- Ross Vasta
Ross Vasta MP (born
8 October 1966 ),Australia n politician, was elected to the House of Representatives as member for theDivision of Bonner ,Queensland for theLiberal Party of Australia at the 2004 federal election. He defeated the former Labor minister and candidateCon Sciacca .Vasta was educated at
Villanova College in the Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo, and attendedGriffith University , where he graduated with acommerce degree. He started and operated three Italian Restaurants by the name of Elio's [http://www.rossvasta.com.au/about_Ross.asp - "About Ross Vasta"] (retrieved15 August 2007 )] and worked as a company director before entering politics [http://www.rossvasta.com.au/about_Ross.asp - "About Ross Vasta"] (retrieved15 August 2007 ] . At the 2001 federal election, Vasta was the Liberal Partycandidate for theDivision of Griffith . He was defeated by the sitting member,Kevin Rudd , who in November 2007, becamePrime Minister of Australia .Vasta was a member of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Workplace Relations and Workforce Participation, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, and the Government Backbench Policy Committee – Health and Ageing.
In March 2007, Vasta was investigated by the
Australian Federal Police in relation to allegations of misuse of electoral allowances. On September 11 2007, the Australian Federal Police officially cleared both Vasta and fellow Liberal ColleagueGary Hardgrave of any wrong-doing. [http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/11/2030004.htm - "Two Qld Federal MPs cleared of rorts charges"] (retrieved11 September 2007 )] .In the Australian federal election, 2007, Vasta was defeated by Labor candidate
Kerry Rea on a swing of 4.75%, the lowest against a Liberal incumbent in Queensland.Following his election defeat, Vasta contended Liberal Party preselection for the
Brisbane City Council ward of Wynnum-Manly on Brisbane's west. He was defeated by the Labor incumbent, polling 36% of the primary vote.Notes
External links
* [http://www.qld.liberal.org.au/Members.aspx?memid=44 Liberal Party Profile]
* [http://www.rossvasta.com.au Personal Page]
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