Tony Burke

Anthony Stephen Burke (born 4 November 1969) is an Australian politician serving as Leader of the House, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for the Arts since 2022.

From 1993 to 1995, Burke worked as a staffer to Labor senators Graham Richardson and Michael Forshaw.

He was also awarded the Martin Sorensen Trophy for Best Speaker at the 1994 Australasian Intervarsity Debating Championships.

In 1996, he and two friends from his university debating society established Atticus Pty Ltd., a business that provides training for "clients from the corporate and education sectors in advocacy and communication skills".

It was named after the iconic fictional character Atticus Finch from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

He resigned his directorship of the company the following year to join the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) as a union organiser.

He was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council in 2003, but resigned the following year to enter federal politics.

He left the SDA in 2003 to run for the New South Wales Legislative Council.

At the 2003 state election, Burke was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council.

He chaired the NSW State Development Committee, conducting inquiries into ports infrastructure and science commercialisation.

He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and has served as member of parliament (MP) for Watson since 2004.

He was included in the shadow ministry immediately after winning a seat at the 2004 election.

During the first Rudd government, Burke held the position of Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, before being given the role of Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water and Population in the Gillard government, after Gillard replaced Rudd as prime minister.

A view gradually formed that Burke's talents were wasted in the NSW Legislative Council and he resigned from state parliament on 24 June 2004 to campaign for the New South Wales division of Watson.

He won the seat at the 2004 federal election.

A member of Labor Right, Burke was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2004 federal election, replacing the retiring Leo McLeay in the safe Labor seat of Watson.

He and fellow Labor MP Linda Burney are the only members of the Federal Parliament to have always served as a minister or shadow minister.

He was immediately promoted to the shadow ministry under Mark Latham, as Shadow Minister for Small Business.

He was promoted to Shadow Minister for Immigration in June 2005, by which time Kim Beazley had replaced Latham as leader.

After the 2006 leadership spill, the new leader Kevin Rudd expanded Burke's portfolio to Immigration, Integration and Citizenship.

He held cabinet positions in the governments of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard from 2007 to 2013.

Burke is a graduate of the University of Sydney, and worked as a political staffer, company director, and union organiser before entering politics.

After the 2007 federal election, Burke was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in the new Rudd government.

He was sworn in by the Governor-General on 3 December 2007.

Burke oversaw the abolition of the Australian bulk wheat export monopoly after the AWB oil-for-wheat scandal.

He oversaw the eradication of the horse flu in Australia after the 2007 equine influenza outbreak.

On 2 April 2010, Rudd appointed Burke as Minister for Population.

The appointment came after Rudd stated he was in favour of a "big Australia" in response to demographic projections in the Government's Intergenerational Report showing the population of Australia would increase from 22 million in 2010 to 35 million in 2050.

Burke's responsibilities included planning for the growth in Australia's population and coordinating the provision of services accordingly.

Following the 2010 federal election, Burke was appointed Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.

In March 2012, following the ALP leadership spill, Burke was also appointed Vice-President of the Executive Council.

As Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Burke established the Commonwealth Marine Reserve Network, the largest network of marine protected areas anywhere in the World and the world's second largest conservation determination after the preservation of Antarctica.

Burke also added koalas to the threatened species list in Queensland, NSW and the ACT.

In June 2013, Rudd would in turn replace Gillard as prime minister, and appointed Burke as the Minister for the Arts and Minister for Immigration, Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship in his subsequent government.

He held these positions for less than three months, as Labor was defeated in the 2013 federal election.

In opposition, Burke served as the Manager of Opposition Business under Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese, and held various positions in the shadow cabinet.

After Labor's victory in the 2022 election, Burke would become Leader of the House, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for the Arts in the Albanese government.

Burke was raised in a Catholic family of Irish descent.

He attended Catholic schools, Regina Coeli (Beverly Hills, NSW) and St Patrick's College (Strathfield, NSW), where he was Vice-Captain.

He attended the University of Sydney where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws.