Patrick Martin Conroy (born 10 May 1979) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

(ALP) and the Labor Left faction and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2013. He represented the

Division of Charlton The Division of Charlton was an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was created in 1984 and is named for Matthew Charlton, who was Leader of the Australian Labor Party 1922–28. The division was loc ...

in New South Wales until its abolition in 2016, and since then has represented the Division of Shortland. He is currently the

Minister for Defence Industry In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Defence Industry is currently the Hon Pat Conroy MP since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022. The Minister for Defence Industry, or previously the Minister of Suppl ...

and Minister for International Development and the Pacific.

Early life

Conroy was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

, however he moved to the Central Coast of New South Wales when he was one year old. His parents were "union delegates throughout their lives and long-time Labor activists". He was born a British citizen by descent through his father, who was born in

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surr ...

, County Durham, England. He renounced his dual citizenship before standing at the 2013 election in accordance with section 44 of the constitution. Conroy attended Ettalong Public School and Gosford High School. Growing up he played for the Woy Woy Football Club and the Gosford Rugby Club. Conroy holds the degree of

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; th ...

( Hons.) from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. He joined the ALP in 1994 and served as a state and federal vice-president of

Australian Young Labor Australian Young Labor, also known as the Young Labor Movement or simply Young Labor, is the youth wing of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) representing all ALP members aged between 15 to 26. The organisation operates as a federation with independen ...

from 2003 to 2004. Prior to entering parliament, he worked as an electorate officer for

Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...

(2000), an industrial/policy officer with the

CFMEU The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU, though most commonly still referred to as CFMEU) is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry, maritime, mining, energy, textile, clothing and footwear produ ...

's forestry division (2000–2002), a policy adviser to George Campbell (2002–2004), national economist to the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (2004–2008), and as principal policy adviser (2008–2011) and deputy chief of staff (2011–2013) to Greg Combet.

Parliament

Conroy was elected to parliament at the 2013 federal election, retaining the

for the Labor Party following Greg Combet's retirement. He transferred to the Division of Shortland at the 2016 election, following Charlton's abolition. After the election he was appointed to Bill Shorten's shadow ministry as an assistant minister for the portfolios of infrastructure and climate change and energy. He retained his place in

's shadow ministry after the 2019 election, and was promoted to Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific as well as minister assisting in the portfolios of climate change, defence and government accountability. Conroy is aligned with the ALP's Socialist Left faction, and serves as one of the two federal parliamentary convenors of the Labor Left faction, along with

Andrew Giles Andrew James Giles (born 31 July 1973) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives since September 2013, representing the Division of Scullin, Victoria. He is currently the Minister for I ...

References

External links

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Profile at TheyVoteForYou.org.au
1979 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Charlton Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Shortland Members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian economists University of Sydney alumni Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian politicians Australian people of English descent People who lost British citizenship Citizens of the United Kingdom through descent {{Australia-Labor-representative-stub