Stephen Bali

Stephen Louis Bali is an Australian politician. He 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. He previously served as the mayor of Blacktown City Council between 2014 and 2019.

Early life Bali was raised in the suburb of Doonside in the heart of Western Sydney by his parents Karoly (Charlie) and Eva Bali, where he still lives today. His father Charlie Bali also served as a councillor and deputy mayor of Blacktown City Council.

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

On 8 August 2017, the then state member for Blacktown John Robertson announced he would be resigning from the NSW Legislative Assembly, causing a by-election to be held later that year on 14 October. Bali, the then high-profile mayor of Blacktown, was endorsed as Labor's candidate to succeed the former leader. He was elected as the state member for Blacktown, with 82.3% of the two-party-preferred vote. In his inaugural speech to the parliament Bali outlined his goals for health, education, and infrastructure for his electorate, which he claimed had previously been "excluded".

Bali re-contested Blacktown at the 2023 New South Wales state election and was re-elected with 69.1% of the two-party-preferred vote, a swing of 2.5 points. He was subsequently announced as Parliamentary Secretary for Planning and Public Spaces on 26 April 2023.

Activism and charity work In 2015, mayor Bali had heavily opposed the controversial SBS documentary Struggle Street, which depicted what residents called an "unflattering depiction of [ Mount Druitt]". In a statement at the time, Bali denounced the documentary as "publicly funded poverty porn".