Quick Facts
Biography
Anastasios "Tom" Koutsantonis (born 23 August 1971) is an Australian politician in the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party, representing the seats of West Torrens (2002−current) and Peake (1997−2002) as a Labor member in the South Australian House of Assembly. He currently serves as Treasurer of South Australia in the Weatherill cabinet.
Background
A Greek-Australian, Koutsantonis was born in Adelaide and attended Netley Primary School and Adelaide High School. As a student at the University of Adelaide he became involved in Australian Young Labor, drove taxis and went on to run a small business before becoming an industrial officer for the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA).
Parliament
Koutsantonis was elected to the seat of Peake (now West Torrens) at the 1997 election on a margin of 4.5 points, then by 8.6 points at the 2002 election, and by 18.3 points at the 2006 election, after which Koutsantonis was elevated to the chairmanship of the economic and advisory committee.
Cabinet
In 2009, he was elevated to cabinet. Throughout his time as a minister he has been Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy and Minister for Small Business. Forty-seven days after being appointed Minister for Road Safety, Koutsantonis was forced to apologise for his "unacceptable" driving record which listed 58 traffic offences and over $10,000 in fines. He subsequently resigned the portfolio.
Current portfolios
In addition to Treasurer, Koutsantonis represents the following portfolios in the Cabinet of South Australia:
- Minister for Finance
- Minister for State Development
- Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy