Matt Kean

Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Honourable
Matt Kean
MP
Kean in 2017
66th Treasurer of New South Wales
In office
5 October 2021 – 28 March 2023
PremierDominic Perrottet
Preceded byDominic Perrottet
Succeeded byDaniel Mookhey
Minister for Energy
In office
21 December 2021 – 28 March 2023
PremierDominic Perrottet
Preceded byHimself (as Minister for Energy and Environment)
Succeeded byPenny Sharpe
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in New South Wales
In office
9 August 2022 – 26 March 2023
LeaderDominic Perrottet
Preceded byStuart Ayres
Succeeded byNatalie Ward
Minister for Energy and Environment
In office
2 April 2019 – 21 December 2021
PremierGladys Berejiklian
Dominic Perrottet
Preceded byDon Harwin (as Minister for Energy and Utilities)
Gabrielle Upton (as Minister for Environment)
Succeeded byHimself (as Minister for Energy)
James Griffin (as Minister for Environment and Heritage)
Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation
In office
30 January 2017 – 2 April 2019
PremierGladys Berejiklian
Preceded byVictor Dominello
Succeeded byKevin Anderson
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
for Hornsby
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 March 2011
Preceded byJudy Hopwood
Personal details
Born (1981-09-16) 16 September 1981 (age 42)
Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyLiberal Party
ResidencePennant Hills
EducationSaint Ignatius' College, Riverview
Alma materUniversity of Technology Sydney
OccupationPolitician
Websitehttps://mattkean.com.au/

Matthew John Kean (born 16 September 1981) is an Australian politician, who was the Treasurer of New South Wales in the second Perrottet ministry of New South Wales between October 2021 and March 2023. He was also the Minister for Energy between April 2019 and March 2023[1][2][3][4] and was also the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party from August 2022 until March 2023. He has been Shadow Minister for Health since 2023 and has represented Hornsby for the party in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 2011.[5]

Kean previously served as the Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation from January 2017 until March 2019 in the first Berejiklian ministry[6] and as the Minister for Environment from April 2019 until December 2021 in the second Berejiklian ministry.

Early years and background

Kean grew up in the Berowra area and was educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview before attaining a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology, Sydney.[7][8] He later completed a graduate diploma at the Institute of Chartered Accountants. While at university, he was elected to the UTS Student Representative Council and as the SRC Executive Member for the Haymarket Campus. Kean has been a member of the Liberal Party since 2001, and in 2008, he was elected vice-president of the NSW Young Liberals.[5] During the 2003 State election campaign, Kean worked as an adviser for the Leader of the Opposition, John Brogden. He subsequently worked for Catherine Cusack MLC as an adviser while she was shadow minister for Juvenile Justice and Women.

Prior to entering Parliament, Kean was briefly an accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.[9]

Political career

Following announcement of the retirement of the sitting member, Judy Hopwood, Kean contested pre-selection for the safe Liberal seat against Hornsby Mayor, Nick Berman, and Hornsby Councillor, Steve Russell.[10] Kean won endorsement[11] and Berman announced his decision to resign from the Liberal Party and run against Kean as an independent candidate at the 2011 State election.[12][13] At the election, Kean was elected; however, the party suffered a swing of 3.5 points.[5] Kean won the seat with 62.1 per cent of the two-party vote,[14] with Berman being his main rival.

Kean used his inaugural speech to call on the government to spend as much money on suicide prevention campaigns as it does on road safety campaigns.[15][16] His call for the $10 million campaign received support from Professor Ian Hickey and the Minister for Mental Health Kevin Humphries.[17] He has hosted an annual Youth Forum in conjunction with Black Dog institute that aimed at educating students and teachers about issues relating to mental health;[18] and has successfully campaigned for the construction of a new mental health inpatient facility in Hornsby.[19][20]

Following the resignation of Mike Baird as Premier,[21] Gladys Berejiklian was elected as Liberal leader and sworn in as Premier.[22][23][24] The Berejiklian ministry was subsequently formed, with Kean sworn in as the Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation, with effect from 30 January 2017.[6] Following the 2019 state election, Kean was appointed as the Minister for Energy and Environment in the second Berejiklian ministry, with effect from 2 April 2019.[25] Kean became embroiled in controversy soon after his appointment. In one of his first acts as Energy Minister, Kean appointed former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull inaugural chair of the government's net zero emissions advisory board. One week later Kean sacked Turnbull from the role, with Turnbull claiming Kean was pressured by right-wing media to do so.[26]

Matt Kean was involved in a sexting scandal in February 2018, texting Liberal MP Eleni Petinos to seek sexual intercourse while at the same time involved in a relationship with an adviser in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's office, Caitlin Keage. Keage subsequently shared the illicit text messages with the media, describing it as predatory behaviour by Kean.[27] NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian described Kean's conduct as extremely disappointing and Kean apologised in a media statement.[28] This followed an earlier relationship scandal involving Kean in 2016, when a former partner said on Facebook, then retracted, that Kean had been “screwing” one of Turnbull's advisers.[29]

Kean was sued for defamation by car dealer Bevin Clayton, who alleged Kean falsely described him as dishonest and untrustworthy in social media posts.[30]

Following the resignation of Berejiklian,[31] Dominic Perrottet was elected as leader of the Liberal Party of New South Wales and sworn in as Premier.[32] Kean was selected by Perrottet to succeed him as Treasurer of New South Wales, and was sworn in on 5 October 2021.[4] In a December 2021 rearrangement of the Perrottet minister, Kean was appointed as Minister for Energy, and retained the portfolio of Treasurer.[33]

Kean has said that NSW, which currently generates 70% of its electricity from coal, can stop using coal-fired power by 2030,[34] but environmental activists point to the continued approval of new coal mines in NSW as making this unlikely, and have argued that NSW will struggle to reach its target of net zero emissions by 2050.[35]

Kean has been described as a moderate Liberal,[36] and is considered to be the leader of the moderate faction of the New South Wales Liberals.[37][38]

In June 2024 Kean announced his intention to resign from the New South Wales Parliament and announced he would be moving to the private sector energy industry; this will cause a by-election in Kean's Hornsby seat in state parliament.[39]

See also

  • flagNew South Wales portal
  • iconPolitics portal

References

  1. ^ "Government Notices (30)" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 2 April 2019. p. 1088-1090. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Premier announces new Cabinet" (Press release). Premier of New South Wales. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  3. ^ Han, Sophie (2 April 2019). "Berejiklian's new massive cabinet sworn in amid peals of laughter". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Parliament, Ministerial, Courts and Police" (PDF). Government Gazette of the state of New South Wales. No. 507. 5 October 2021. ISSN 2201-7534. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Mr (Matt) Matthew John Kean, MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  6. ^ a b Vukovic, Dom; Gerathy, Sarah; McDonald, Philippa (29 January 2017). "NSW Cabinet reshuffle: Premier Gladys Berejiklian announces big changes to front bench". Australia: ABC News. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024. With Hornsby Liberal MP Matt Kean and former Upper House president Don Harwin rewarded with frontbench positions, the Labor opposition has accused the Premier of using the reshuffle to promote her allies and reward Liberal powerbrokers.
  7. ^ "About Matt". mattkean.com.au. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024. Matt's involvement in politics began at a young age. He studied a Bachelor of Business at the University of Technology, Sydney where he was actively involved in student politics.
  8. ^ Wade, Matt (19 March 2023). "'Classic liberal' Matt Kean in his dream job as NSW treasurer". Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  9. ^ Davis, Tony (14 August 2020). "Matt Kean's journey from PwC accountant to electrifying Liberal". The Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  10. ^ Murray, Oliver (1 October 2010). "Three candidates seeking Liberal endorsement for vacant Hornsby seat". Hornsby and Upper North Shore Advocate. Archived from the original on 10 December 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  11. ^ Murray, Oliver (15 November 2010). "Matthew Kean wins Liberal preselection battle for Hornsby". Hornsby and Upper North Shore Advocate. Archived from the original on 17 November 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
  12. ^ Murray, Oliver (11 November 2010). "Hornsby Mayor Nick Berman quits Liberals to stand as independent at state election". Hornsby and Upper North Shore Advocate. Archived from the original on 14 November 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  13. ^ Murray, Oliver (17 November 2010). "Hornsby Mayor Nick Berman does not rule out rejoining Liberals". Hornsby and Upper North Shore Advocate. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  14. ^ Green, Antony (5 April 2011). "Hornsby". NSW Votes 2011. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 5 September 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
  15. ^ Matt Kean (15 June 2011). "Inaugural Speeches" (PDF). Full Day Hansard Transcript (Legislative Assembly, 15 June 2011, Corrected Copy). Parliament of New South Wales: Legislative Assembly. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  16. ^ Nicholls, Sean (16 June 2011). "New MP Spotlights Suicide Prevention". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  17. ^ Jensen, Erik; Smith, Alexander (17 June 2011). "Plea for suicide campaign prompts federal support". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  18. ^ Karlovsky, Brian (12 April 2012). "Mental Health on Abbotsleigh Agenda". Hornsby and Upper North Shore Advocate. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. The event was organised by Hornsby MP Matt Kean, local councils and the KYDS Youth Network.
  19. ^ McCallum, Jake (12 March 2019). "Hornsby Hospital receives $65m in extra funding for outpatient services". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Hornsby state Liberal MP Matt Kean announced the extra funding for the redevelopment alongside NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard.
  20. ^ Murray, Oliver (8 September 2011). "BUDGET 2011: Mental Health Unit to Receive Major Upgrade". Hornsby and Upper North Shore Advocate. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012.
  21. ^ Jacques, Owen (19 January 2017). "Baird resigns: NSW Premier to quit top job and Parliament". The Satellite. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  22. ^ "Swearing-In of The Honourable Gladys Berejiklian MP, the 45th Premier of New South Wales, and The Honourable John Barilaro MP, Deputy Premier". Vice Regal Program. Governor of New South Wales. 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  23. ^ "Ministers". parliament.nsw.gov.au. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  24. ^ Clennell, Andrew (26 January 2017). "Premier Gladys Berejiklian plans major reshuffle for cabinet". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  25. ^ Sas, Nick (31 March 2019). "Gladys Berejiklian says Liberal Party has no women problem as re-elected NSW Premier shuffles Cabinet". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  26. ^ Smith, Alexandra (6 April 2021). "How Turnbull's new role was ended before it even began". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  27. ^ Smith, Alexandra (22 February 2018). "'Predatory behaviour': NSW minister under fire amid cheating claims". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  28. ^ "NSW Minister under fire over explicit text messages". news.com.au. 23 February 2018. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  29. ^ Graham, Ben (7 March 2018). "Malcolm Turnbull adviser Caitlin Keage loses job over Matt Kean 'sexts'". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  30. ^ Sainty, Lane (28 May 2021). "NSW minister Matt Kean sued for defamation by car dealer Bevin Clayton". NCA NewsWire. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2021 – via news.com.au.
  31. ^ Connell, Cecilia (1 October 2021). "Why Berejiklian resigned: Everything you need to know about corruption inquiry into departing Premier". ABC News. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  32. ^ "Dominic Perrottet sworn in as NSW Premier". www.9news.com.au. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  33. ^ "Parliament, Ministerial, Courts and Police (662)" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 21 December 2021.
  34. ^ "NSW can 'absolutely' stop using coal power by 2030, energy minister says". the Guardian. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  35. ^ "NSW emissions reductions 'totally undone' by coal mine approvals, analysis suggests". ABC News. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  36. ^ Parkes-Hupton, Heath (19 April 2022). "Matt Kean renews call for Katherine Deves to be disendorsed in seat of Warringah". ABC News. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2022. Mr Kean, a member of the Liberal's moderate faction, believes the controversy threatens the political fortunes of moderate federal government MPs Dave Sharma and Trent Zimmerman.
  37. ^ Seccombe, Mike. "How power and factionalism work in Berejikliand". The Saturday Paper. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  38. ^ Davies, Anne. "The Right stuff: why shellshocked NSW Liberal moderates are fearing factional fights". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  39. ^ Hyland, Jesse (18 June 2024). "Former NSW energy minister Matt Kean announces resignation from politics". ABC News. Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.

External links

 

New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for Hornsby
2011–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Treasurer of New South Wales
2021–2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded byas Minister for Energy and Utilities Minister for Energy
2019–2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Environment
2019–2021 		Succeeded by
James Griffin
as Minister for Environment and Heritage
Preceded by Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation
2017–2019 		Succeeded by
Kevin Anderson
as Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation
Party political offices
Preceded by Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party
2022–2023 		Succeeded by
Natalie Ward
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
2022–2023 		Succeeded by
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