Courtney Houssos

The Honourable
Courtney Houssos
MLC
Minister for Finance
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 April 2023
PremierChris Minns
Preceded byDominic Perrottet
Minister for Natural Resources
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 April 2023
PremierChris Minns
Preceded byKevin Anderson (as Minister for Lands and Water)
Minister for Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 September 2023
PremierChris Minns
Preceded bynew portfolio
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 March 2015
Preceded byAmanda Fazio
Personal details
Born
Courtney Roche

1981 or 1982 (age 41–42)[1]
Forster, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyLabor Party
SpouseGeorge Houssos
ChildrenOne daughter and one son
ResidenceEarlwood[2]
EducationForster High School
Alma materUniversity of New South Wales

Courtney Houssos is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since the 2015 state election.[3] She is currently Minister for Finance, Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement and Natural Resources in the Minns government.

Houssos was born Courtney Roche in Forster, New South Wales. She was educated at Forster High School. She later studied for a Bachelor of Arts in international relations at the University of New South Wales, where she met her future husband, George Houssos. At university, she entered student politics as a member of the student representative council protesting against university fee reform, and continued in politics as the first female Labor Party organiser for country New South Wales.[4][1]

In 2014, the New South Wales Labor Party removed Amanda Fazio from the party's upper house ticket at the 2015 state election, and Houssos was preselected to replace her.[5] She was elected as the youngest Labor member of the Legislative Council.[4] In 2021, she was appointed as Shadow Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation in the NSW Minns Shadow Cabinet.[6]

In June 2023, The Daily Telegraph raised concerns over claims of a conflict of interest for Minister Houssos involving her husband, George Houssos, who is employed as a lobbyist for the insurance industry. Houssos and Premier Chris Minns denied that there was a conflict of interest.[7] She was appointed as Minister for Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement in September 2023.

  1. ^ a b Courtney Houssos (12 May 2015). "Inaugural speech" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). NSW: Legislative Council. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Candidates - Legislative Council Group D: LABOR". Elections NSW. New South Wales Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  3. ^ "The Hon. Courtney Houssos, MLC". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Maiden speech reflects on growing up in Forster". Great Lakes Advocate. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Dumped Amanda Fazio lashes Sussex Street for 'appalling behaviour'". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  6. ^ "NSW Shadow Ministry". Parliament of NSW. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  7. ^ https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=DTWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fnews%2Fnsw%2Fnsw-minister-for-insurance-regulator-married-to-insurance-industry-peak-body%2Fnews-story%2Fd64c0ebb9614b6fd76cc7cee5c62b8be&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=HIGH-Segment-1-SCORE [bare URL]