About

Civil Engineer, Politician

In the early 90s, a young and passionate civil engineer from India decided to move to a foreign land, thousands of miles away from his hometown in Punjab. A desire for a better life and equal opportunities for his two girls, which he felt was unattainable in a male-oriented society in India at the time, worked as a major catalyst to migrate to Australia. Gurdeep Singh, determined, and in high spirits, packed his bags and moved to the Land Down Under, accompanied by his wife and two young girls, in the year 1991.

Gurdeep Singh says that when he decided to call Australia home and moved to Sydney, his local community welcomed him and afforded him the opportunities to work hard and flourish. In return, Gurdeep wanted to give back to the community and serve the community. And that is what became a passion for him and made him join mainstream politics.

The Sikh Temple, Gurdwara Sahib, in Turramurra on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, used to be located in a dilapidated old cottage owned by the North Shore Sikh Association of Sydney. Around the year 2000, GS Consulting prepared designs for a new and modern Gurdwara building to be built at the same site. Although it took a bit of convincing, the Comenarra community supported the new building designs and the building plans were approved by Ku-Ring-Gai Council. The approval process, under the circumstances, itself took more than two years. The North Shore Sikh Association then took nearly 10 years to build the Gurdwara Sahib building that now is a landmark on Sydney’s leafy North Shore and is a source of religious and spiritual strength for the community.

The year that I decided to call Australia home also became famous for a very different reason that affected the entire Australian community. The year 1991 became the year for the “Recession We Had to Have”, to quote the Australian Treasurer of the time, Paul Keating. As the economy went into that recession, jobs became scarce. Undeterred, I sat the Public Service exam and secured a base level admin job in the Department of Social Security(that later became, and is still known as Centrelink) and in about a year’s time I rose to be a Section Manager in Centrelink. At heart, I always remain a Civil Engineer and couldn’t see myself carrying on as a Manager in the Australian Public Service hence in 1992 I started to do consulting work for civil and structural design in my local community in my spare time and over the weekends. By the Year 1999, I left the Australian Public Service and set up a Building and Engineering Design practice under the name of GS Consulting.

CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY AT THE COUNCIL

A product of the Mohindra College Patiala and the Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology(now upgraded to Thapar University) Patiala, I firstly worked on the construction of hydroelectric power stations and tunnels in the States of Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya, then as a Design Engineer for the Punjab Irrigation Department in Chandigarh on the Thein Dam(later renamed as the Ranjit Sagar Dam) project, then as a Sub Divisional Officer on Canal lining and remodelling projects in Punjab and lastly, on secondment(deputation) to the Chandigarh Housing Board in Chandigarh. All along, while in India, the list of my achievements had been long and it culminated in me receiving the State Governor’s award, at a public ceremony, for the timely completion of a housing project for the economically weaker sections of the community in Chandigarh, a couple of years before leaving India for good.

I have consistently kept him interested in literature, the performing arts and sports. Not being a fan of cricket would be a criminal offence of sorts in my opinion, I played cricket at the school level and was the Editor of the Thapar College magazine, The Thaparian, during those years, as also a key member of the Poetic Society and the Debating Society of the College.

A member of the Chandigarh Golf Club with a fairly reasonable handicap of 18, I have been the main sponsor of the annual Indo Australian Golf competition held alternatively in NSW and Queensland in alternative years.

I have been passionate about helping fellow human beings and the community that I’ve been part of, I became involved in community work from the very beginning after arrival in Australia, mentored and helped a number of new migrants to get upskilled and find jobs to support themselves and their families.

I formally joined politics around the years 2007/08 and later became a member of the Liberal Party of Australia.

I am involved in a number of charities and, social and community organisations, such as the Lions Club of Sydney Indian, a Trustee Member and past Convenor of the North Shore Sikh Association of Sydney, a Life Member of the Australian Sikh Association and a Life Member of the Council of Indian Australians. Also a member of the Engineers Australia, Member American Society of Civil Engineers and a Member Australian Institute of Building Surveyors.

It was my passion and drive to give back to the community, both Indian as well as Australian, which brought me into politics. The participation of Indian community in the Australian political setup is fairly new,

Until ten years ago, there was almost no participation from members of the Indian community in politics. But with the increasing density of Indian population, the aspirations of people are ever-increasing and they want someone to represent them on a wider platform.

I am now a grandfather to two grandchildren and I play golf

THE CONTENT OF THIS WEBPAGE IS AUTHORISED BY GURDEEP SINGH, 1 NENTOURA PLACE NORTH TURRAMURRA NSW 2074