Looking ahead, securing 250 years of gas supply for New South Wales

The Hon. Chris Hartcher was born and raised in NSW and educated at Sydney University. He practiced as a solicitor in Sydney and later on the NSW Central Coast.

Chris was first elected in 1988 as the Member for Gosford to the NSW Parliament, where he held many positions—serving as government whip from 1991 to 1992 and then serving as Minister for the Environment from June 1992–95 in the Fahey Government.

While Minister for the Environment, Chris was responsible for developing the national initiative on lead-free petrol and for the creation of a number of new National Parks and Wilderness Areas, including Mount Popran National Park on the Central Coast.

After the Fahey Government left office in 1995, Chris held a number of positions on the front bench of the Opposition—he was Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 2002–03 and served as Shadow Minister on SOCOG as the Shadow Minister for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

After the electoral redistribution in 2006, Chris stood for the new seat of Terrigal at the March 2007 NSW State Election. He was re-elected as the Member for Terrigal in March 2011.

After the 2011 election, Chris was appointed Minister for Resources and Energy, Special Minister for State and Minister for the Central Coast.