Tony McRae
| Tony McRae | |
|---|---|
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In office 10 February 2001 – 6 September 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Graham Kierath |
| Succeeded by | Mike Nahan |
| Constituency | Riverton |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
7 April 1957 Tumut, New South Wales |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
Anthony "Tony" 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.
Tony McRae unexpectedly won the traditional Liberal seat of Riverton in the 2001 Gallop-led election and held the seat at the 2005 election.
Before entering Parliament, Mr. McRae had been a labor market policy adviser to the Western Australian Government (Minister and Premier Peter Dowding 1985–1991), was National Director, Research & Information at the National Native Title tribunal (1995–2000) and a greenhouse gas reduction consultant (1993–95). McRae negotiated training system reforms including the introduction of traineeships and competency rather than a time-based system of skills development. Mr. McRae moved to Western Australia from Tumut NSW in 1980 to work as an electrician in the WA iron ore industry and became an active ETU member; President of the Combined Unions Council in Newman and a delegate to the WA Iron Ore Industry Consultative Council.
Tony McRae was Western Australia's first Minister for Climate Change (2006–07) and co-authored the State's 2007 Climate Change Action Policy. He also held portfolios as Minister for Disability Services; Multicultural Affairs; Assisting on Planning and Infrastructure; Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry; and Parliamentary Secretary for Employment Protection, Resources, and State Development. Mr. McRae also held a range of Parliamentary offices including Acting Speaker of the Legislative Assembly; Chairman Economics and Industry Standing Committee; and Member, Public Accounts Committee.
His review of the Disability sector established the Australian benchmark for monitoring and directing State funding and services to people with disabilities and their families and carers. WA at the time had the highest State contribution to disability services (a previous WA Labor Government created the first Australian portfolio for Disability Services) and Mr. McRae led WA'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, delegation member to China on WA gas trade; education, cultural and trade exchange with Taiwan and leading a review of State and Commonwealth services to migrants and refugees. He was also a delegate/leader of state missions to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Middle East, France, Belgium and the UK on climate change, education, resources development, tourism and agriculture trade. His 4-year term as Chairman of the Economics and Industry Committee included nationally significant inquiries into the deregulation of the dairy industry; the expanding use of strata title in urban housing, the Windimurra vanadium mine, public transport in the south metropolitan corridor and the Bellevue toxic waste facility.
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