Tony Simpson

Who is Tony Simpson?

Anthony James Simpson is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since February 2005, representing the electorate of Serpentine-Jarrahdale from 2005 to 2008 and the electorate of Darling Range since the 2008 election.

He was born in Frankston, Victoria, and arrived in Western Australia in 1970. He started his own bakery in the small town of Byford on the outskirts of the Perth metropolitan area, where he now lives with his wife and family. Simpson also served as a member of the Serpentine-Jarrahdale shire council from 2001 to 2005, and was the inaugural chairman of the Byford and Districts Community Bank, which opened early in 2005.

Simpson was chosen as the Liberal Party candidate to contest the newly created key marginal seat of Serpentine-Jarrahdale at the 2005 state election. After a heavily contested election, he managed to win the seat over Australian Labor Party candidate and union official Daron Smith.

As a new MP, in June 2005, Simpson became the first politician in Australia to provide services to his constituencies via SMS and live internet chat using MSN Messenger.

He was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Child Protection; Community Services; Seniors and Volunteering in the Barnett Ministry until 8 July 2011.