Matt Thistlethwaite | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Assistant Minister for Immigration | |
Assumed office 29 June 2024 | |
Prime Minister | Anthony Albanese |
Minister | Tony Burke |
Assistant Minister for Defence Assistant Minister for Veterans' Affairs Assistant Minister for the Republic | |
In office 1 June 2022 –29 July 2024 | |
Minister | Richard Marles (Minister for Defence) Matt Keogh (Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Mark Dreyfus (Attorney General) |
Preceded by | Andrew Hastie (as Assistant Minister for Defence) Amanda Stoker (as Assistant Minister to the Attorney-General) |
Succeeded by | Patrick Gorman (politician) (as Assistant Minister to the Attorney-General) |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Kingsford Smith | |
Assumed office 7 September 2013 | |
Preceded by | Peter Garrett |
Senator for New South Wales | |
In office 1 July 2011 –9 August 2013 | |
Succeeded by | Sam Dastyari |
General Secretary of the New South Wales Labor Party | |
In office 1 October 2008 –17 July 2010 | |
Leader | Morris Iemma Nathan Rees Kristina Keneally |
Preceded by | Karl Bitar |
Succeeded by | Sam Dastyari |
Personal details | |
Born | Matthew James Thistlethwaite 6 September 1972 Maroubra,New South Wales,Australia |
Citizenship | Australia |
Political party | Labor |
Residence(s) | Matraville,New South Wales,Australia |
Education | Marist College Pagewood |
Alma mater | University of New South Wales |
Occupation | Legal advisor (Mallesons Stephen Jaques) Union organiser (Australian Workers' Union) |
Profession | Trade unionist solicitor politician |
Website | mattthistlethwaite |
Matthew James Thistlethwaite (born 6 September 1972) is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2013,representing the electorate of Kingsford Smith. Since 29 July 2024,Thistlethwaite has served as the Assistant Minister for Immigration in the ministry of Anthony Albanese. [1]
Thistlethwaite is a senior figure in the Labor Right faction and stands as the current convenor of the NSW branch. [2] Before joining Parliament,he was the general secretary of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party. He served as a member of the Australian Senate from 2011 to 2013.
From 1 June 2022 to 29 July 2024,Thistlethwaite served as Assistant Minister for Defence,Veterans' Affairs and the Republic. [1]
Thistlethwaite was born in Sydney on 6 September 1972. [3] He grew up in the suburb of Maroubra [4] in a Catholic family. [5] His father was a Qantas steward. [5] He is the eldest of three siblings. [5]
He graduated from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Economics,and also holds diplomas in law and legal practice from the University of Technology Sydney. [3] He was the first member of his family to attend university. [4]
In 1995,Thistlethwaite began working at the Australian Workers Union as an industrial officer. In 2001 he was elected as a state vice-president of the union. He joined the ALP at the age of 22 and was president of NSW Young Labor from 1997 to 1998. [3]
Thistlethwaite was involved in the Australian republic referendum in 1999,and was the campaign manager for the Australian Republican Movement in his electorate of Kingsford Smith. [5]
From 2001 to 2008 he was Chair of the Australian Labor Party Law Reform Committee. [1] From 2004 to 2008 he was Charity of the Australian Labor Party Review Tribunal. [1]
In 2004,Thistlethwaite was elected Deputy Secretary of Unions NSW. [3] [1] In this role he represented workers in public sector enterprise agreement negotiations and in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission. He was a co-ordinator of the Your Rights at Work campaign in New South Wales against the Howard Government's WorkChoices laws.
Thistlethwaite is a former director of the State Transit Authority of NSW and the NSW Manufacturing Council.[ citation needed ]
Before entering Parliament,Thistlethwaite worked as a senior consultant with law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques. [3] [1]
Thistlethwaite sought to become the endorsed Labor candidate for the House of Representatives seat of Kingsford Smith in Sydney's eastern suburbs,for the 2004 election. However,Peter Garrett was chosen by the then Labor leader Mark Latham. [6] Thistlethwaite worked as Garrett's campaign adviser. [5]
He was elected general secretary of NSW Labor from 2008 to 2010. [7] During his time as NSW ALP secretary Thistlethwaite backed Frank Sartor's unsuccessful candidacy to replace premier Nathan Rees and Rees was instead replaced by Kristina Keneally. [8]
He was endorsed for a seat in the Senate,representing New South Wales,at the 2010 election. He was successful,and his term began on 1 July 2011. [3] On 18 July 2011 he gave his first speech in the Senate. Soon after his term began,Thistlethwaite was appointed to serve on five Parliamentary Committees. In August 2012,Thistlethwaite became Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Electricity Prices. [3] He served as Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs and Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs in the Gillard government from March to July 2013,and as Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Transport in the Rudd government from July to September 2013. [9] [10]
Following the announcement by Peter Garrett that he would not recontest the seat of Kingsford Smith at the next federal election,Thistlethwaite announced on 2 July 2013 that he would again seek Labor preselection; [11] and gained endorsement on 20 July 2013,defeating Tony Bowen,the mayor of Randwick and son of former Kingsford Smith MP Lionel Bowen. [12]
Thistlethwaite was elected as the member for Kingsford Smith at the election held on 7 September 2013. He was one of three people to move from the Senate to the House of Representatives at that election (the others were his ALP colleague David Feeney in Batman and former Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce in New England).
From 18 October 2013 to 23 July 2016,Thistlethwaite served as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Immigration. [1]
From 23 July 2016 to 2 June 2019 he served as Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury. [1]
In 2017 the Australian Labor Party announced a national vote on the republic during the first term of a future Labor government, [13] and appointed Matt Thistlethwaite as the first 'Shadow Assistant Minister for an Australian Head of State'. [14]
From 2 June 2019 to 28 January 2021 he served as Shadow Assistant Minister for Financial Services. [1]
In 2020,he was elected to replace Joel Fitzgibbon as the Labor Right convenor within the ALP. The Australian reported that "by becoming the NSW factional boss,Thistlethwaite de facto takes the title of national Right convener". [15] [2]
From 28 January 2021 to 23 May 2022 he served as Shadow Assistant Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation. [1]
On 1 June 2022 Thistlethwaite was appointed Assistant Minister for Defence,Assistant Minister for Veterans' Affairs,and Assistant Minister for the Republic in the Albanese ministry. A freedom of information request revealed that as of October 2023,only two documents had been produced and one meeting held in relation to Thistlethwaite's portfolio as Assistant Minister for the Republic. Thistlethwaite had not delivered any speeches,press releases,or ministerial statements. [16]
On 29 July 2024,as part of the Albanese Government's first ministry reshuffle, [17] Thistlethwaite was made Assistant Minister for Immigration. [1] [17] The role of Assistant Minister for the Republic is no longer held by anyone in the Albanese Government.
Thistlethwaite has ambitions of becoming a cabinet minister in the future. [5]
Thistlethwaite lives in Matraville with his wife Rachel,a nurse, [5] and their four daughters Amelie,Scarlett,and twins Eliza and Camilla. [18]
He has been an active surf lifesaver for over 30 years. [18] He was signed up as a member of the Maroubra surf club at the age of 13 by his father. [5] He has served as the president of the Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club for four years. [4]
Thistlethwaite met former Premier of New South Wales and State Member for Maroubra,Bob Carr through the Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club. [5] He has described Carr as a mentor. [5]
Martin John Ferguson is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was the Member of the House of Representatives for Batman from 1996 to 2013. He served as Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism in the Rudd and Gillard governments from 2007 to 2013.
Stephen Francis Smith is an Australian former politician and diplomat serving as the 26th and current high commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom since 2023. A member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP),he was the federal member of Parliament (MP) for the division of Perth from 1993 to 2013,serving in the Rudd and Gillard governments as minister for Foreign Affairs from 2007 to 2010,minister for Trade in 2010 and minister for Defence from 2010 to 2013.
Kim John Carr is an Australian former politician who served as a Senator for Victoria between 1993 and 2022. Representing the Labor Party,he was a minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments.
The Division of Kingsford Smith is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. It is located south and south-east of Sydney CBD,comprising mostly City of Randwick and the suburbs of Bayside Council that were governed by the former City of Botany Bay.
Carol Louise Brown is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been a Senator for Tasmania since 2005. She was an assistant minister in the Albanese government from 2022 to 2024.
Richard Donald Marles is an Australian politician and lawyer serving as the 19th and current deputy prime minister of Australia and the Minister for Defence since May 2022. He has been the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019,having served as the member of Parliament (MP) for the division of Corio since 2007.
Linda Jean Burney is an Australian politician,a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the member of Parliament (MP) for the division of Barton since 2016. She was the minister for Indigenous Australians from 2022 to July 2024. She was formerly a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the district of Canterbury from 2003 to 2016 and previously a teacher. Burney is the first known woman to identify as Aboriginal to be elected to the Australian House of Representatives.
Donald Edward Farrell is an Australian politician and former trade unionist. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been Minister for Trade and Tourism and Special Minister of State in the Albanese government since 2022. He has served as a Senator for South Australia since 2016,after a previous term from 2008 to 2014.
Jason Dean Clare is an Australian politician serving as Minister for Education since 1 June 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has represented the Division of Blaxland in Western Sydney since 2007.
Douglas Niven Cameron is a retired Australian politician and trade unionist. He served as a Senator for New South Wales from 2008 to 2019,representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
Mark Christopher Butler is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the House of Representatives since 2007. He was a minister in the Gillard and Rudd governments and also served as national president of the ALP from 2015 to 2018.
Julie Maree Collins is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has represented the Tasmanian seat of Franklin since the 2007 federal election. She held ministerial positions in the Gillard and Rudd governments,and is Minister for Agriculture,Fisheries and Forestry and Minister for Small Business in the Albanese ministry.
Michelle Anne Rowland is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has represented the Division of Greenway in the House of Representatives since 2010. She was a member of the shadow ministry from 2013 to 2022,and was elected President of the New South Wales Labor Party in October 2021. She is now the Minister for Communications in the government of Anthony Albanese following the ALP's victory in the 2022 Australian federal election.
Stephen Patrick Jones is an Australian politician who represents the Division of Whitlam for the Australian Labor Party. He was elected at the 2010 Australian federal election and is the current Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services.
Anthony Vincent Sheldon is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served as a Senator for New South Wales since 2019. He was previously a senior figure in the Transport Workers Union (TWU),serving as state secretary (1999–2008) and national secretary (2006–2019).
Jennifer Ryll McAllister is an Australian politician. She has been a Senator for New South Wales since 2015 and previously served as the party's national president from 2011 to 2015. She is from the Socialist Left faction of the Labor Party. She is the Minister for Emergency Management and the Minister for Cities in the Albanese ministry.
Professor Michael Patrick Feneley AM is an Australian cardiologist.
Anthony David Chisholm is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been a Senator for Queensland since 2016. He was appointed an assistant minister in the Albanese government following the party's victory at the 2022 federal election. He previously served as the party's state secretary from 2008 to 2014.
Dugald Milton Dick is an Australian politician serving as the 32nd and current speaker of the Australian House of Representatives since 2022. A member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP),he has been the member of parliament (MP) for the division of Oxley,covering Brisbane's south-western suburbs,since 2016. He previously served on the Brisbane City Council from 2008 to 2016 and as an ALP state secretary from 2004 to 2008.
Timothy Ayres is an Australian politician and trade unionist who was elected as a Senator for New South Wales at the 2019 federal election. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party and was previously a trade union official with the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU).