Anthony James Simpson (born 15 July 1965) is a former Australian politician who was a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

from 2005 to 2017. He served as a minister in the government of

Colin Barnett Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is an Australian former politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He concurrently served as the state's Treasurer at several points during his tenure and had previously held various other ...

from March 2013 to September 2016. Simpson ran a bakery before entering politics.

Early life

Simpson was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

to Rita (née Bailey) and Charles Simpson. His family moved to

Wyndham, Western Australia Wyndham is the northernmost town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, northeast of Perth via the Great Northern Highway. It was established in 1886 to service a new goldfield at Halls Creek, and it is now a port and service centre fo ...

, in 1970, and later to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, where he attended CBC Leederville (now

Aranmore Catholic College The Aranmore Catholic College is a co-educational school for ages 7–12, located in Leederville in Perth, Western Australia. It was founded in 1903 by Sisters of Mercy, Mother Berchmans and Mother Aquin. Demographics Aranmore educates app ...

). After leaving school, Simpson worked in the family bakery, and later opened his own business in Byford. He served on the Serpentine-Jarrahdale Shire Council from 2001 to 2005.Anthony (Tony) James Simpson
Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 17 September 2016.

Politics

Simpson entered parliament at the 2005 state election, winning the newly created seat of Serpentine-Jarrahdale with 51.2 percent of the

two-party-preferred In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP), is the result of an opinion poll or a projection of an election result where preferences are distributed to one of the two major parties, the Labor Party and the Liberal/Natio ...

vote. He was included in the shadow ministry of

Matt Birney Matthew John Birney (born 10 June 1969) is an Australian former politician. He was a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2008, serving as Leader of the Opposition from 2005 to 2006. Birney was born in ...

immediately after being elected, and subsequently served as a shadow minister under three more

leaders of the opposition Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

–

Paul Omodei Paul Domenic Omodei (; born 26 May 1950) is an Australian politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia from 24 March 2006 until 17 January 2008. Background Omodei was born in Manjimup, a ...

Troy Buswell Troy Raymond Buswell (born 19 March 1966) was an Australian politician who was a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2005 to 2014, representing the seat of Vasse. He was Treasurer of Western Australia in the Bar ...

, and Colin Barnett. At the 2008 state election, Simpson transferred to the seat of Darling Range, where the sitting member, John Day, had himself transferred to the seat of Kalamunda.Hon. Anthony (Tony) James Simpson MLA
Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 17 September 2016. After the 2008 election, Simpson was made a parliamentary secretary in the new ministry formed by Colin Barnett. He served in that position until July 2011, when he was instead made

government whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

. After the 2013 election, Simpson was made Minister for Local Government,

Minister for Community Services Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

, Minister for Seniors and Volunteering, and Minister for Youth. He resigned from the ministry in September 2016, citing a lack of support for the government and Colin Barnett's leadership of the Liberal Party."WA Liberal leadership: Minister Tony Simpson resigns over loss of faith in Premier Colin Barnett"
ABC News, 17 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Tony 1965 births Living people Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Politicians from Melbourne 21st-century Australian politicians Western Australian local councillors

Early life

Politics

See also

References