Alister Henskens

Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services

Alister was born, raised and schooled in Newcastle, NSW and has degrees in economics and law from the Universities of Sydney and Toronto. 
 
His father immigrated to Australia from the Netherlands in 1951 while his mother was schooled in Ku-ring-gai. 
 
Today, Alister still finds time to indulge his passions of music and basketball.  He has been a director of Basketball NSW and maintains a close association with the sport through management and coaching of junior teams.  Alister has also served his local public school as a P & C President. 
 
Alister was a practising lawyer from 1988 – 2015 and as a barrister was appointed a Senior Counsel in 2011.  He worked principally in the areas of general commercial, insolvency, banking, defamation, building and construction law.  He was also Counsel Assisting the Equine Influenza Inquiry. 
 
Alister and his wife, Nancy have a daughter and son and have lived in the Ku-ring-gai area for over 20 years. 
 
Alister is deeply committed to keeping Ku-ring-gai a great place to live, whether it is to grow up, be educated, have a family or retire.