Anthony Roberts

Anthony John Roberts (born 19 April 1970[1]), an Australian politician, is the New South Wales Minister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections in the second Berejiklian ministry since April 2019.[2][3][4] Roberts is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Lane Cove for the Liberal Party since 2003.[1]

For other people named Anthony Roberts, see Anthony Roberts (disambiguation).

The Honourable Anthony Roberts MP
Minister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 April 2019
Premier	Gladys Berejiklian
Preceded by	David Elliott
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Lane Cove
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 March 2003
Preceded by	Kerry Chikarovski
Minister for Planning
In office 30 January 2017 – 23 March 2019
Premier	Gladys Berejiklian
Preceded by	Rob Stokes
Succeeded by	Rob Stokes (as Minister for Planning and Spaces)
Minister for Housing
In office 30 January 2017 – 23 March 2019
Premier	Gladys Berejiklian
Preceded by	Brad Hazzard
Succeeded by	Melinda Pavey (as the Minister for Water, Property and Housing)
Special Minister of State
In office 30 January 2017 – 23 March 2019
Premier	Gladys Berejiklian
Preceded by	new portfolio
Succeeded by	Don Harwin
Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy
In office 2 April 2015 – 30 January 2017
Premier	Mike Baird
Preceded by	Himself (as Minister for Resources and Energy)
Succeeded by	Don Harwin (as the Minister for Resources) Niall Blair (as the Minister for Trade and Industry)
Minister for Resources and Energy
In office 9 December 2013 – 2 April 2015
Premier	Barry O'Farrell Mike Baird
Preceded by	Chris Hartcher
Succeeded by	Himself (as Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy)
Special Minister of State
In office 9 December 2013 – 2 April 2015
Premier	Barry O'Farrell Mike Baird
Preceded by	Chris Hartcher
Succeeded by	portfolio abolished
Minister for Fair Trading
In office 3 April 2011 – 9 December 2013
Premier	Barry O'Farrell
Preceded by	Virginia Judge
Succeeded by	Stuart Ayres
Personal details
Born	(1970-04-19) 19 April 1970 Sydney, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal Party
Alma mater	University of Technology, Sydney

He has previously served as the Minister for Planning, the Minister for Housing, and the Special Minister of State from 2017 until 2019 in the first Berejiklian ministry;[5] and the Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy between 2015 and 2017 in the second Baird government; as the Minister for Resources and Energy and the Special Minister of State, between 2013 and 2015 in the first Baird government;[6] and as the Minister for Fair Trading in the O'Farrell government.

Prior to entering politics, Roberts was a director of the public relations firm Flagship Communications.[7]

Early life

Roberts was educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview and the University of Technology, Sydney.

Roberts was elected to Lane Cove Council and served as a Councillor between 1995 and 2003, including a term serving as Deputy Mayor and two terms as Mayor, between 1999 and 2000 and between 2001 and 2002.[1]

Political adviser

Between 1992 and 1996, Roberts was employed as an adviser to the Hon Dr Brian Pezzutti MP,[1] and between 1996 and 2003, Roberts was employed as an electorate officer to then Prime Minister, John Howard.[1][8] In the book Jonestown: The Power and the Myth of Alan Jones, journalist Chris Masters claimed that Roberts was employed to act as a liaison between the office and Sydney radio broadcaster Alan Jones.[9] Australian online political magazine Crikey.com gave Roberts the title, "Minister for Alan Jones".[10][11]

Orange Grove accusations

After Roberts was elected to Parliament in 2003, Flagship Communications acted on behalf of owners of the Orange Grove site.[12] Former NSW Premier Bob Carr claimed in 2004 that, "there appeared to be a warm relationship between Gazcorp and Mr Roberts, evidenced by a stream of faxes and emails giving the Liberal MP questions to ask of the Labor Party about the factory outlet".[13] On 14 September 2004, Roberts said in Parliament that he had ceased being a director of Flagship Communications prior to being elected to Parliament and had never received any payment from Flagship Communications.[14]

Political career

Roberts left Howard's office when he was elected as the Member for Lane Cove in 2003, following the retirement of Kerry Chikarovski.[1] Roberts was re-elected in 2007, increasing his margin from 3.2 per cent to 12.4 per cent.

Following the 2007 election, in May 2008 Roberts was appointed as Shadow Minister for Emergency Services and Juvenile Justice and in December 2008, was moved from these portfolios and was subsequently appointed Shadow Minister for the Arts, Citizenship and Volunteering.[1]

On 24 April 2010, Roberts was unanimously endorsed by the Liberal Party to contest the 2011 state election. He was re-elected to Lane Cove with a swing of 13.4 points and won the seat with 77.3 per cent of the two-party vote.[15] His main opponent was Mario Tsang, representing Labor. Subsequent to the election, on 3 April 2011, Roberts was appointed Minister for Fair Trading.[1]

Following the resignation of Chris Hartcher from Cabinet 4 December 2013, Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts was appointed as Minister for Resources and Energy and Special Minister of State. Stuart Ayres was appointed to succeed Roberts in his Fair Trading portfolio.[16] Following the resignation of Barry O'Farrell as Premier,[17] and the subsequent ministerial reshuffle by Mike Baird, the new Liberal Leader,[6] in April 2014, Roberts assumed the role of Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly, in addition to his Ministerial responsibilities.[1][18] Following the 2015 state election, Roberts was sworn in as the Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy, and retained his role as Leader of the House. In this role, Roberts was tasked with the creation of 150,000 jobs in NSW over four years, promoting industry development in NSW and leading the newly created Department of Industry, Skills and Regional Development.

Following the resignation of Mike Baird as Premier,[19] Gladys Berejiklian was elected as Liberal leader and sworn in as Premier.[20][21][22] The Berejiklian ministry was subsequently formed with Roberts sworn in as the Minister for Planning, the Minister for Housing, and the Special Minister of State with effect from 30 January 2017.[5] He retained his responsibilities as the Leader of the House.

See also

• O'Farrell ministry
• First Baird ministry
• Second Baird ministry
• Berejiklian ministry

References

1. "The Hon Anthony John Roberts, MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
2. "Government Notices (30)" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 2 April 2019. p. 1088-1090. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
3. "Premier announces new Cabinet" (Press release). Premier of New South Wales. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
4. Han, Sophie (2 April 2019). "Berejiklian's new massive cabinet sworn in amid peals of laughter". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
5. "Refreshed NSW cabinet sworn in". Sky News. Australia. AAP. 30 January 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
6. Nicholls, Sean (22 April 2014). "Mike Baird's cabinet reshuffle a preparation for next election". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
7. "Inquiry into the Approval of the Designer Outlets Centre, Liverpool – Final Report" (PDF). General Purpose Standing Committee No. 4. Legislative Council of New South Wales. 10 September 2004. Archived from the original (pdf) on 3 July 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
8. "To dream the unthinkable". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 September 2004.
9. Masters, Chris (2006). Jonestown: The Power and the Myth of Alan Jones (hardcover). Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74175-156-7.
10. McClymont, Kate; McMahon, Neil; Ricketson, Matthew (23 October 2006). "Write again: Jones and his potent pen". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
11. Mitchell, Alex (12 May 2008). "Debnam resigns over NSW electricity privatisation". Crikey. Private Media Pty Limited. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
12. Mitchell, Alex (26 September 2004). "Lowys told to appear at inquiry". The Sun-Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
13. Davies, Anne (15 September 2004). "Orange Grove owner is PM's landlord". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
14. "Designer Outlets Centre, Liverpool, Closure (Personal Explanation)". Hansard – New South Wales Legislative Assembly. Parliament of New South Wales. 14 September 2004. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
15. Green, Antony (5 April 2011). "Lane Cove". NSW Votes 2011. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
16. Gerathy, Sarah (9 December 2013). "Anthony Roberts appointed NSW Resources, Energy and Special Minister for State". ABC News. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
17. "Barry O'Farrell quits as NSW Premier over memory fail". The Australian. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
18. "Mike Baird's NSW cabinet". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
19. Jacques, Owen (19 January 2017). "Baird resigns: NSW Premier to quit top job and Parliament". The Satellite. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
20. "Swearing-In of The Honourable Gladys Berejiklian MP, the 45th Premier of New South Wales, and The Honourable John Barilaro MP, Deputy Premier". Vice Regal Program. Governor of New South Wales. 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
21. "Ministers". www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
22. Clennell, Andrew (26 January 2017). "Premier Gladys Berejiklian plans major reshuffle for cabinet". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 January 2017.

External links

• Anthony Roberts website

New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Kerry Chikarovski	Member for Lane Cove 2003–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by David Elliott	Minister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections 2019–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Rob Stokes	Minister for Planning 2017–2019	Succeeded by Rob Stokes as Minister for Planning and Public Spaces
Preceded by Brad Hazzard	Minister for Housing 2017–2019	Succeeded by Melinda Pavey as Minister for Water, Property and Housing
New title	Special Minister of State 2017–2019	Succeeded by Don Harwin
Preceded by Himself as Minister for Resources and Energy	Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy 2015–2017	Succeeded by Don Harwin as Minister for Resources
		Succeeded by Niall Blair as Minister for Trade and Industry
Preceded by Chris Hartcher	Minister for Resources and Energy 2013–2015	Succeeded by Himself as Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy
	Special Minister of State 2013–2015	Succeeded by portfolio abolished
Preceded by Virginia Judge	Minister for Fair Trading 2011–2013	Succeeded by Stuart Ayres