1. Stuart Ayres was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 19 June 2010 to 25 March 2023, representing the electorate of Penrith as a member of the Liberal Party.
11 Facts About Stuart Ayres
1. 2.
Stuart Ayres served as the Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party in the Perrottet ministry from October 2021 to August 2022 and was the New South Wales Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade, the Minister for Tourism and Sport, and the Minister for Western Sydney from December 2021 to August 2022, until his resignation due to an investigation into his role in the John Barilaro trade commissioner scandal.
3.
Stuart Ayres was born to a father serving in the Australian Defence Force which resulted in his moving to various locations across Australia until settling in Penrith in 1993.
4.
Stuart Ayres is the partner of former Liberal Senator Marise Payne.
5.
Stuart Ayres graduated in 1999 with a degree in sports business from the Australian College of Physical Education and worked as a development officer for the Australian Football League before joining the staff of the member for Lindsay, Jackie Kelly, in her capacity as the then Minister for Sport and Tourism and the Minister assisting the Prime Minister for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
6.
Stuart Ayres was an account executive for Austereo, and returned to the Australian College of Physical Education in 2008, initially as student recruitment manager and then later as director of marketing and business development.
7.
Stuart Ayres has been heavily involved in the administration of local sport in Western Sydney where he has been a board member of the Penrith Australian Football Club for 10 years and was the founding secretary of the Penrith Valley Sports Foundation.
8.
In December 2013, Stuart Ayres was appointed as the Minister for Fair Trading and as the Minister Assisting the Premier on Western Sydney.
9.
Stuart Ayres resigned from both Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and his Ministerial positions on 3 August 2022 due to his involvement in the appointment of former Deputy Premier John Barilaro to a lucrative US trade role.
10.
Stuart Ayres stood down as a cabinet member while he was being investigated over a potential breach of the ministerial code of conduct for an intervention he took with Investment NSW's chief executive Amy Brown to add an additional candidate to the shortlist for the position.
11.
Stuart Ayres lost his seat in Parliament in the 2023 New South Wales state election.