Ross Vasta

Ross Xavier Vasta (born 8 October 1966) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2010, representing the Division of Bonner for the Liberal Party. He previously held the same seat from 2004 to 2007.

Ross Vasta
MP
Vasta in 2017
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Bonner
Assumed office
21 August 2010
Preceded byKerry Rea
In office
9 October 2004 – 24 November 2007
Preceded bySeat created
Succeeded byKerry Rea
Personal details
Born (1966-10-08) 8 October 1966
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Political partyLiberal (federal)
LNP (state)
SpouseFang Zhao
RelationsAngelo Vasta (father)
Children2
OccupationCompany director
Websitewww.rossvasta.com.au

Early life

Vasta is the son of Angelo Vasta, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland who was stood down after his friendship with the disgraced Queensland Police Commissioner Terence Lewis became known.[1][2] His parents were both born in Innisfail, Queensland, while his grandparents were all born in Sicily. 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.[3] Vasta was educated at Villanova College in the Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo, and attended Griffith University, where he graduated with a commerce degree.[4] He ran and operated three family-owned Italian cuisine restaurants named Elio's and worked as a company director before entering politics.[5] He is the brother of Salvatore Vasta, a judge of the Federal Circuit Court.

Politics

At the 2001 federal election, Vasta was the Liberal Party candidate for the Division of Griffith. He was defeated by the sitting member, Kevin Rudd, who later became Prime Minister of Australia.

In the 2004 federal election, Vasta stood for the Liberals in the Division of Bonner, and defeated former Labor minister Con Sciacca. However, in the 2007 election he was defeated by Labor candidate Kerry Rea 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 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.[1] 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.[6] In 2015 he was a candidate to succeed Bronwyn Bishop as Speaker of the House of Representatives.[7]

Vasta is a member of the centre-right faction of the Liberal Party.[8]

Notes
  1. Green, Antony. "Bonner (Key Seat)". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  2. Pelly, Michael (28 July 2019). "Like father like son: Judge Vasta in the firing line". Australian Financial Review.
  3. Citizenship Register – 45th Parliament
  4. Heslehurst, Brayden (6 October 2020). "Sports stars, chefs, politicians feature as Villanova College announce top alumni". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  5. About Ross Vasta Archived 17 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine Vasta Campaign Website. (retrieved 15 August 2007)
  6. "Mr Ross Vasta MP". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  7. "Speaker role: Ross Vasta declares interest in succeeding Bronwyn Bishop". The Australian. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  8. Massola, James (20 March 2021). "Who's who in the Liberals' left, right and centre factions?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.