Felix Ashton Ellis (born 22 January 1990) is an Australian politician, who was elected to the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

on 17 August 2020 in a recount to fill a vacancy for the division of Braddon. A member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, Ellis is a member of the Rockliff ministry, serving as Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management, Resources, and Skills, Training and Workforce Growth.

Early life and education

Ellis was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

and raised in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, including in remote aboriginal communities. Ellis graduated from

Hale School Hale School is an independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Named after the school founded by Bishop Mathew Blagden Hale in 1858, Hale School claims to be ...

in 2007 before completing an apprenticeship in plumbing and gas fitting with the family business. He moved to Tasmania in 2014 after his mother had moved there earlier, and worked as a plumber on Tasmania's West Coast.

Political career

Ellis was an unsuccessful Liberal candidate for Braddon at the

2018 Tasmanian state election The 2018 Tasmanian state election was held on 3 March 2018 to elect all 25 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The four-year incumbent Liberal government, led by Premier Will Hodgman, won a second consecutive term. It defeated the Labo ...

, before being elected on countback caused by the resignation of Joan Rylah in August 2020. Following the 2018 state election, there was speculation that Ellis was considering running for federal parliament however, he was ineligible for the 2018 Braddon by-election as he maintains dual Australian and Lithuanian citizenship. Ellis was widely praised for his

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

which detailed his family's journey from the ruins of Lithuania following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, to ultimately, settling in Tasmania. At the 2021 election, Ellis received the second highest first preference vote of all Braddon's 21 candidates, although he was unable to hold his seat on preferences. However, Ellis was re-elected in a countback following the resignation of Adam Brooks immediately after the poll. Since his election, Ellis has been widely criticised by the Australian Greens and Bob Brown Foundation for his support of the mining and forestry industries in Tasmania. Ellis has been a vocal supporter of the Tasmanian Government's workplace protection legislation saying, ''"It is completely unacceptable for workers at Venture Minerals' Riley Mine to come to work to find they can't get on site because greenies are chained to the front gates and machinery."'' Ellis caused a significant controversy in the final days of the 2021 election campaign when the global

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

community voiced criticism of him after he posted to social media a photo of himself eating a burger with the caption ''"Allergies: vegan food ...".'' In September 2021, Ellis used a speech in parliament to criticise

Tasmanian Greens The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia which developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the Franklin Dam campaign. They form a part of the Australian Greens. The party ...

Leader

Cassy O'Connor Cassandra Stanwell O'Connor (born 1 April 1967) is an Australian politician, who has been a Tasmanian Greens member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly since 2008, representing the electorate of Division of Denison which was renamed to Clark in ...

after she claimed the

Australian Prime Minister The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the principl ...

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for th ...

was part of a '''death cult, referring to his membership of a

Pentecostal church Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

. Ellis said O'Connor's comments were ''"a sad reflection of a creeping, hateful, anti-Christian intolerance"''. Ellis voted against legislation to legalise euthanasia in March 2021, stating in an opinion editorial that ''"If we cannot yet create a system that cares which is free from abuse, I cannot see how we can create a system that kills which is free from abuse."'' Ellis was one of only six MPs to vote against the legislation. On 28 February 2022, Ellis was promoted to Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, and Government Whip. Following the resignation of

Jacquie Petrusma Jacqueline Anne Petrusma (née Harper; born 23 March 1966) is an Australian politician. She was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 2010 to 2022, representing the electorate of Franklin, and served as a m ...

, Ellis was elevated to the Ministry on 27 July 2022. Ellis was appointed as Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management, Resources, and Skills, Training and Workforce Growth.

Personal life

Ellis is married to former ABC Landline journalist Margot Kelly. and they have one son.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Felix 1990 births Living people Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Tasmania 21st-century Australian politicians Australian people of Lithuanian descent