Tim James (Australian politician)

Tim James
MP
James in 2023
Member of the
New South Wales Parliament
for Willoughby
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 February 2022
Preceded byGladys Berejiklian
Personal details
BornTimothy Charles James
(1975-09-02) 2 September 1975
Artarmon, New South Wales, Australia
PartyLiberal
Spouse
Nikki James
​
(m. 2014)​
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Technology Sydney

Timothy Charles James (born 2 September 1975) is an Australian politician who has been the member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (MP) for the electorate of Willoughby since 2022.

Prior to entering politics, James worked as a solicitor and as a legal adviser for numerous companies, and was the Executive General Manager at the Menzies Research Centre, the think tank of the Liberal Party.

Early life and career

Timothy Charles James was born on 2 September 1975 in Artarmon, Sydney, where he was raised.[1] He joined the Liberal Party in 1993, and from 1996, worked in the offices of Joe Hockey and John Howard while completing his business and law studies at the University of Technology Sydney. James graduated with a Bachelor of Business in 1998, and again, with a Bachelor of Laws in 2001.[2]

Admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 2002, James worked as a commercial lawyer for Allens Arthur Robinson and then as a legal adviser to Pfizer Australia,[2] he has also worked at KPMG and Johnson & Johnson. While undertaking secondments in New York and London, James completed a Master of Business Administration at the Australian Graduate School of Management.[2]

James worked as chief of staff to Anthony Roberts, New South Wales Minister for Fair Trading from 2011 to 2013, and then as Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy, and Special Minister of State. From 2014 to 2015, he was the CEO of Medicines Australia.[3]

In 2017, he contested Liberal Party preselection for the 2017 North Shore by-election, losing to moderate Felicity Wilson.[4] In 2018, James again unsuccessfully challenged Felicity Wilson for preselection for the seat of North Shore.[5] He challenged the result in the NSW Supreme Court.[6] James lost his legal challenge, with the court ruling against him.[7]

Following the resignation of Gladys Berejiklian, James was endorsed as the Liberal Party candidate for the Willoughby by-election in January 2022, defeating former local mayor Gail Giles-Gidney and Kellie Sloane for preselection. He won the election in February 2022, defeating independent Larissa Penn.[8]

He was previously the executive general manager of the Menzies Research Centre, a think tank associated with the Liberal Party.[9]

Political career

In October 2022, he delivered a speech in the New South Wales Parliament stating his opposition to the government's planned infrastructure program's of the Western Harbour Tunnel, the Warringah Freeway Upgrade and the Beaches Link Tunnel.[10] The Beaches Link program was not funded in the 2022 NSW budget.[11] In September 2023, the Beaches Link was cancelled by the Minns Labor government.[12]

James was re-elected to his seat of Willoughby at the 2023 election, again defeating Larissa Penn, with a swing from him of 13.4 points.[13]

Shadow ministry

Further information: Speakman shadow ministry and Sloane shadow ministry

After its defeat at 2023 election, the Liberal–National Coalition entered opposition under the leadership of Mark Speakman. Following this, he was appointed by Speakman as the Shadow Minister for Fair Trading, Work Health and Safety and Building.

In July 2024, James was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Small Business, leaving the portfolio after the January 2026 shadow cabinet reshuffle.

In January 2026, following the election of Kellie Sloane as the leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party, James was appointed to the Sloane shadow ministry to the portfolios of Shadow Minister for Local Government and Shadow Minister for Veterans, while also retaining his previous shadow portfolios.[14][15]

James is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party.[16][17][18][19]

References

  1. ^ https://www.facebook.com/TimJamesMP/posts/team-takeover-happy-50th-birthday-tim-seeing-tims-tireless-energy-commitment-and/793311536595231/
  2. ^ a b c "Mr (Tim) Timothy JAMES, BBus, LLB, GCPLP, GradDipAppFin, MBA, GAICD, JP, FIML MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  3. ^ Gartrell, Adam (19 December 2015). "Tim James quits Medicines Australia after brief but turbulent tenure". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 July 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  4. ^ Kennedy, Jean (13 November 2018). "North Shore MP Felicity Wilson wins Liberal Party preselection against Tim James". ABC News. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  5. ^ Visentin, Lisa (7 November 2018). "Berejiklian makes extraordinary bid to save 'tireless' North Shore MP". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 July 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  6. ^ "Liberal infighting over North Shore seat reaches Supreme Court". The Daily Telegraph. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Liberal Tim James loses legal challenge in North Shore". The Daily Telegraph. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  8. ^ McGuire, Amelia (19 February 2022). "Tim James extends Liberals' lead over crucial byelection seat". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 January 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ^ "Meet Tim". nswliberal.org.au. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  10. ^ Mr Tim James (20 October 2022). "Willoughby Electorate Road Infrastructure Projects". Legislative Assembly Hansard. Parliament of New South Wales: Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  11. ^ Smith, Alexandra; Rabe, Tom (31 May 2022). "NSW told to put high-profile road, transport projects on ice". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 November 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  12. ^ Daniels, Liz (8 September 2023). "'Irresponsible' Northern Beaches link cancelled by Minns government". 9News. Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  13. ^ Green, Antony (25 March 2023). "Willoughby (Key Seat) - NSW Electorate, Candidates, Results". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  14. ^ Lewis, Alexander (6 January 2026). "Father and daughter to sit on NSW opposition frontbench". ABC News. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  15. ^ Karp, Paul (6 January 2026). "Sloane promotes Millennial wave in NSW opposition reshuffle". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  16. ^ Rabe, Michael Koziol, Tom (13 January 2022). "Tim James wins Liberal preselection for Berejiklian's old Willoughby seat". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 January 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "Tim James wins preselection for Berejiklian's former seat in upset for moderates". ABC News. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  18. ^ Davies, Anne (22 January 2022). "The Right stuff: why shellshocked NSW Liberal moderates are fearing factional fights". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  19. ^ https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/eyes-front-as-tim-james-wins-liberal-party-preselection-for-safe-seat-of-willoughby/news-story/71b7bcdd4c6558224a94adecb24019c0
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