Patrick Conlon (politician)

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Patrick Conlon (born 1959) is an Australian politician. Since 1997 he has represented Elder in the South Australian House of Assembly as a member of the Australian Labor Party. He is Minister for Transport, Minister for Infrastructure, and Minister for Energy, as well as the Leader of Government Business in the Lower House. Until early 2005, Conlon was also Emergency Services Minister and took part in the Government's response to the Eyre Peninsula bushfire (also known as Black Tuesday) in January 2005.

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the seven-year-old Conlon was brought to South Australia by his family in 1966. They lived initially in Elizabeth before settling in Port Adelaide. Conlon was educated at LeFevre Boys Technical High School.

His early jobs included being a roof tiler, storeperson, timberhand, deckhand, and signalperson. In 1983 he became a union organiser and five years later he took part-time Arts and Law classes at the University of Adelaide, which he funded through part-time work as an office cleaner, industrial officer, project officer and workers compensation employee advocate. He graduated with an Arts degree and with first class honours in Law. He won the Howard Zelling prize for Constitutional Law, the Stow Prize, and the David Murray Scholarship for his honours dissertation on employment law.

Conlon and his wife Tania have a daughter Sadie born in December 2004. His hobbies include supporting Port Adelaide Magpies, fishing, fine wine, and cooking.

Conlon was first elected as the Member for the south-western Adelaide seat of Elder at the 1997 election. The latest 2006 election saw Conlon increase his margin by 11.2% to 14.9%.