Gabrielle Upton | |
|---|---|
 Gabrielle Upton in 2017 | |
| Minister for the Environment | |
| In office 30 January 2017 – 23 March 2019 | |
| Premier | Gladys Berejiklian |
| Preceded by | Mark Speakman |
| Succeeded by | Matt Kean |
| Minister for Local Government | |
| In office 30 January 2017 – 23 March 2019 | |
| Premier | Gladys Berejiklian |
| Preceded by | Paul Toole |
| Succeeded by | Shelley Hancock |
| Minister for Heritage | |
| In office 30 January 2017 – 23 March 2019 | |
| Premier | Gladys Berejiklian |
| Preceded by | Mark Speakman |
| Succeeded by | post abolished |
| Member of theNew South Wales Parliament forVaucluse | |
| In office 26 March 2011 – 25 March 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Debnam |
| Succeeded by | Kellie Sloane |
| Attorney General of New South Wales | |
| In office 2 April 2015 – 30 January 2017 | |
| Premier | Mike Baird |
| Preceded by | Brad Hazzard |
| Succeeded by | Mark Speakman |
| Minister for Sport and Recreation | |
| In office 30 August 2013 – 23 April 2014 | |
| Premier | Barry O'Farrell |
| Preceded by | Brad Hazzard |
| Succeeded by | Stuart Ayres |
| Minister for Family and Community Services | |
| In office 23 April 2014 – 2 April 2015 | |
| Premier | Mike Baird |
| Preceded by | Pru Goward |
| Succeeded by | Brad Hazzard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1964-12-16)16 December 1964 (age 60) Sydney, Australia |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Alma mater | |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Gabrielle Cecelia Upton (born 16 December 1964) is an Australian former politician. She was the member of theNew South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the seat ofVaucluse for theLiberal Party from 2011 until her retirement at the2023 New South Wales state election.
Upton was the Parliamentary Secretary for the NSW Premier.[1] Upton previously served as theNew South WalesMinister for the Environment, theMinister for Local Government, and theMinister for Heritage from January 2017 until March 2019 in thefirst Berejiklian ministry.[2][3] She also served as theNSW Attorney General between April 2015 and January 2017 in thesecondBaird government and was the first woman to be appointed as Attorney General.[4] Upton served as theNew South Wales Minister for Family and Community Services in thefirst Baird government during 2014 and 2015;[5] and theMinister for Sport and Recreation during 2013 and 2014.[1]
Upton was born and raised in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney where she attendedBrigidine College in Randwick and theUniversity of New South Wales, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts andBachelor of Laws.[citation needed] Upton's career began as a banking and finance lawyer with legal firmsFreehill, Hollingdale & Page andDLA Phillips Fox, after being admitted as a solicitor to theSupreme Court of New South Wales and theHigh Court of Australia in 1988.[citation needed]
Upton moved to live New York City in 1993 where she graduated with aMaster of Business Administration (Finance and Management) from theStern School of Business at New York University, New York.[1] She then worked as a banker withDeutsche Bank andToronto Dominion Bank in New York financing the energy sector. From 2000 until 2010, Upton was legal counsel at theAustralian Institute of Company Directors[1] and a member of CAMAC, the Australian federal government's principal advisory committee on corporations and securities law, between 2006 and 2011.[6] Upton served as Deputy Chancellor at theUniversity of New South Wales from 2006 until 2009, and on the University's Council from 2002 to 2010. From 2005 to 2011, Upton was the Deputy Chair of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award – Australia and from 2009 to 2011 was Chair of The Friends of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award in Australia; and was also a board member ofNeuroscience Research Australia from 2007 to 2011; and a Fellow of the Law Faculty at the University of New South Wales. She is a Fellow of The Australian Institute of Company Directors.[1] Upton is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (FRSN).
Upton has spoken out about the need to raise awareness aboutmental health and in March 2010 gave a speech toSydney Rotary where she called for a "full gamut" approach to combating mental illness. This speech noted that every day in Australia six to seven people die by suicide, which was 40 per cent higher than deaths caused on the country's roads – a statistic she described as "completely unacceptable".[7] She has written about the prevalence of mental illness among young Australian lawyers and discussed moves by thelegal profession to combat mental illness in the law firm workplace.[8]
Following the earlier announcement that the Liberal sitting member,Peter Debnam, would not re-contest the next state election, Upton won Liberal Party pre-selection for Vaucluse on 26 September 2010.[9] At the2011 state election, shewas elected with a swing of 9.9 points, winning the seat with 81.4 per cent of thetwo-party preferred vote.[10] Following the election, she was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Tertiary Education and Skills.[1] In August 2011, she was appointed Chair of the NSW Parliamentary friends of Israel.[11] On 21 August 2013, Upton was appointed as the Minister for Sport and Recreation.
Due to the resignation ofBarry O'Farrell as premier in April 2014,[12] and the subsequent ministerial reshuffle by the new Liberal Leader,Mike Baird,[5] Upton was appointed as the Minister for Family and Community Services and relinquished the portfolio of Sport and Recreation.[1][13][14]
Following the2015 state election, Baird announced that Upton would be Attorney General, becoming the first femaleAttorney General of New South Wales.[4][15] As Attorney General, Upton introduced a pilot program to help support child witnesses through the court process, using specialist judges to better deal with child sexual assault trials, and experts called "children's champions".[16]
Following the resignation of Mike Baird as Premier,[17]Gladys Berejiklian was electedLiberal leader and sworn in as Premier.[18][19] Upton became the Minister for the Environment, the Minister for Local Government, and the Minister for Heritage in theBerejiklian ministry.[2]
In October 2017, as heritage minister, Upton refused to list the 1981Sirius building inThe Rocks on theNew South Wales State Heritage Register, despite the unanimous recommendation of theHeritage Council of New South Wales. She said: "While the Sirius building is distinctive, in my view, it is not a landmark worthy of state heritage protection."[20] In response, the Chair of the Save Our Sirius Foundation noted that her determination was "an ignorant decision made by an out-of-touch government [...] Upton's only argument and the only thing she cites in her decision is the opinion of a group of private companies the government hired to tell them what they want to hear."[21]
In December 2017, Upton introduced thecontainer deposit scheme called "Return and Earn".[22] It was the single largest initiative undertaken to reduce litter in NSW, and was associated with a 28% drop in litter covered by the container deposit scheme in 2017–18, compared with 2016–17.[23][24]
In May 2018, together with the Premier, Upton announced the $45 Million Koala Strategy, the largest commitment by any state government to increasing thekoala population.[25] The package included additional natural habitat for koalas, funding to tackle diseases, improve research and address roadkill hotspots.[26]
In September 2018, a number of concerns were made public over Upton's ability to perform as a minister. Allegations from former staff and other government sources included her "contempt for bureaucrats", suggestions that she was "paralysed by indecision", and claims that "Departmental briefs sat on her desk for months and months without her even looking at them".[27] The month before, Upton came under fire for allowing a significant delay in determining applications for new items to theNew South Wales State Heritage Register, with the exception ofHadley Park inCastlereagh, the original home of the family of conservative radio commentatorRay Hadley, thereby fulfilling her obligations under theHeritage Act 1977 "almost entirely in the breach".[28]
Attention also focused on the "toxic environment" of her 12-staff office, with 16 staff members having left in the 18-month period up to September 2018, and one former staffer receiving compensation for severe stress.[27] Separate sources, including fellow government ministers, labelled her as "the weakest performer in the cabinet" and that "her inaction presiding over her former NSW environment portfolio was almost at the level of performance art".[29][30]
Upton was not reappointed to the ministry following the2019 state election.[3]
In October 2019, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier Upton was given the responsibility for research and development investment.[31][32] To guide the development of an Action Plan she appointed an Advisory Council chaired byDavid Gonski[33][34][35][36] Upton has also written on the potential for NSW to be the home of technological innovation.[37]
On 25 January 2021, the NSW PremierGladys Berejiklian, together with Upton, launched the"Turning ideas into Jobs" Accelerating research and development in NSW Action Plan.[38][39][40][41] $26 million was announced as a kick-off funding to support a Small Business Innovation Research program and matchmaking platform.[38]
| New South Wales Legislative Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member forVaucluse 2011–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for the Environment 2017–2019 | Succeeded byas Minister for Energy and Environment |
| Preceded by | Minister for Local Government 2017–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Heritage 2017–2019 | Succeeded by portfolio abolished |
| Preceded by | Minister for Sport and Recreation 2013–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Family and Community Services 2014–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Attorney General of New South Wales 2015–2017 | Succeeded by |
