development and Heritage.
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Tom Stephens, who was already preselected for the Legislative Assembly seat of Central Kimberley-Pilbara, was drafted as a last-minute replacement candidate for the Federal seat of Kalgoorlie.
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Tom Stephens duly resigned from the WA State Cabinet and the WA Legislative Council, nominated and ran for that Federal seat; he was defeated at that contest by incumbent Liberal MP Barry Haase.
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Tom Stephens subsequently contested and won the WA state seat of Central Kimberley Pilbara at the 2005 election.
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Tom Stephens retired from the WA State Parliament at the 9 March 2013 WA General Elections, aged 61, having served in the parliament for more than 30 years.
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Tom Stephens was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2014 Australia Day Honours for "service to Indigenous affairs, and to the Parliament of Western Australia".