Eric Roozendaal - Early Career

Early Career

Roozendaal was born in Sydney. His family is of Dutch-Jewish descent, his grandfather perishing in Auschwitz during the Holocaust. He studied Commerce at the University of Sydney, but did not complete the course. He would later graduate from Macquarie University with a combined degree in Arts and Law (BA LLB). He became an organiser for the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party in 1987, Assistant General Secretary in 1995 and General Secretary in 1999. This made him the organisation head of the dominant Labor Right faction of the party's largest state branch, a powerful position. He was also a member of the National Executive of the Party.

Roozendaal was campaign director for Premier Bob Carr's successful election campaign in 2003. He was also the party's chief fund-raiser, raising a reported A$16.3 million in his four years as General Secretary. He also carried out a crackdown on branch stacking and insisted on the selection of more female candidates in safe Labor seats.

During 2003, Roozendaal was criticised by using internal party polling to destabilise Simon Crean, the then Leader of the Opposition. Roozendaal was also Labor's New South Wales campaign manager at the 2004 federal election.