Andrew Gee (politician)

Andrew Robert Gee (born 13 September 1968[1]) is an Australian politician who has been Minister for Decentralisation and Regional Education in the Morrison Government since February 2020. He also holds the position of Minister Assisting the Minister for Trade and Investment. He is a member of the National Party and has represented the Division of Calare in the House of Representatives since 2016. He previously served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2016, representing the seat of Orange.

Andrew Gee

MP
Minister for Decentralisation and Regional Education
Assumed office
6 February 2020
Prime MinisterScott Morrison
Preceded byMark Coulton (Decentralisation, Regional Services)
Minister Assisting the Minister for Trade and Investment
Assumed office
6 February 2020
MinisterSimon Birmingham
Preceded byMark Coulton (assistant minister)
Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister
In office
25 January 2019 – 6 February 2020
MinisterMichael McCormack
Preceded byAndrew Broad
Succeeded byKevin Hogan
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Calare
Assumed office
2 July 2016
Preceded byJohn Cobb
Member of the New South Wales Parliament
for Orange
In office
26 March 2011 – 30 May 2016
Preceded byRussell Turner
Succeeded byPhilip Donato
Personal details
Born
Andrew Robert Gee

(1968-09-13) 13 September 1968
Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyNational
Spouse(s)Christina (Tina) Gee
Children4
ResidenceOrange, New South Wales
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
OccupationSolicitor and barrister

Early life

Gee was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. As a child he lived with his family for periods in Nairobi and San Francisco, before they returned to Australia and settled in Maitland. He attended Newcastle Grammar School and subsequently went on to the University of Sydney, where he graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Economics (Hons.) and Bachelor of Laws.[2][3]

After commencing practice as a solicitor, Gee started a business with his brothers David and Matthew licensing consumer products and promotions for international entertainment companies. He was based in Hong Kong and his brothers were based in Singapore.[3] He returned to Australia in 1999 and began working for Colin Biggers & Paisley, becoming a barrister in 2003. Together with his wife and young children, Gee moved to Orange in 2005.[4] His legal practice was in the fields of civil litigation and family law, and had offices in Queen's Square Chambers in Orange and Sydney.[2]

State politics

Following an earlier announcement that the Nationals' sitting member for Orange, Russell Turner, would not be seeking re-election, Gee was endorsed by the National Party as its candidate in June 2010, after a pre-selection battle with three other candidates.[5]

At the March 2011 election, Gee was elected and received a swing of 12.5 points towards the Nationals in the traditionally strong Nationals seat, winning 74.2% of the two-party vote.[6] Gee's main competitor was John Davis, an independent candidate, Mayor of Orange, former Councillor on Blayney Shire Council, and local car dealer.

Federal politics

On 30 April 2016, Gee was preselected by the National Party to contest the seat of Calare at the 2016 federal election,[7] and resigned from his state seat before the federal election.[8] The by-election to fill the vacancy was not held until 12 November 2016.

Gee won the seat of Calare at the federal election on 2 July 2016.[9]

In January 2019, Gee was appointed Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack. He held the position until a ministerial reshuffle in February 2020, when he was elevated to the outer ministry as Minister for Decentralisation and Regional Education and Minister Assisting the Minister for Trade and Investment.[9]

gollark: Sadly, yes, first-past-the-post is awful that way.
gollark: Yes, I agree (except possibly not with the "you need to choose a side" bit); my point is that people often *do act as if* the other side is always wrong, regardless of whether they actually *are*.
gollark: “We must oppose X because the outgroup supports it!”-type stuff instead of actually evaluating whether things are good ideas or not.
gollark: I'm not sure that's accurate, inasmuch as some of the time some sides don't actually appear to be acting according to whatever values are claimed.
gollark: I mean, food waste's not great, but it's not as if we could just conveniently ship it continents away to help people.

References
  1. "Mr Andrew Robert GEE, BEc(Hons), LLB (1968 - )". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  2. "About us". Barrister at Law. Andrew Gee. 2011. Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  3. "Maiden speech". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  4. "Andrew Gee – Candidate for Orange". The Nationals team. National Party. 2010. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  5. Shields, Bevan (7 June 2010). "Gee leads new generation of Nats". Central Western Daily. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  6. Green, Antony (31 March 2011). "Orange". NSW Votes 2011. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  7. "Andrew Gee wins prized pre selection for Federal seat of Calare". Wellington Times. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  8. CETINSKI, DANIELLE (6 June 2016). "No Orange byelection date announced: Andrew Gee gone but electorate office open". Central Western Daily. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  9. "Hon Andrew Gee MP". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by
Russell Turner		 Member for Orange
2011–2016		 Succeeded by
Philip Donato
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by
John Cobb		 Member for Calare
2016–present		 Incumbent
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