The Honourable
Luke Howarth
MP
Shadow Minister for Defence Industry and Shadow Minister for Defence Personnel
In office
5 June 2022 – current
Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services
In office
22 December 2020 – 23 May 2022
Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services
In office
29 May 2019 – 22 December 2020
Member of Parliament
for Petrie
Assumed office
7 September 2013
Preceded byYvette D'Ath
Personal details
Born (1972-06-06) 6 June 1972
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Political partyLNP
OccupationPolitician

Luke Ronald Howarth (born 6 June 1972) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2013 federal election, representing the Division of Petrie. He is a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland and sits with the Liberal Party in federal parliament.[1]

Early life and education

Howarth was born in Brisbane, Queensland in 1972, to Ron and Denise Howarth, and grew up in Bracken Ridge. Howarth has one sister.[2][3]

He married his wife Louise in 1999, and they have three sons.[2]

Career

After leaving school, Howarth's first job was working at Barry Bull's Toombul Music.[2] He worked at Sony Australia as a sales rep from 1993 to 2001.[4] In 2002, Howarth joined his family's pest control business, alongside his mother, father and wife.[2]

Political career

Luke Howarth and Prime Minister Tony Abbott with supporters of Redcliffe Dolphins rugby league club, August 2015
Luke Howarth aboard USS Ronald Reagan in 2017, alongside General Robert B. Brown, U.S. Consul General Valerie Fowler; Vice Admiral David Johnston and Admiral Scott H. Swift.

Howarth joined the Liberal Party when he was 19 years old.[2] In 2004, he ran in the Queensland state election in the electoral district of Sandgate against the incumbent Labor MP Gordon Nuttall, however was unsuccessful despite a 10% swing to him.[2][5]

At the 2013 federal election, Howarth won the seat of Petrie by just 871 votes, which represented a 3.04% swing to his party, defeating the sitting ALP member, Yvette D'Ath, who had held the seat since the 2007 federal election.[6][7][8]

Whilst campaigning for the 2016 federal election, Howarth claimed the Coalition Government had put nearly $1.5 billion into infrastructure in Petrie over previous three years.[9] He was returned to government benches with a swing in his favour 1.12%.[10] During this parliament he advocated for increased funding for the National School Chaplaincy Programme.[11] He also played a key role in the leadership spill which removed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull from his position, in 2018.[12]

During the 2019 election, Howarth enjoyed a significant swing in his favour, in line with other Liberal National Party candidates in Queensland, increasing his margin to 8.4%.[13][14]

Returning to Canberra, Howarth was made Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services. After speaking to ABC Radio National in his newly appointed role, Howarth came under fire for trying to "put a positive spin on [homelessness]."[15] Howarth claimed that levels of homelessness had been reduced, over a 15 year period, from 8,926 people in 2001 to 8,200 people in 2016 despite a 20% increase in the population. The claim was challenged by some, who compared the number of rough sleepers at 6,810 in 2011 (a rate of 3.2 people per 10,000 of population) and risen by 20% to 8,200 (a rate of 3.5 per 10,000) by 2016.[16][17] He was given the role of Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services later in that parliament, where he advocated for the Youth Jobs PaTH internship program.[18][19]

In the 2022 Australian federal election Howarth won despite a 3.96% swing against him.[20] However, as the coalition had lost power, Howarth joined the ranks of the opposition for the first time. He was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Defence Industry and the Shadow Minister for Defence Personnel by the new coalition leader, Peter Dutton.[21] In this role he has been critical of the government's lack of urgency in developing Australia's defence industry given that Australia faces a geostrategic environment that is 'precarious and dangerous.'[22]

Howarth is understood to be a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party.[23][24]

References

  1. ↑ "Luke Howarth Candidate for Petrie". Liberal Party of Australia. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Moore, Tony (25 October 2013). "Luke, not Clive, Queensland's newest conservative MP". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  3. ↑ "ParlInfo - GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S SPEECH : Address-in-Reply". parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  4. ↑ "Hon Luke Howarth MP". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  5. ↑ "Sandgate - 2004 - Election Archive - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  6. ↑ Commission, Australian Electoral. "House of Representatives Division First Preferences". results.aec.gov.au. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "Petrie - Australia Votes | Federal Election 2013 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  8. ↑ Elks, Sarah (4 July 2016). "Federal election 2016: Luke Howarth looks to hold Petrie". The Australian.
  9. ↑ "Petrie on a knife's edge this federal election". ABC News. 12 June 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Australian Electoral Commission (26 July 2016). "House of Representatives division information". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  11. ↑ Koziol, Michael (3 March 2018). "Liberal MPs lobbying to increase controversial school chaplains program by 25 per cent". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  12. ↑ Koziol, Michael (14 April 2019). "The battle for Petrie: Labor smells blood, but One Nation could be kingmakers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "Electorate: Petrie". Australia Votes. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  14. ↑ "Petrie (Key Seat) - Federal Election 2019 Electorate, Candidates, Results | Australia Votes - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  15. ↑ Henriques-Gomes, Luke (9 July 2019). "Community housing minister Luke Howarth wants a 'positive spin' on homelessness". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  16. ↑ "Minister for Housing Luke Howarth wants a 'positive spin' on homelessness". www.msn.com. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  17. ↑ Check, RMIT ABC Fact (15 July 2019). "Why Luke Howarth's claims on homelessness in Australia get mixed verdicts". ABC News. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  18. ↑ "Jobseekers urged to take up Youth Jobs PaTH Internship". Gold Coast Bulletin. 2 November 2021.
  19. ↑ "Media Statement 18 Dec Prime Minister". Prime Minister of Australia. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  20. ↑ Australian Electoral Commission (17 June 2022). "House of Representatives division information". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  21. ↑ corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, Canberra. "Shadow Ministry". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 21 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ↑ "Navy Chief urges strategic patience for AUKUS - Australian Defence Magazine". www.australiandefence.com.au. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  23. ↑ 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.
  24. ↑ Massola, James. "How Morrison's shattering defeat gave Dutton a seismic shift in factional power". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
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