 He was a councillor on the Lithgow City Council from 1974 to 1999 and was the longest-serving mayor of Lithgow, for sixteen years.Prior to entering New South Wales politics, he was previously Deputy Chair, Central West Regional Development Board, and is a former Chairman of Blayney Abattior County Council.In Parliament, he was Government Whip and was a member of both the Standing Committee on Natural Resource Management and the Standing Orders and Procedure Committee.