Rob Stokes

Robert "Rob" Gordon Stokes BA, LLM MP (born 17 January 1974), an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Pittwater for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2007. He is currently the NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Renewable Energy.

Early life and background

Stokes grew up in Mona Vale. He attended Shore School and obtained his Higher School Certificate in 1991.^[1] He obtained a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Laws, a Master of Laws and Doctorate of Philosophy at Macquarie University, a Diploma of Bible Studies (MTC), and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice.^[2]

Stokes was an associate with the law firm David Begg & Associates in Martin Place, Sydney. He also worked in a number of other legal firms including one at Mona Vale.^[3][4] He subsequently became a lecturer in the Division of Law at Macquarie University.^[5] He became a member of the Young Lawyers Association of New South Wales and was a member of both the Environmental Law and CLE Committees. He became a Presidential Nominee in 2004 and was elected to Executive Council at the 2004 Annual Assembly.^[6]

Political career

Stokes was a policy advisor to Liberal Opposition Leader John Brogden, the Member for Pittwater. When Brogden resigned in controversial circumstances,^[7] the 2005 by-election was won by independent candidate Alex McTaggart i what many described as a shock result.^[8][9] Less than two years later, Stokes regained the seat for the Liberals at the 2007 general election.^[10] He was elected with a swing of 26.9 per cent, and won the seat with 59.4 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis.^[11]

After the election, Stokes established his electorate office in Mona Vale. Stokes paid tribute to John Brogden in his inaugural speech to the NSW Parliament on 31 May 2007.^{[citation needed]}

At the 2011 general election, Stokes was re-elected with a swing of 21.7 per cent and won the seat with 84.5 per cent of the vote on a two party preferred basis. Stokes' main competitor was the Greens Jonathan King.^[12] Following the election, Stokes was appointed as NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Renewable Energy in the O'Farrell–Stoner Liberal/National coalition government.^{[citation needed]}

References