Australian Government Address

Matthew grew up in Logan, just south of Brisbane. After achieving a First Class Honours Degree in Economics at the University of Queensland, Matthew worked at the Productivity Commission and rose to the level of Director.

Increasingly frustrated at the lack of coherent economic policy by the Rudd Government, Matthew went to work for Barnaby Joyce as his Chief-of-Staff ahead of the 2010 election. In that role, he helped develop policies to provide tax concessions for vital infrastructure and to encourage people to move to the regions, worked on a Senate inquiry that recommended stricter environmental controls on coal seam gas developments and developed a Coalition report on the potential to invest in new dams throughout Australia.

At the 2013 election, Matthew was elected to the Senate and took up his position as a Senator in the Nationals party room in July 2014. He is the first Senator to be based in Rockhampton for more than 20 years.

In February 2016, Matthew was appointed Minister for Northern Australia in the Coalition Government. Northern Australia is vital to the success of our nation as a whole, so the Government's agenda is about creating economic prosperity not just in our north but throughout Australia.

Following the 2016 election, Matthew was appointed Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, becoming the first Cabinet Minister to be based in Central Queensland since the 1970s.

Prior to his election to the Senate, Matthew worked for Stanbroke, the largest privately owned vertically integrated beef business in the world, providing him with an invaluable insight into agricultural affairs.

Matthew is a former Lions Youth of the Year and worked as a Leader with the Christian Brothers on Edmund Rice Camps, where he met his wife. They now have four boys and live in Yeppoon.