Don Wing

He is a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Tasmania and before entering parliament practised as a barrister[citation needed].

He has served as an Alderman of the Launceston City Council and as Mayor thereof; a path that was later followed by fellow conservative independent MLC Ivan Dean.

He has vocally supported Dean in the face of criticism for holding both positions at once, arguing that his own experience shows that such a career is workable[citation needed].

Although Wing is a former president of the Tasmanian branch of the Liberal Party, he has always served as an independent in the Legislative Council due to his party's stance of not endorsing partisan candidates to the body and instead backing conservative independents.

He announced that he would not contest his seat at the next election in May 2011, and relinquished the presidency to allow himself more scope to debate issues on the floor of the Legislative Council chamber[citation needed].