The Australian Women's Register

Deirdre Grusovin was born in Sydney in 1938 and educated at the Lady of the Sacred Heart College, Kensington. She worked as a Librarian for the Randwick Municipal Council from 1957 to 1962. She married Walter Grusovin in 1962 (he died September 2004) and they have seven children, three daughters and four sons. From 1962 until her election to the Legislative Council of New South Wales, in 1978, she managed the family pharmacy business.

Deirdre Grusovin served twelve years in the Legislative Council, holding the positions of Minister for Consumer Affairs and Assistant Minister for Health, and Minister for Small Business in the Unsworth Ministry. She became Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council in July 1986 and then Deputy Leader of the Opposition from March 1988 to 1990 when she resigned from the Legislative Council to contest the seat of Heffron.

Deirdre Grusovin is the sister of Laurence Brereton, her predecessor in the seat of Heffron and later MHR for Kingsford-Smith. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in June 1990 and held the seat until her retirement in March 2003.

She joined the ALP 1957 and was assistant secretary of NSW Youth Council of the party from 1959 to 1961. She was a member of the Administrative Committee of the ALP in 1985 and was a delegate from New South Wales to the Australian Labor Party National Conference in 1986. She was the first woman Chairman of St Margaret’s Hospital Advisory Board.