Returning to the Army in 2000, Elliott served in peace-keeping forces in Bouganville, Papua New Guinea and was awarded the Australian Service Medal. For the next four years, Elliott worked as state operations manager in St John Ambulance (NSW), before commencing as Executive Officer of the Australian Hotels Association, and later becoming Deputy chief executive officer. In 2008, Elliott became chief executive officer of the Civil Contractors Federation and held this position until his election to Parliament.[3]
Elliott was a director of Castle Hill RSL Club Limited from 2009 to 2016.[10] Elliott was a director of Life Education Australia between 2009 and 2011, and a member of Sydney Chamber of Commerce from 2008 to 2011.[3] Between 1992 and 2001, he has held a range of Liberal Party elected positions.[3]
Political career
On 16 June 2007, Elliott sought Liberal Party pre-selection for the federal seat of Mitchell, but lost by a margin of 20 votes to 81[11] against Alex Hawke, then an advisor to Ray Williams MP.[12] Paul Blanch, a grazier from Orange, received 8 votes. Alan Cadman, who had been the member for Mitchell since 1974, chose not to contest the pre-selection,[11] but was later quoted as saying that this was due to "relentless branch-stacking within the electorate."[13] In February 2010, Elliott unsuccessfully sought Liberal Party pre-selection for the Legislative Council of New South Wales in a bitter and public battle with David Clarke, a member of the Liberal's so called 'religious right' faction.[14][15]
Following the announcement of the retirement of sitting Liberal member, Wayne Merton, Elliott won party pre-selection for the NSW seat of Baulkham Hills, running against Baulkham Hills Councillor Mike Thomas and solicitor Damien Tudehope.[16][17] At the 2011 election, Elliott was elected to the safe Liberal seat with a swing of 14.4 points and won the seat with 76.4 per cent of the two-party vote. Elliott's main opponent was Tony Hay, representing Labor.[18]
Following the 2015 state election, Elliott was sworn in as the Minister for Emergency Services, the Minister for Corrections, and the Minister for Veterans Affairs in the second Baird government.[8] On 30 January 2017, Elliott was sworn in as the Minister for Counter-Terrorism, the Minister for Corrections, and the Minister for Veterans Affairs in the first Berejiklian ministry.[7]
On 18 October 2018 Elliott used parliamentary privilege in the Legislative Assembly to raise an allegation that Luke Foley, at the time leader of the opposition, had "a little bit too much to drink at a party and harassed an ABC journalist."[19][20] Later that month, ABC journalist Ashleigh Raper released a statement, alleging that at an event in November 2016, Foley "placed his hand down the back of her dress and inside her underpants."[21] Hours later, Foley read a statement in which he resigned as leader of the Labor Party, but denied the allegation and said he would commence defamation proceedings in the Federal Court.[22]
Following the 2019 state election, Elliott was sworn in as the Minister for Police and Emergency Services in the second Berejiklian ministry, with effect from 2 April 2019.[23] He served in this role in the first arrangement of the Perrottet ministry and was sworn in as Minister for Transport and Minister for Veterans in December 2021 in the second arrangement of the ministry.[2]
On 23 October 2022, Elliott announced he will not be contesting the 2023 state election.[24]
Controversies
In November 2019, Elliott was cleared by police following an investigation into an alleged road rage incident involving a 17-year-old P-plate driver.[25] Elliot had told the P-plate driver he "worked for the cops".[26]
Also in November 2019, Elliott responded to revelations police strip-searched 122 girls by stating he would want officers to search his own children if "they were at risk of doing something wrong".[27]
In December 2019, he attracted attention for an offensive post on Facebook, in which he told a "mate" that he'd "rip your head off and s--- in the hole".[28]
In December 2019, Elliott was denounced for deciding to take a holiday to Europe during the Black Summer bushfires, one of the worst bushfire disasters in the country's history.[29] He faced heavy criticism because of his role as New South Wales Emergency Services Minister, with New South Wales being by far the worst-hit area of the country, with bushfires throughout NSW destroying almost a thousand houses and killing or displacing a billion animals,[30] with nine people killed, including three firefighters.[31] He was not helped by the fact that just a week earlier, the federal Liberal Party leader and prime minister, Scott Morrison, faced similar criticism for going on a holiday to Hawaii.[32]
Elliott responded to the claims by saying he would keep bushfire-affected communities and firefighters in his thoughts while on holiday.[33] After public pressure and criticism following catastrophic fires on 31 December 2019, Elliott "apparently" backflipped and returned home from his European trip.[34]
On 9 March 2020, the NSW Police announced an investigation into whether Elliott's use of highly restricted firearms broke the law.[35]
On 21 February 2022, the passenger rail network in NSW was shut down after Transport for NSW and the RTBU failed to reach an agreement in their ongoing enterprise agreement negotiations. This shutdown was particularly noteworthy as it occurred on the same day that Australia's international border reopened (after being closed for two years in response to the COVID-19 pandemic).
As Minister for Transport, Elliott attracted criticism for appearing to be unaware of the sequence of events which led to the shutdown, accusing the RTBU of engaging in "terrorist-like activity", and for claiming that he did not know a shutdown would occur until the morning of Monday 21 February as he would have been asleep by 10pm the previous night. [36]
Following the handling of the shutdown, Elliott was rebuked by Premier Perrottet who stated “My expectation is that ministers are available around the clock. I certainly am, and I expect the same of my ministers”. [37]
In January 2023, Elliott revealed that he had tipped off Perrottet about the existence of evidence of him wearing a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday.[38]
Melinda Jane Pavey, is a former Australian politician. Pavey had been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2015 to 2023, representing the seat of Oxley for The Nationals. She was previously a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 2002 and 2015.
Andrew James Constance is an Australian politician who represented Bega for the Liberal Party in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 2003 and December 2021.
Anthony John Roberts is an Australian politician. Roberts is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Lane Cove for the Liberal Party since 2003. He is the longest-serving Member of the Legislative Assembly and so holds the honorary title of "Father of the House."
Bradley Ronald "Brad" Hazzard is a retired Australian politician who served as the member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly district of Wakehurst between May 1991 and March 2023.
Raymond Craig Williams is an Australian politician who has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the seat of Kellyville for the Liberal Party since 2023. He previously represented the electorates of Hawkesbury from 2007 to 2015 and Castle Hill from 2015 to 2023.
Robert Gordon Stokes is an Australian retired politician. Stokes served as the New South Wales Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Cities, and the Minister for Active Transport in the Perrottet ministry between 21 December 2021 and 25 March 2023. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Pittwater for the Liberal Party between 2007 and 2023.
Victor Michael Dominello, is an Australian former politician who was the New South Wales Minister for Customer Service in the second Berejiklian ministry from April 2019, and in the Perrottet ministry until March 2023. Dominello is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the electorate of Ryde for the Liberal Party from 2008 until his retirement in 2023.
Stuart Laurence Ayres is an Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 19 June 2010 to 25 March 2023, representing the electorate of Penrith as a member of the Liberal Party.
Giovanni DomenicBarilaro is an Australian former politician who served as the 18th deputy premier of New South Wales and the leader of the NSW National Party from 2016 to 2021. He was the Minister for Regional New South Wales, Industry and Trade in the second Berejiklian ministry from April 2019, and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electoral district of Monaro since 2011 until his resignation in October 2021.
Paul Lawrence Toole is an Australian politician. Toole was the Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 2021 to 2023, and the leader of the New South Wales Nationals from October 2021 to May 2023.
Kevin John Anderson is an Australian politician. Anderson is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Tamworth for the Nationals since 26 March 2011.
Troy Wayne Grant is an Australian politician and former police officer. Grant has been the Inspector-General of Water Compliance (IGWC) since August 2021, the first to hold the position. Previously, he was the Minister for Police and the Minister for Emergency Services from January 2017 until March 2019 in the Berejiklian government. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Dubbo for the Nationals from 2011 to 2019.
Mark Raymond Speakman is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 2011, representing Cronulla for the Liberal Party. On 21 April 2023, he became the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party in New South Wales.
Geoffrey Lee is a former Australian politician. He served as the Minister for Corrections in the second Perrottet ministry between December 2021 and March 2023. He has previously served as the Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education in the second Berejiklian and Perrottet ministries between April 2019 and December 2021. Lee was also a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Parramatta for the Liberal Party since 2011 until his retirement in 2023.
Matthew John Kean is a former Australian politician who is the Chair of the Climate Change Authority. Prior to this, he was the Treasurer of New South Wales in the second Perrottet ministry of New South Wales between October 2021 and March 2023. He was also the Minister for Energy between April 2019 and March 2023 and was also the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party from August 2022 until March 2023. He represented Hornsby for the party in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2024.
Dominic Francis Perrottet is an Australian politician who served as the 46th premier of New South Wales from 2021 to 2023. He held office as leader of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party of Australia, and assumed the position following the resignation of Gladys Berejiklian.
Damien Francis Tudehope is an Australian politician. Tudehope served as the New South Wales Minister for Finance in the second Berejiklian and Perrottet ministries from April 2019 to March 2023. He was also the Minister for Employee Relations, the Vice-President of the Executive Council, and the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council in the Perrottet ministry since December 2021. Tudehope has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since the 2019 state election, representing the Liberal Party.
The 2023 New South Wales state election was held on 25 March 2023 to elect the 58th Parliament of New South Wales, including all 93 seats in the Legislative Assembly and 21 of the 42 seats in the Legislative Council. The election was conducted by the New South Wales Electoral Commission (NSWEC).
The Second Berejiklian ministry was the 97th ministry of the Government of New South Wales, and was led by Gladys Berejiklian, the state's 45th Premier. It was the second and subsequent of two occasions that Berejiklian served as Premier.
The Second Perrottet ministry or Second Perrottet–Toole ministry was the 99th ministry of the Government of New South Wales, and was led by Dominic Perrottet, the state's 46th Premier.
↑ "Concise Report"(PDF). 2010 Castle Hill RSL Group Annual Report. Castle Hill RSL Club Limited. 2010. Archived from the original(PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
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