Anthony Bernard Kelly (born 25 August 1948), an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician, was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council

New South Wales Legislative Council

The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...

 representing the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 from 1997 until 2011. Kelly is currently subject to an investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Early life and background

Kelly was educated at St Mary's Catholic School in Wellington

Wellington, New South Wales

Wellington is a town in inland New South Wales, Australia located at the junction of the Macquarie and Bell Rivers. The town is the administrative centre of the Wellington Shire Local Government Area. The town is 362 kilometres from Sydney on the Great Western Highway and Mitchell Highway...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and at St Stanislaus' College in Bathurst

Bathurst, New South Wales

-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...

, New South Wales. He undertook further studies in local government administration at Mitchell College of Advanced Education

College of Advanced Education

The College of Advanced Education was a class of Australian tertiary education institution that existed from 1967 until the early 1990s. They ranked below universities, but above Colleges of Technical and Further Education which offer trade qualification...

, now Charles Sturt University

Charles Sturt University

Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus university located in New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. It has campuses at Bathurst, Canberra, Albury-Wodonga, Dubbo, Goulburn, Orange, Wagga Wagga and Burlington, Ontario...

.

Kelly worked for 20 years with the Wellington Shire Council.

Political career

He entered the Legislative Council in September 1987 and served until the 1988 election

New South Wales state election, 1988

Elections to the 49th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday 19 March 1988. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election...

, which his party lost. Kelly re-entered the Council in September 1997 and was re-elected at the 2003

New South Wales state election, 2003

Elections to the 53rd Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday 22 March 2003. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election...

 and 2011

New South Wales state election, 2011

Elections to the 55th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The 16-year incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Premier Kristina Keneally was defeated in a landslide by the Liberal-National coalition opposition led by Barry O'Farrell.New South Wales has...

 elections for eight year terms; resigning from the Council with immediate effect on 6 June 2011.

During his time in parliament, Mr Kelly has served as:

• Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources (Lands), 2003 to 2004
• Minister for Local Government
  New South Wales Department of Local Government
  The New South Wales Division of Local Government, an agency of the Department of Premier and Cabinet in the Government of New South Wales, is responsible for administering legislation in relation to local government areas in New South Wales....
  
  , 2003 to 2005
• Minister for Emergency Services, 2003 to 2009
• Minister for Rural Affairs, 2003 to 2008
• Minister for Lands
  Land and Property Management Authority
  The News South Wales Land and Property Information, a division of the Department of Finance and Services in the Government of New South Wales, is responsible for land titles, property information, valuation, surveying, and mappping and spatial information in New South Wales.The division is led by...
  
  , 2004 to 2011
• Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources, 2005
• Minister for Juvenile Justice
  New South Wales Department of Juvenile Justice
  Juvenile Justice NSW is a division within the NSW Department of Attorney General & Justice. Juvenile Justice NSW is responsible for the supervision of young people on community-based orders and custodial orders issued by the courts. The agency is also responsible for the administration of youth...
  
  , 2005 to 2008
• Minister for Justice, 2005 to 2008
• Minister for Police, 2008 to 2009
• Minister for Planning
  New South Wales Department of Planning
  The New South Wales Department of Planning and Infrastructure, a department of the New South Wales Government, is responsibile for the long-term planning for the regions of New South Wales and driving well-located housing and employment land...
  
   and Minister for Infrastructure, 2009 to 2011

Political controversy

On 20 June 2011, the Independent Commission Against Corruption announced that it would hold a public inquiry into matters arising from the purchase of property at Currawong

Currawong Beach, New South Wales

Currawong Beach is a locality in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Currawong Beach is located 42 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Pittwater Council....

, Pittwater

Pittwater

Pittwater is a body of water extending south from Broken Bay, New South Wales, Australia parallel to the coast.The waterway was surveyed by crew members of HMS Sirius in 1788, and named Pitt Water after British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger...

 by the NSW Government. Among other matters, the investigation is presently examining allegations that Kelly, as the then Minister for Lands, sought to authorise the purchase although he knew he was not authorised to do so. The inquiry is also examining an allegation that Kelly backdated a letter (before caretaker

Caretaker government

Caretaker government is a type of government that rules temporarily. A caretaker government is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it is often referred to as a provisional government...

conventions commenced) knowing that it would be used by a public servant to falsely represent that written authority was held to authorise the purchase. The allegations generated significant media reports, commencing in March 2011, and the inquiry before the Commission is still ongoing.