He served in a variety of postings, including HMA Ships Creswell, Kuttabul, Platypus, Penguin, Naval Support Command, Nirimba and Watson.
[1] Pringle had a strong interest in local issues, and in 1987 he was elected to Hornsby Shire Council in northern Sydney, as an independent, a position he held until retiring in 2003.
He also led the development of the Hornsby Shire Housing Strategy and chaired both the National Parks and Wildlife Service Northern Sydney Advisory Committee and Lane Cove State Recreation Area Trust.
Pringle first attempted to enter State Parliament in 1990, contesting preselection for a by-election in the safe electoral district of The Hills, but came a close second to car dealer Tony Packard.
He later defeated Kevin Rozzoli, a former Speaker and incumbent of nearly 30 years, for preselection in the electoral district of Hawkesbury for the 2003 New South Wales state election.
[citation needed] He was the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Transport in 2006 and a member of the Statuary Public Works, Lane Cove Tunnel Inquiry and Valuer General's Committees.
[13] This allegiance began threatening his career as early as 2005, only two years into his term, when reports emerged that the hard-right was engaging in branch stacking in Hawkesbury as a prelude to a possible preselection challenge.
[14] Several months later, in the wake of the resignation of moderate Opposition Leader John Brogden (politician), Pringle was one of a number of MPs who reportedly had their preselection threatened if they did not vote for the hard-right's preferred candidate, Peter Debnam, as Brogden's replacement, a campaign which ultimately sparked the withdrawal of Debnam's only opponent Barry O'Farrel from the race.
The tensions from the previous year were confirmed when, on 2 September 2006, Australian politician Ray Williams, a Baulkham Hills Shire Councillor backed by the hard-right faction, challenged Pringle.