Anthony Roberts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Photo of Anthony Roberts in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of theNew South Wales Parliament forLane Cove | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 22 March 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Kerry Chikarovski | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1970-04-19)19 April 1970 (age 54) Sydney | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Australian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Liberal Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Technology, Sydney | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Anthony John Roberts (born 19 April 1970[1]) is an Australian politician. Roberts is a member of theNew South Wales Legislative Assembly representingLane Cove for the Liberal Party since 2003.[1] He is the longest-serving Member of the Legislative Assembly and so holds the honorary title of "Father of the House."
He was a senior minister in theO'Farrell,Baird,Berejiklian andPerrottetgovernments, serving in various portfolios includingPlanning,Resources andEnergy. Following theCoalition's loss at the2023 election, Robertscontested the Liberal leadership. He lost toMark Speakman and returned to the backbench.
Before entering politics, Roberts was a director of the public relations firm Flagship Communications.[2]
Roberts was elected toLane Cove Council and was a councillor between 1995 and 2003, including a term as deputy mayor and two terms as mayor, between 1999 and 2000 and between 2001 and 2002.[1]
Between 1992 and 1996, Roberts was employed as an adviser to theHon Dr Brian Pezzutti MP,[1] and between 1996 and 2003, Roberts was employed as an electorate officer to then-prime minister,John Howard.[1][3] In the bookJonestown: The Power and the Myth of Alan Jones, journalistChris Masters claimed that Roberts was employed to act as a liaison between the office and Sydney radio broadcasterAlan Jones.[4] Australian online political magazineCrikey.com gave Roberts the title, "Minister for Alan Jones".[5][6]
After Roberts was elected to parliament in 2003, Flagship Communications acted on behalf of owners of theOrange Grove site.[7] Then NSW PremierBob 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".[8] 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.[9]
Roberts left Howard's office when he was elected as the Member for Lane Cove in 2003, following the retirement ofKerry Chikarovski.[1] Roberts was re-elected in2007, increasing his margin from 3.2 points to 12.4 points.
In May 2008, Roberts was appointed to theShadow ministry of Barry O'Farrell as Shadow Minister forEmergency Services andJuvenile Justice. In December 2008, was moved from these portfolios and was subsequently appointed Shadow Minister for theArts,Citizenship andVolunteering.[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 thetwo-party vote.[10] His main opponent was Mario Tsang, representing Labor.
On 3 April 2011, subsequent to the state election, Roberts was appointed as theMinister for Fair Trading in theO'Farrellgovernment.[1] Following the resignation ofChris Hartcher from cabinet on 4 December 2013, Roberts was appointed Minister forResources andEnergy and Special Minister of State.Stuart Ayres was appointed to succeed Roberts in his Fair Trading portfolio.[11] Following the resignation ofBarry O'Farrell as Premier,[12] and the subsequent ministerial reshuffle byMike Baird, the new Liberal Leader,[13] in April 2014, Roberts assumed the role of Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly, in addition to his Ministerial responsibilities.[1][14] Following the2015 state election, Roberts was sworn in as theMinister 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,[citation needed] promoting industry development in NSW and leading the newly createdDepartment of Industry, Skills and Regional Development.
Following the resignation of Mike Baird as Premier,[15]Gladys Berejiklian was elected asLiberal leader and sworn in as Premier.[16][17][18] TheBerejiklian 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.[19] He retained his responsibilities as the Leader of the House. In the second Berejiklian ministry, Roberts served as the Minister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections, from April 2019 through to the second rearrangement of the Perrottet ministry in December 2021. He was subsequentlysworn in as the Minister for Planning and the Minister for Homes.[20]
He wasMinister for Planning andMinister for Homes in thePerrottet ministry from December 2021 until March 2023 when the Perrottet government was defeated at the2023 New South Wales state election.[20]
| New South Wales Legislative Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member for Lane Cove 2003–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byas Minister for Planning and Public Spaces | Minister for Planning 2021–2023 | Succeeded byas Minister for Planning and Public Spaces |
| Preceded byas Minister for Water, Property and Housing | Minister for Homes 2021–2023 | Succeeded byas Minister for Housing |
| Preceded by | Minister for Counter Terrorism andCorrections 2019–2021 | Succeeded byas Minister for Corrections |
| Preceded by | Minister for Planning 2017–2019 | Succeeded by Rob Stokes as Minister for Planning and Public Spaces |
| Preceded by | Minister for Housing 2017–2019 | Succeeded byas Minister for Water, Property and Housing |
| New title | Special Minister of State 2017–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Himself as Minister for Resources and Energy | Minister for Industry,Resources and Energy 2015–2017 | Succeeded by Don Harwin asMinister for Resources |
| Succeeded byasMinister for Trade and Industry | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for Resources and Energy 2013–2015 | Succeeded by Himself asMinister for Industry,Resources and Energy |
| Special Minister of State 2013–2015 | Succeeded by portfolio abolished | |
| Preceded by | Minister for Fair Trading 2011–2013 | Succeeded by |
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