Tim Holding

Timothy James Holding (born 21 August 1972) is a former Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2013. He served as minister for water; minister for finance, WorkCover and the Transport Accident Commission; and minister for tourism and major events in the Brumby Ministry.

Early life Holding was educated at Haileybury College and the University of Melbourne, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1997. From the early 1990s he was active in the Australian Labor Party and Young Labor; being elected President of Australian Young Labor in 1993;

Although there was a swing of 3.0% against Labor, Holding easily won the safe Labor seat of Lyndhurst in the 2006 state election by a margin of 25.1%.

After the 2006 election, he was given the portfolios of finance (including WorkCover and the Transport Accident Commission) and tourism as well as information and communication technology. Some initially saw this as a demotion, but Premier Steve Bracks described Holding as having done a 'great job' with finance being seen as central to government decision-making with fewer potential political difficulties than the notoriously tricky police portfolio.

Due to his relative youth and prominence, Holding has often been touted as a possible future Victorian Labor leader. He is recognised for his ability to master complex policy issues and combine this with his political capacity. Holding is well regarded by his colleagues who would value these attributes in the event of a vacancy for the Labor leadership. Holding suffered some criticism for his performance as police minister, however this would be unlikely to effect his chances of promotion given his steady performance in his current portfolios.

He was promoted in an August 2007 reshuffle following the ascension of John Brumby to the premiership, receiving the responsibilities he held until the Labor party was voted out in the 2010 election. Holding had been touted as a serious candidate for treasurer, but lost out to John Lenders.

On 15 February 2013, Holding announced his resignation as shadow treasurer, shadow minister for industry and as the Member for Lyndhurst.

Post-political career After retiring from Parliament, Holding completed a master's in advanced global studies at SciencesPo in Paris. In February 2018, he was appointed as a visiting professor at King's College London.

In 2020, he and his fiancée (now wife), Felicity Selkirk, bought the Château de Purnon in France for €740,000, and began an extensive renovation of the building. He won a French prize, the Loto du Patrimoine, to help finance the work. The chateau is now available for functions and guided tours are occasionally offered.

Disappearance and rescue On 31 August 2009, Holding was reported missing after he failed to return from a solo hiking expedition of Mount Feathertop, Victoria's second highest mountain, having walked up the Bungalow Spur. He was due to return at 4pm on Sunday 30 August, but made no contact with his family. Holding was located by the Australian Federal Police and was rescued on 1 September by a Victoria Police helicopter during a large scale search involving the Victoria Police Search and Rescue Squad, the State Emergency Service and Bush Search and Rescue Victoria.