Tony McRae

Tony McRae
In office 10 February 2001 – 6 September 2008
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 in 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.

Before entering Parliament Mr McRae had been a labour 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 green-house gas reduction consultant (1993–95). McRae negotiated training system reforms including the introduction of traineeships and competency rather than 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 - a 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.

Mr 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 and MPs. The CCC investigation involving Mr McRae resulted in an adverse report but no evidence of wrongdoing and no formal proceedings - an outcome McRae says confirmed the CCC investigation was politically motivated and a dangerous breach of the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness.

At the 2008 election the Australian Labor Party lost Government with a Statewide swing against it of more than 6.5%.^[2] and Mr McRae lost his seat of Riverton by 64 votes (a swing of 2.1%).

Mr McRae continues to work across labour market development and education, climate change, business development and governance - as managing consultant to the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation on a major land and housing development in Western Australia (2009-2011); project manager on development of the Timor-Leste national labour market plan (2011-2013); manager of an alternative school for disengaged Y10-12s; and researcher and industry consultant on labour market implications of low carbon technologies for Indigenous people.

In February 2015 Mr McRae took up the role of CEO of IBN Corporation.

References

1. "Extract from the Western Australian Parliamentary Handbook". 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
2. "ABC News -2008 Western Australian Election 2008". 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-11.