Peter Malinauskas

Peter Malinauskas (born August 1980) is an Australian politician appointed to a casual vacancy in the South Australian Legislative Council for the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party on 1 December 2015.

Early life

Malinauskas' grandmother Eta survived World War II, escaped Communist Hungary and emigrated to Bathurst in New South Wales with barely more than the clothes she wore. She met a Lithuanian refugee, the couple moved to Adelaide and later opened a fish and chip shop. Malinauskas' parents Kate and Peter instilled a sense of social justice and the importance of objectivity in dinner table chats which were more about current affairs than politics. His mother's forebears were middle-class Irish while his father's parents both fled World War II. The Catholic family sent Malinauskas to Mercedes College where he displayed leadership potential in football and cricket, as well as excelling in his studies. He was a member of the student representative council and was school captain in year 12. Mercedes College principal Peter Daw recalled Malinauskas as being "a future leader". Additionally, Daw recalled Malinauskas as being "one of those kids involved in lots of things" and a "popular lad" with a "magnetic personality that appealed to teachers and students alike".