Clayton Gordon Barr (born 1971) is an Australian politician who was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

as the member for Cessnock for the Labor Party at the 2011 state election. Before entering parliament he had a career as a secondary education teacher and an employee of the children's cancer charity

Canteen Canteen most often refers to: * Canteen (bottle), a water container * Cafeteria, a type of food service location within an institution in which there is little or no waiting staff table service * A complete set of cutlery comprising knives, forks, ...

, and worked in local government administration.

Background and education

Barr was born in Cessnock, New South Wales to Margaret and Gordon Barr. The youngest of four, Barr spent his early years in Cessnock and completed his secondary education at All Saints College, Maitland. Barr then matriculated to the University of Newcastle, where he studied in the Faculty of Education and Arts, graduating in 1994 with a Bachelor of Education in Physical Education and Health. He taught in the PDHPE faculty at Mount View High School for nine years, before seeking a change in vocation where he became a manager at the young people's cancer charity,

. In the 18 months before his election to the Legislative Assembly, Barr was a community and recreational facilities planner at

Port Stephens Council Port Stephens Council (also known simply as Port Stephens) is a Local government areas of New South Wales, local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is just north of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle ...

. Barr is married to Lisa and has four children. He is a keen water poloist and for 15 years was a committee member of Cessnock Water Polo Club and a member of the Newcastle Water Polo Executive.

Political career

In the lead-up to the 2011 state election, Barr received a threat in the mail aimed at his pregnant wife and children. His wife opened the letter which said: "Clay pulls out or I start shooting kids." Barr reported the threat to the NSW Police. Despite this attempt to have him withdraw his candidacy, Barr was elected as the state member for Cessnock in 2011, despite an 8.1-point swing to the New South Wales Nationals candidate. He was preselected again as the Labor candidate for Cessnock for the 2015 New South Wales state election, winning the seat with a two-party-preferred 72.0%. In April 2015 Barr was appointed to the Shadow Ministry of Luke Foley as the Shadow Minister for Finance, Services and Property, where he was responsible for analysing the

NSW government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

's policy proposals concerning government finances, major public works and maintenance programs, government procurement, and information and communications technology. At the

2019 New South Wales state election The 2019 New South Wales state election was held on Saturday 23 March 2019 to elect the 57th 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 ...

, Barr again contested the seat of Cessnock for Labor. Despite measuring a small swing against him, Barr won the seat with two-party-preferred 69.3%. Following the elevation of

Jodi McKay Jodi Leyanne McKay (born 16 August 1969) is an Australian former politician who was the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of New South Wales from June 2019 until May 2021. She previously served as a member of the New South Wales Legisla ...

to the position of

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

in June 2019, Barr was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Tertiary Education, Shadow Minister for the Hunter and the Shadow Minister for Water. He held these positions until June 2021, when he was demoted to the backbench by the newly appointed

Chris Minns Christopher John Minns (born 17 September 1979) is an Australian politician serving as the 47th and current premier of New South Wales since March 2023. He has been the leader of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) si ...

as a result of factional disagreements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Clayton Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Living people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly University of Newcastle (Australia) alumni 21st-century Australian politicians 1971 births People from Cessnock, New South Wales