Matt Kean
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 and was also the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party from August 2022 till 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. Kean previously served as the Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation from January 2017 until March 2019 in the first Berejiklian ministry and as the Minister for Environment from April 2019 until December 2021 in the second. 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. 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. 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. Aside from his brief time as an accountant, Kean's only professional experience has been as a political staffer. 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. Kean won endorsement and Berman announced his decision to resign from the Liberal Party and run against Kean as an independent candidate at the 2011 State election. At the election, Kean was elected; however, the party suffered a swing of 3.5 points. Kean won the seat with 62.1 per cent of the two-party vote, 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. His call for the $10 million campaign received support from Professor Ian Hickey and the Minister for Mental Health Kevin Humphries. 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; and has successfully campaigned for the construction of a new mental health inpatient facility in Hornsby. Following the resignation of Mike Baird as Premier, Gladys Berejiklian was elected as Liberal leader and sworn in as Premier. The Berejiklian ministry was subsequently formed, with Kean sworn in as the Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation, with