THe HON. STuart ayres
Member for Penrith Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney
Stuart Ayres MP was elected to the NSW Legislative Assembly on June 19, 2010 representing the electorate of Penrith.
Stuart comes from a Defence Force family background which saw him moving around the country until settling in Penrith. He attended school at St Dominic’s College in Kingswood and McCarthy Catholic College in Emu Plains.
Stuart graduated in 1999 with a degree in Sports Business from the Australian College of Physical Education.
Prior to being elected to the NSW Parliament, Stuart has worked for Austereo, 2DayFM and Triple M radio stations, and the Australian College of Physical Education initially as Student Recruitment Manager and then later as Director of Marketing and Business Development.
Stuart has been heavily involved in the administration of local sport in Western Sydney where he has been a Board Member of the Penrith Australian Football Club for 10 years and was also the founding secretary of the Penrith Valley Sports Foundation.
In addition to his sports administration, Stuart has played over 200 games in the Sydney AFL competition, is a passionate supporter of the mighty Penrith Panthers and enjoys reading about Australian history.
Stuart was elected at a by-election receiving 66.3% of the two-party-preferred vote. Stuart took the previously safe Labor seat on a 25.7 point swing – at the time, the largest swing against a sitting government in New South Wales history.
Since his election Stuart has held the positions of Deputy Government Whip, Parliamentary Secretary for Transport & Roads, Parliamentary Secretary for Western Sydney and was elevated to the NSW Ministry in December 2013 as Minister for Fair Trading and Minister Assisting the Premier on Western Sydney. In April 2014 Stuart was again elevated to Minister for Sport and Recreation before adding Minister for Police and Emergency Services to his portfolio the following month.
In January 2017 Stuart was appointed Minister for Western Sydney, Minister for WestConnex, and Minister for Sport.