Luke Howarth

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]

The Honourable
Luke Howarth
MP
Howarth visiting Woody Point Pharmacy in the electorate of Petrie
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

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

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 with a 3.04% swing[6] to him, defeating the sitting ALP member, Yvette D'Ath, who had held the seat since the 2007 federal election.[7] He was reelected at the 2016 federal election, with an increased 1.6% margin. In line with other Liberal National Party candidates in Queensland, there was a significant swing in the 2019 election, increasing the margin to 8.4%.[8][9] In May 2022, Howarth won despite a 3.96% swing against him[10] margin and became the first opposition MP to hold the seat in 35 years.

In August 2018, Howarth played a key role in the leadership spill which removed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull from his position.[11]

In July 2019, Howarth spoke to ABC Radio National in his newly appointed role as the Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services. Howarth announced he wanted to "put a positive spin on [homelessness][12]". He claimed that homelessness had reduced in the area of rough sleeping over the past 15 years from 8,926 people in 2001 to 8,200 people in 2016 despite a 20% increase in the population. However, this claim has mixed verdicts, as the figures disguise a sharp rebound in the number of rough sleepers over the most recent five-year period, where the 2011 census put the number of rough sleepers at 6,810 (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.[13][14]

Howarth served as the Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services from December 2020[15] until May 2022. Following the Liberal government's defeat in the 2022 election, Howarth was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Defence Industry and the Shadow Minister for Defence Personnel.[16]

Howarth is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party.[17]

References
  1. "Luke Howarth Candidate for Petrie". Liberal Party of Australia. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  2. 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. "Electorate: Petrie". Australia Votes. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  9. "Petrie (Key Seat) - Federal Election 2019 Electorate, Candidates, Results | Australia Votes - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  10. scheme=AGLSTERMS. AglsAgent; corporateName=Australian Electoral Commission; address=50 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra. "House of Representatives division information". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 21 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. "Minister for Housing Luke Howarth wants a 'positive spin' on homelessness". www.msn.com. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  14. 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.
  15. "Media Statement 18 Dec Prime Minister". Prime Minister of Australia. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  16. 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)
  17. 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.
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