Christopher James Steel (born 15 May 1986) is an Australian politician. He has been a
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the la ...
member of the
Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly since 2016, representing the electorate of
Murrumbidgee and currently serves as a Cabinet Minister in the
ACT Government
The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive authority of the Australian Capital Territory, one of the territories of Australia. The lea ...
. Before his election, Steel was an education advocate working in the early childhood sector.
Biography
Steel was born in
Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area ...
before his family moved to Canberra in the 1980s. As a child he grew up on the Southside in Torrens attending the local public schools, Torrens Primary,
Melrose High School and
Narrabundah College
Narrabundah College is a government college that teaches the last two years of secondary education in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It was the first school in Australia to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB), starting the progr ...
. He completed his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Bachelor of Arts (BA) at the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
(ANU). Prior to his election into the ACT Legislative Assembly, Steel worked as the Policy and Research Manager at peak education advocacy group
Early Childhood Australia. He has also worked as a policy adviser for both the
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...
and
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...
Government. Prior to being elected to office, Steel volunteered as a Director on the Board of
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
Canberra. Steel currently lives in Kambah with his partner Kurt.
Political career
On 16 October 2016 Steel was elected to the Ninth Assembly to represent the new electorate of
Murrumbidgee receiving 9.1% of the vote. Steel was re-elected at the
2020 ACT Election with 13.8% of the vote.
Steel was appointed to Ministry on 27 August 2018 as Minister for City Services, Minister for Roads, Minister for Community Services and Community Facilities, and Minister for Multicultural Affairs. On 1 July 2019 he took on responsibility for the Transport portfolio following
Meegan Fitzharris
Meegan Fitzharris (born 1972) is a former Australian politician, who was a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for the Yerrabi electorate from October 2016 to July 2019, and before that, member for the electorate of ...
' resignation from the Ministry.
Following the
2020 ACT Election Steel was subsequently re-appointed to the
Third Barr Ministry
The Third Barr Ministry is the 15th ministry of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory, led by Labor Chief Minister Andrew Barr and his deputy Yvette Berry. It was appointed on 4 November 2020 to replace the Second Barr Ministry, f ...
as Minister for Transport and City Services, Minister for Skills, and as Special Minister of State.
See also
*
2016 Australian Capital Territory general election
A general election for the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly was held on Saturday, 15 October 2016.
The 15-year incumbent Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Andrew Barr, won a fifth term over the main opposition Liberal Part ...
*
*
List of LGBTI holders of political offices in Australia
This is a list of LGBTI ( lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) holders of political offices in Australia. Currently and historically there are no intersex parliamentarians, although Tony Briffa is known as the world's first openly ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steel, Chris
Living people
Australian Labor Party members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
Gay politicians
LGBT legislators in Australia
Australian LGBT rights activists
People from Newcastle, New South Wales
Australian National University alumni
21st-century Australian politicians
1986 births
People educated at Narrabundah College
YMCA leaders
21st-century LGBT people