The Honourable
Phil Costa
Minister for Water
In office
8 September 2008 – 28 March 2011
PremierNathan Rees
Kristina Keneally
Preceded byNathan Rees
Succeeded byKevin Humphries
ConstituencyWollondilly
Minister for Corrective Services
In office
8 December 2009 – 28 March 2011
PremierKristina Keneally
Preceded byJohn Robertson
Succeeded byDavid Elliott
Minister for Regional Development
In office
8 September 2008 – 4 December 2009
PremierNathan Rees
Preceded byTony Kelly
Succeeded byIan Macdonald
Minister for Rural Affairs
In office
8 September 2008 – 8 December 2009
PremierNathan Rees
Preceded byTony Kelly
Succeeded byTony Kelly
21st Mayor of Wollondilly
In office
19 September 2005 – 16 April 2007
DeputyJudith Hannan
Preceded byMichael Banasik
Succeeded byJudith Hannan
Councillor of the Wollondilly Shire Council for A Ward
In office
September 1985 – 13 September 2008
Personal details
Born (1949-07-24) 24 July 1949 (age 74)
Guildford, New South Wales
Political partyLabor Party
ProfessionSchool principal

Phillip John Costa (born 24 July 1949) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 until 2011, representing the electorate of Wollondilly. He served as Minister for Water and Minister for Corrective Services.[1]

Early life

Costa was born on 24 July 1949 at Guildford, New South Wales.[1] Prior to his election he was a primary school teacher and principal of public schools in the Oaks and Buxton.[2] He was named the Citizen of the Year in Wollondilly Shire in 1984.[2]

Politics

Costa was first elected to Wollondilly Shire Council in 1985; he continued serving on the Council until 2008. He served as Deputy Mayor from 1999 to 2005 before being elected as Mayor from 2006 to 2007, immediately prior to the 2007 state election.[3]

Relationship with Wollondilly Council

Costa was elected Mayor of Wollondilly in 2007, standing as an independent candidate. His decision to join the Labor Party was opposed by other councillors who called on him to resign the mayoralty. Council subsequently passed a motion limiting the mayor's powers.[4] Numerous Wollondilly councillors also expressed opposition to Costa's 2008 support for a new commuter car park at Macarthur Railway Station,[5][6] and for a 2009 proposal for an AGL power station near Appin.[7][8]

Parliament (2007-2011)

Costa initially planned to stand as an independent candidate in the 2007 state election but was persuaded by Premier Morris Iemma to stand instead for the Labor Party.[9] He was elected to the Legislative Assembly on 24 March 2007 with 53% of the vote.[10] From June 2007 to September 2008, he was a member of the State Parliament's Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics and Chair of the Standing Committee on Broadband in Rural and Regional Communities.[1]

From 8 September 2008 to 4 December 2009, he was appointed Minister for Water, Minister for Rural Affairs and Minister for Regional Development in the Cabinet of incoming Premier Nathan Rees.[1][11]

Post-2011

In 2011 he lost Wollondilly to Liberal Jai Rowell as part of an anti-Labor landslide in that year. Later moving to the NSW North Coast, Costa was the unsuccessful Labor candidate for the Federal seat of Lyne in the 2019 election.[12]

Personal life

Costa is married with two adult children.[11] He is not related to Parliamentary colleague and former Treasurer Michael Costa.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Mr Phillip John Costa". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Cr Costa Wollondilly's New Mayor" (PDF). Bush Telegraph. Picton: Wollondilly Shire Council. October 2005. ISSN 1037-2849. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  3. ^ Fenech, Michelle; McGill, Jeff (5 August 2008). "T-shirts spell unity to a T". Wollondilly Advertiser. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  4. ^ "Wollondilly Shire Council Mayor and Labor Preselection". Parliament of New South Wales. 24 October 2006. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  5. ^ Campbell, David (29 July 2008). "Locked out". Macarthur Chronicle Campbelltown. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  6. ^ Ward, Matthew (13 October 2009). "Macarthur station car park plan angers nearby residents". Macarthur Chronicle Campbelltown. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  7. ^ "Councils attack power plant approval". 702 ABC Sydney. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  8. ^ "Phil Costa receives plenty of mail from Wollondilly Council". Macarthur Chronicle Wollondilly. News Limited. 24 March 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  9. ^ Clennell, Andrew (4 October 2006). "Another Costa joins state Labor". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  10. ^ "State Electoral District of WOLLONDILLY". New South Wales Electoral Commission. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  11. ^ a b "Rees ministry: who's who". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  12. ^ "Country Labor announces Phil Costa to fight Lyne". 18 September 2018.
  13. ^ Mahar, Jessica (8 September 2008). "Costa to be a Minister". Campbelltown Macarthur Advertiser. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2009.

External links

 

Civic offices Preceded by Deputy Mayor of Wollondilly 1999–2005 Succeeded byJudith Hannan Preceded byMichael Banasik Mayor of Wollondilly 2005–2007 New South Wales Legislative Assembly New district Member for Wollondilly 2007–2011 Succeeded byJai Rowell Political offices Preceded byNathan Rees Minister for Water 2008–2011 VacantTitle next held byKevin Humphries as Minister for Natural Resources, Lands and Water Preceded byTony Kelly Minister for Rural Affairs 2008–2009 Succeeded byTony Kelly Minister for Regional Development 2008–2009 Succeeded byIan Macdonald Preceded byJohn Robertson Minister for Corrective Services 2009–2011 VacantTitle next held byDavid Elliott
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