Darren Chester
| The Honourable Darren Chester MP |
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| File:Darren Chester Portrait 2009.jpg | |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Gippsland |
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| Assumed office 28 June 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Peter McGauran |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Darren Jeffrey Chester 13 September 1967 Sale, Victoria, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | National Party of Australia |
| Spouse(s) | Julie Chester |
| Children | Morgan, Jamieson, Clancy, Lachlan[1] |
| Occupation | Journalist, Political advisor |
| Website | darrenchester |
Darren Jeffrey Chester (born 13 September 1967) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the House of Representatives for Gippsland in Victoria, representing the National Party since 2008. Chester served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence in the Abbott ministry from September 2013 to September 2015.[2] In the Turnbull Government he was appointed Assistant Minister for Defence from 21 September 2015.[3]
Contents
Career
Chester was born in Sale, Victoria, the son of a plumber, and was one of five children.[1]
Prior to entering federal politics, he worked as a newspaper and television journalist throughout Gippsland and was chief of staff to Peter Ryan, the leader of the Nationals in the Victorian state parliament. Chester contested Gippsland East as the National Party candidate at the 2002 Victorian state election, losing to independent Craig Ingram.[4] In 2004, he unsuccessfully stood for National Party preselection for the Senate position held by Julian McGauran. McGauran retained his party endorsement and was re-elected later that year, only to defect to the Liberals in 2006.[5]
Chester was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2008 by-election caused by the resignation of Peter McGauran, and re-elected at the 2010 and 2013 elections.
He was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport in September 2010;[6] and appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence in September 2013.[2]
In June 2015 he became the first member of the National Party to announce support for same-sex marriage and a conscience vote on the issue for members of the Coalition[7]
Personal
Chester lives in Lakes Entrance with his wife, Julie,[8] and their four children, Morgan, Jamieson, Clancy and Lachlan.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ State Election 2002: Gippsland East District
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Parliament House Library
- ↑ Darren Chester first National MP to announce support for same-sex marriage ABC
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Parliamentary biography
- First Speech to Parliament – Google Video
- First Speech to Parliament – Text
- Search or browse Hansard for Darren Chester at OpenAustralia.org
| Parliament of Australia | ||
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| Preceded by | Member for Gippsland 2008–present |
Incumbent |
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Abbott Ministry (2013–2015)
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Prime Minister: Tony Abbott
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Turnbull Ministry (2015–)
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Prime Minister: Malcolm Turnbull
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