Tony McRae (politician)

Tony McRae
In office
10 February 2001 – 6 September 2008
Preceded by Graham Kierath
Succeeded by Mike Nahan
Constituency Riverton
Personal details
Born Anthony David McRae
(1957-04-07) 7 April 1957
Tumut, New South Wales
Nationality Australian
Political party Labor Party

Anthony David McRae (born 7 April 1957 in Tumut, New South Wales) is an Australian politician. He was an ALP member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2008, representing the electorate of Riverton.[1] Tony McRae unexpectedly won the traditional Liberal seat of Riverton in the 2001 Gallop-led election and held the seat at the 2005 election.

Career

Early career

McRae moved to Western Australia from Tumut in 1980 to work as an electrician in the Pilbara iron ore industry and became active in the Electrical Trades Union of Australia. He later moved to Perth and worked as labor market policy adviser to the Western Australian Government under Peter Dowding from 1985 to 1991, a greenhouse gas reduction consultant from 1993 to 1995 and a Director at the National Native Title Tribunal from 1995 to 2000.[2]

Politics

Ministerial career

While in parliament McRae served as:

  • The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture and Forestry from May 2005 to March 2006.
  • Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Resources and Assistant to the Minister for State Development and Employment Protection from March 2006 to May 2006.
  • Minister for Disability Services, Citizenship and Multicultural Interests and Assistant to the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure from May 2006 to December 2006.
  • Minister for the Environment, Disability Service and Climate Change from December 2006 to February 2007.[3]

McRae was Western Australia's first Minister for Climate Change and co-authored the State's 2007 Climate Change Action Policy. He led Western Australia's argument in national forums for an equitable distribution of Commonwealth Disability funding - leading arguments for the establishment of the National Disability Scheme.

Other notable portfolio achievements include completing expansion of the Dampier-Bunbury Gas pipeline reserve through the controversial Perth-Bunbury corridor; leading negotiations with landholders and conservationists on the State's $350m natural resource management plan; leading opposition against the Australian Nationalist Movement fire bombings of Chinese restaurants in 2004; being one of the first Australian political delegation leaders to visit Indonesia following Timor-Leste's independence.

McRae resigned as Minister in 2007 in the midst of CCC investigations into lobbyists and business-Government relations and the resignation of a number of Ministers who were accused of acting improperly.[4] In 2008 a report tabled in parliament found that McRae was guilty of serious misconduct in his dealings with lobbyists and former ALP members, Julian Grill and Brian Burke by the Corruption and Crime Commission. The CCC decided not to pursue further action against McRae, and recommended he was not to be prosecuted.[5]

Post-ministerial career

At the 2008 election, the Labor Party lost Government with a Statewide swing against it of more than 6.5%.[6] and McRae lost his seat of Riverton by 64 votes (a 2pp swing of 2.2%).

Current work

Following his defeat in the 2008 election McRae has worked as a consultant to the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation, a project manager on development of the Timor-Leste national labour market plan, manager of an alternative school for disengaged youth and researcher and industry consultant on labour market implications of low-carbon technologies for Indigenous people.

In February 2015 McRae took up the role of CEO with IBN Corporation [2]and in 2016 became Chairperson of the Pilbara Aboriginal Corporations and Enterprises Association.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Extract from the Western Australian Parliamentary Handbook". 2008. Archived from the original on 1 March 2004. Retrieved 11 June 2008.
  2. 1 2 "Meet Tony McRae The new CEO of IBN" (PDF). IBN Group. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  3. ↑ "Mr Anthony (Tony) David McRae MLA". Member List. Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  4. ↑ "McRae forced to resign over scandal". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 January 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Tim Clarke (21 November 2008). "McRae guilty of Burke 'misconduct'". WA Today. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  6. ↑ "ABC News -2008 Western Australian Election 2008". 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  7. ↑ "The New Pilbara Economic Development Conference". Pilbara Aboriginal Corporations and Enterprises Inc. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
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