Mark Maclean Coulton (born 3 February 1958) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the National Party and has served in 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 the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not ...

, representing the

Division of Parkes The Division of Parkes is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. History The former Division of Parkes (1901–69) was located in suburban Sydney, and was not related to this division, except in name. The divisio ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He has served as Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government (2020–2021), Minister for Regional Services, Decentralisation and Local Government (2019–2020), Assistant Minister for Trade and Investment (2019–2020), Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment (2018–2019), and

Deputy Speaker of the House Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

(2016–2018).

Early life

Coulton was born in Sydney on 3 February 1958, the son of Jack and Nancy Coulton. He grew up on the family's property in

Gravesend, New South Wales Gravesend is a village on the North West Slopes of New South Wales, Australia. The town is located 25 km west of Warialda on the Gwydir Highway near the Gwydir River and in the Gwydir Shire local government area, north of the state capi ...

. He was educated at Warialda Public School and

Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School Farrer may refer to People * Alisha Farrer (born 1943), Australian actress and model * Austin Farrer (1904–1968), English theologian, philosopher, and friend of C. S. Lewis * Buster Farrer (1936-), South African cricketer * Claude Farrer (1862� ...

, where he was a boarder. He returned to the family farm after leaving school and later acquired a property of his own. Prior to entering parliament, Coulton was involved in various community organisations, including the Warialda Pony Club, the Warialda Rotary Club, and the local Bush Fire Brigade. He served as president of the Warialda Pastoral and Agricultural Association, which organised the local

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

. In September 2004, Coulton was elected as the inaugural mayor of

Gwydir Shire Gwydir Shire is a local government area located in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The northern boundary of the Shire is located adjacent to the border between New South Wales and Queensland. The Shire was established on 1 ...

, a new local government area created from three smaller councils.

Politics

Coulton announced in November 2006 that he would seek National Party

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

for the

. He had previously been the chairman of the party's electoral council for the

Division of Gwydir The Division of Gwydir was an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the states and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the Lis ...

, which was abolished and merged into Parkes. The incumbent Gwydir MP John Anderson was retiring, while the incumbent Parkes MP John Cobb chose to contest the

Division of Calare The Division of Calare is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. Geography Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appoint ...

. Coulton was elected to parliament at the

. He served as a

shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...

parliamentary secretary from 2007 to 2010, and then as the Nationals' Chief Whip in the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2016. After the 2016 election he was elected Deputy Speaker. He endorsed Michael McCormack for the leadership of the National Party in February 2018, following the resignation of

Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who served as the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia under Malcolm Turnbull from 2016 to 2018 and under Scott Morrison from 2021 to 2022. He was the leader of the ...

Government minister

In March 2018, Coulton resigned as Deputy Speaker to take up the position of Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment in the Turnbull Government. He retained the position when

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 ...

became prime minister in August 2018. In May 2019, following the

Morrison Government The Morrison government was the federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison government commenced on 24 August 2018, when it was sworn ...

's re-election at the 2019 election, his title was changed to Assistant Minister for Trade and Investment and he was also given a full ministerial portfolio as Minister for Regional Services, Decentralisation and Local Government. Following a reshuffle in February 2020, he was appointed Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government. Coulton repeated his endorsement of Michael McCormack for his party's leadership at the February 2020 leadership spill, describing it as an "unfortunate distraction". After McCormack was defeated by Joyce in the 2021 Nationals leadership spill, Joyce stripped Coulton of his ministerial portfolios.

Positions

In November 2020, Coulton stated in a parliamentary speech that Israel was engaged in " a level of apartheid" with regard to Palestinians.

Personal life

Coulton married schoolteacher Robyn Redford in 1981, with whom he had three children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coulton, Mark Abbott Government National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Parkes Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1958 births Living people People from Tamworth, New South Wales Turnbull Government 21st-century Australian politicians Government ministers of Australia Morrison Government