Representative Matt Thistlethwaite Contact information

Matthew James Thistlethwaite, born on September 6, 1972, is an Australian politician who has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2013, representing the Kingsford Smith electorate. He was formerly a member of the Australian Senate from 2011 to 2013. On June 1, 2022, Thistlethwaite was appointed Assistant Minister for Defence, Veterans’ Affairs, and the Republic in the ministry of Anthony Albanese.

Thistlethwaite has had a long and illustrious career in the Australian Labor Party (ALP), serving in various capacities before entering Parliament. He was the general secretary of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party before joining Parliament. During his time as the NSW ALP secretary, Thistlethwaite backed Frank Sartor’s unsuccessful candidacy to replace premier Nathan Rees. Rees was ultimately replaced by Kristina Keneally.

Thistlethwaite began his professional career as an industrial officer at the Australian Workers Union in 1995. In 2001 he was elected as a state vice-president of the union. He was also the president of NSW Young Labor from 1997 to 1998. Thistlethwaite was elected deputy assistant secretary of Unions NSW in 2004. In this role, he represented workers in public sector enterprise agreement negotiations and in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.

Thistlethwaite was a co-ordinator of the Your Rights at Work campaign in New South Wales against the Howard Government’s WorkChoices laws. He was also a former director of the State Transit Authority of NSW and the NSW Manufacturing Council. He was a member of the Racing Industry Participants Advisory Council and an executive member of the NSW Jockeys Association. Before entering Parliament, Thistlethwaite worked as a senior consultant with law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques.

Thistlethwaite has been an active member of the ALP, seeking to become the endorsed Labor candidate for the House of Representatives seat of Kingsford Smith in Sydney’s eastern suburbs for the 2004 election. However, Peter Garrett was chosen by the then Labor leader Mark Latham. He was endorsed for a seat in the Senate, representing New South Wales, at the 2010 election. He was successful, and his term began on July 1, 2011. On July 18, 2011, he gave his first speech in the Senate.

Thistlethwaite was elected as the member for Kingsford-Smith at the election held on September 7, 2013. He was one of three people to have moved from the Senate to the House of Representatives at this election. In 2017 the Australian Labor Party announced a national vote on the republic during the first term of a future Labor government and appointed Matt Thistlethwaite as the first ‘Shadow Assistant Minister for an Australian Head of State’.

Thistlethwaite is a senior figure in the Labor Right faction and stands as the current convenor of the NSW branch. In 2020, he was elected to replace Joel Fitzgibbon as the convenor within the ALP. The Australian reported that “by becoming the NSW factional boss, Thistlethwaite de facto takes the title of national Right convener”.

Thistlethwaite has a Bachelor of Economics from the University of New South Wales and also holds diplomas in law and legal practice from the University of Technology, Sydney. He was the first member of his family to attend university. He grew up in the suburb of Maroubra and served as the president of the Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club for four years.