About Deirdre Grusovin
Born 1938. Deirdre Grusovin is an Australian politician and librarian.
Deirdre Mary Grusovin (born 1 September 1938) was a Labor member of the New South Wales Parliament for over twenty five years.
Grusovin was born Deirdre Mary Brereton in Sydney, and is the sister of influential former politician Laurie Brereton. She was educated at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College in Kensington. Prior to entering politics, she was a librarian for the City of Randwick from 1957 to 1962 and then managed her husband's pharmacy business until 1978.
On 1 December 1994, Grusovin used parliamentary privilege to air a statutory declaration by convicted pedophile Colin John Fisk alleging that politician Frank Arkell and lawyer John Marsden were pederasts. Labor leader Bob Carr had urged her not to do so, but Grusovin proceeded to read part of the document to parliament without further notice. Premier John Fahey called on Labor leader Bob Carr to sack her from the shadow ministry if she would not produce supporting evidence and the NSW Law Society labelled her actions "a gross abuse of parliamentary privilege". Marsden challenged Grusovin to repeat the comments outside parliament, and would later successfully sue a media outlet for defamation over the allegations. Carr forced her resignation the following day, having staked his leadership on the outcome.
Grusovin was re-elected in 1995 and 1999, but spent the remainder of her career on the backbench. She resigned from parliament in 2003, following defeat in a bitter preselection battle with Kristina Keneally in 2002. Grusovin threatened to take her case to the Supreme Court, but ultimately stepped aside and Keneally succeeded her in 2003. In 1990 she was granted permission to retain the title "The Honourable".
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Important facts
People in Deirdre Grusovin's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Deirdre Grusovin's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Deirdre Grusovin?
Australian politician
When was Deirdre Grusovin born?
Deirdre Grusovin was born on 1 September 1938 in Sydney.
What is Deirdre Grusovin's occupation?
Deirdre Grusovin is a politician and librarian.
What nationality is Deirdre Grusovin?
Deirdre Grusovin is Australian.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Deirdre Grusovin
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Deirdre Grusovin. https://biography.guide/deirdre-grusovin/
MLA: "Deirdre Grusovin." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/deirdre-grusovin/.
Chicago: "Deirdre Grusovin." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/deirdre-grusovin/.
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