Speaker – Hon Tim Watts MP
Hon Tim Watts MP
Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia
Biography
Tim is the Federal Member for Gellibrand in Melbourne’s west, one of the most diverse and dynamic areas of Australia.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Bond University, Master of Public Policy from Monash University and Master of Science (Politics and Communications) from the London School of Economics.
Before entering Parliament, Tim worked in the technology sector for the better part of a decade, as a Senior Manager at Telstra and a Solicitor at Mallesons Stephen Jaques (now King & Wood Mallesons) working on issues like the roll out of the National Broadband Network, radio communications spectrum auctions and network pricing regulation. He also worked as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Minister for Communications and a Senior Adviser to the Victorian Premier.
Since being elected in 2013, Tim has served in a range of roles including most recently as the Shadow Assistant Minister for Cyber Security and Communications.
Throughout his time in Parliament, Tim has been an active participant in a range of 1.5 track dialogues including the Conference of Australian and Indonesian Youth (Causindy), the Australia-China Youth Dialogue, the Australia-India Youth Dialogue, the Australian-American Young Leaders Dialogue, the Australian-American West Coast Dialogue, the Australian Regional Leadership Initiative, the Asialink Leaders program and the Asia Society Asia 21 Young Leaders Initiative.
Tim is also the author of two books, “The Golden Country: Australia’s Changing Identity” and “Two Futures: Australia at a Critical Moment” (along with co-author and fellow MP, Clare O’Neil).
While Tim’s ancestors arrived in Australia in the 1840s, his wife arrived in Australia from Hong Kong in the 1980s. In this way, Tim’s children are at once both second and sixth generation Australians. As a result, Tim is passionate about telling the story of how Australia’s national identity has changed over time and grown to become one of the most diverse and successful multicultural nations in the world.
Tim lives in Footscray with his wife and two children.