Ross Xavier Vasta (born 8 October 1966) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

since 2010, representing the

Division of Bonner The Division of Bonner is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland, located in the eastern suburbs of Brisbane, including the suburbs of Chandler, Carindale, Manly, Mount Gravatt, Wishart and Wynnum. Geography Federal electoral divis ...

for 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 ...

. He previously held the same seat from 2004 to 2007.

Early life

Vasta is the son of

Angelo Vasta Angelo Vasta QC (8 January 1941 – 29 September 2021) was a prominent Queen's Counsel and judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland (1984 to 1989). He is the first superior court judge with an Italian background to be appointed in Queensland, ...

, a former judge of the

Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to he ...

who was stood down after his friendship with the disgraced Queensland Police Commissioner Terence Lewis became known. His parents were both born in

Innisfail, Queensland Innisfail (from Irish: Inis Fáil) is a regional town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was originally called Geraldton until 1910. In the , the town of Innisfail had a population of 7,236 people, while ...

, while his grandparents were all born in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. His mother registered him as an Italian citizen by descent when he was a child, but he renounced it prior to his first run for parliament in 2001. Vasta was educated at Villanova College in the Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo, and attended

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian s ...

, where he graduated with a commerce degree. He ran and operated three family-owned Italian cuisine restaurants named Elio's and worked as a company director before entering politics. He is the brother of Salvatore Vasta, a judge of the Federal Circuit Court.

Politics

At the 2001 federal election, Vasta was the

candidate for the

Division of Griffith The Division of Griffith is an electoral division for the Australian House of Representatives. The division covers the inner southern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland. History The division is named after Sir Samuel Griffith, former politician ...

. He was defeated by the sitting member,

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

, who later became

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

. In the 2004 federal election, Vasta stood for the Liberals in the

, and defeated former

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 labour ...

minister

Con Sciacca Concetto Antonio Sciacca (13 June 1947 – 21 June 2017) was an Australian politician of the Australian Labor Party and member of the Australian House of Representatives from July 1987 to March 1996 and again from October 1998 to October 2004 ...

. However, in the 2007 election he was defeated by

candidate

Kerry Rea Kerry Marie Rea (born 16 April 1963) is an Australian politician. She was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2007 to 2010, representing the Division of Bonner in Queensland. Early life Rea was born ...

on a swing of 4.75 points, the lowest swing against a Liberal incumbent in Queensland. Following his election defeat, Vasta won Liberal Party preselection for the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

ward of Wynnum-Manly in Brisbane's east. He was defeated by the Labor incumbent, polling 36% of the primary vote. Vasta decided to stand in Bonner once again at the 2010 federal election, and reclaimed his old seat by a 53% to 47% margin. He achieved a seven-point swing towards him, one of the highest of any Liberal candidate in Queensland. Vasta was nominated to the speaker's panel in 2013 and has served as chair of the standing committees on privileges and parliamentary procedure. In 2015 he was a candidate to succeed

Bronwyn Bishop Bronwyn Kathleen Bishop (née Setright; born 19 October 1942) is an Australian former politician. She was a member of federal parliament for almost 30 years, the longest period of service by a woman. A member of the Liberal Party, she was a mi ...

as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Vasta is a member of the centre-right faction of the Liberal Party.

Notes

External links

Liberal Party Profile

Personal Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasta, Ross 1966 births Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Liberal National Party of Queensland members of the Parliament of Australia Living people Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bonner Members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian people of Sicilian descent People educated at Villanova College (Australia) Australian politicians of Italian descent Griffith University alumni Politicians from Melbourne 21st-century Australian politicians People who lost Italian citizenship Citizens of Italy through descent