Anthony Roberts

Anthony John Roberts (born 19 April 1970 He is the longest-serving Member of the Legislative Assembly and so holds the honorary title of "Father of the House."

He was a senior minister in the O'Farrell, Baird, Berejiklian and Perrottet governments, serving in various portfolios including Planning, Resources and Energy. Following the Coalition's loss at the 2023 election, Roberts contested the Liberal leadership. He lost to Mark Speakman and returned to the backbench.

Before entering politics, Roberts was a director of the public relations firm Flagship Communications.

Early life Anthony Roberts attended St Ignatius Riverview where he was involved in student leadership activities on campus. Anthony Roberts was involved in student politics at University of Technology Sydney, where he was a representative on the student association and was president of the Student union. During his terms as Student Union president, he was responsible for expanding the sports faculties to UTS Rowing, UTS Olympic Soccer, and UTS Basketball at Sydney Boys High. He was also a part time staff member of the Faculty of Business. Roberts was elected to Lane Cove Council and was a councillor between 1995 and 2003, including a term as deputy mayor and two terms as mayor, between 1999 and 2000 and between 2001 and 2002. In the book Jonestown: The Power and the Myth of Alan Jones, journalist Chris Masters claimed that Roberts was employed to act as a liaison between the office and Sydney radio broadcaster Alan Jones. Australian online political magazine Crikey.com gave Roberts the title, "Minister for Alan Jones".

Orange Grove accusations After Roberts was elected to parliament in 2003, Flagship Communications acted on behalf of owners of the Orange Grove site. Then NSW Premier Bob Carr claimed in 2004 that, "there appeared to be a warm relationship between Gazcorp and Mr Roberts, evidenced by a stream of faxes and emails giving the Liberal MP questions to ask of the Labor Party about the factory outlet". On 14 September 2004, Roberts said in Parliament that he had ceased being a director of Flagship Communications prior to being elected to Parliament and had never received any payment from Flagship Communications.

Political career Roberts left Howard's office when he was elected as the Member for Lane Cove in 2003, following the retirement of Kerry Chikarovski. His main opponent was Mario Tsang, representing Labor. Roberts voted against legalising abortion in 2019 in NSW https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-15/two-charged-over-threatening-phone-calls-to-mps/11416430

Minister (2011-2023) On 3 April 2011, subsequent to the state election, Roberts was appointed as the Minister for Fair Trading in the O'Farrell government. Following the resignation of Barry O'Farrell as Premier, and the subsequent ministerial reshuffle by Mike Baird, the new Liberal Leader, in April 2014, Roberts assumed the role of Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly, in addition to his Ministerial responsibilities. Following the 2015 state election, Roberts was sworn in as the Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy, and retained his role as Leader of the House. In this role, Roberts was tasked with the creation of 150,000 jobs in NSW over four years, promoting industry development in NSW and leading the newly created Department of Industry, Skills and Regional Development.

Following the resignation of Mike Baird as Premier, Gladys Berejiklian was elected as Liberal leader and sworn in as Premier. The Berejiklian ministry was subsequently formed with Roberts sworn in as the Minister for Planning, the Minister for Housing, and the Special Minister of State with effect from 30 January 2017. He retained his responsibilities as the Leader of the House. In the second Berejiklian ministry, Roberts served as the Minister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections, from April 2019 through to the second rearrangement of the Perrottet ministry in December 2021. He was subsequently sworn in as the Minister for Planning and the Minister for Homes.

He was Minister for Planning and Minister for Homes in the Perrottet ministry from December 2021 until March 2023 when the Perrottet government was defeated at the 2023 New South Wales state election.

Shadow Ministry NSW Parliamentary Record: 2026 - Shadow Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, and Shadow Minister for Corrections : 2008 - 2011 Shadow Minister for Citizenship : 2008 - 2011 Shadow Minister for Volunteering and the Arts : 2008 Shadow Minister for Emergency Services : 2008 Shadow Minister for Juvenile Justice : 2007 - 2010 Member, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) : 2003 - 2007 Member, Committee on the Independent Commission Against Corruption : 2003 Member, Legislative Assembly Standing Ethics Committee :