The Hon. Robyn Mary PARKER (1958 - )

Parliamentary Service

Position	Start	End	Period	Notes
Deputy Chair, State and Regional Development Committee	19 Nov 2014	06 Mar 2015	3 months 16 days
Member, State and Regional Development Committee	14 May 2014	19 Nov 2014	6 months 6 days	Elected Deputy Chair of the Committee (see separate entry).
Minister for Heritage	03 Apr 2011	17 Apr 2014	3 years 15 days
Minister for the Environment	03 Apr 2011	17 Apr 2014	3 years 15 days
Member for Maitland	26 Mar 2011	06 Mar 2015	3 years 11 months 9 days
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly	26 Mar 2011	06 Mar 2015	3 years 11 months 9 days
Member, Legislation Review Committee	21 Jun 2007	10 Mar 2010	2 years 8 months 18 days
Member, Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 2	29 May 2007	04 Mar 2011	3 years 9 months 4 days	Elected Chair 28/06/2007
Temporary Chair of Committees	10 May 2007	22 Dec 2010	3 years 7 months 13 days
Member, Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 2	19 Sep 2006	02 Mar 2007	5 months 12 days	Elected Chair 25/09/2006.
Member, Legislation Review Committee	22 Sep 2005	02 Mar 2007	1 year 5 months 9 days
Member, Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 1	29 Jun 2004	02 Mar 2007	2 years 8 months 2 days	Elected Deputy Chair 14/09/2005.
Member, Legislative Council General Purpose Standing Committee No. 2	10 Jul 2003	29 Jun 2004	11 months 20 days
Member, Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues	21 May 2003	02 Mar 2007	3 years 9 months 10 days	Deputy Chair
Member of the NSW Legislative Council	22 Mar 2003	04 Mar 2011	7 years 11 months 11 days

Political Party Activity

1997 to 2000 Vice-President, Liberal Party of New South Wales. 2000 to 2003 President, NSW Womens Council of the Liberal Party.

Qualifications, occupations and interests

Prior to entering Parliament, Robyn worked as a teacher and community services and child care advocate. One of her proudest achievements was establishing the Community Activities Teab (CAT) Mobile in 1983, which provided support to isolated families in the Maitland community. She has been involved in setting up and pioneering groundbreaking childcare programmes in both Victoria and NSW and initiated a number of rural outreach programmes in these areas - many of which are still in operation.

As an active member of the Liberal Party, Robyn served as State Vice President (1997-2000) and was President of the NSW Women's Council (2000-2003). As head of the Liberal Women's Forum, she passionately supported the training and mentoring of women in all levels of Government and initiated the Pathways to Political Leadership Programme.

Robyn was elected to the Legislative Council in 2003. During her time in Parliament Robyn chaired a number of high-profile inquiries, including the Operation and Management of the NSW Ambulance Service, the Bullying of Children and Young People, and the Building the Education Revolution. She also served as the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Aboriginal Affairs and was Chair of the NSW Opposition's Hunter Taskforce.

Robyn decided to seek election to the Legislative Assembly to fulfil a desire to become involved in politics at a more local level and was elected as the Member for Maitland in March 2011. Robyn was appointed Minister for Environment and Minister for Heritage in April 2011.