Vince Catania

Vincent Alexander Catania (born 23 February 1977) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia since 2008. He was previously a member of the Legislative Council from 2005 to 2008. Catania represented the Labor Party until July 2009, when he switched to the National Party.

Vince Catania
Catania sitting in front of the Denham foreshore
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 March 2013
Preceded by	None (new seat)
Constituency	North West Central
In office 23 September 2008 – 9 March 2013
Preceded by	None (new seat)
Succeeded by	None (abolished)
Constituency	North West
Member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia
In office 22 May 2005 – 12 August 2008 Serving with Archer, Baston, Ford, Moore
Constituency	Mining and Pastoral Region
Personal details
Born	Vincent Alexander Catania 23 February 1977 Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Political party	Labor (to 2009) National (from 2009)

Early life

Catania was born in Perth to Rita (née Tonus) and Nicholas Mark Catania. His Italian-born father was also a state member of parliament, representing the Labor Party. Catania attended Trinity College. Prior to entering parliament, he served as state president of the Young Labor movement, and also held various positions in branch offices.[1]

Politics

Catania was elected to parliament at the 2005 state election, running in third position on the Labor ticket in the Mining and Pastoral Region. He was 28 years old when his term began in May 2005, making him the youngest person ever to sit in the Legislative Council.[2] At the 2008 state election, Catania switched to the Legislative Assembly, winning the seat of North West. This also made him the youngest person to serve in both houses of the Parliament of Western Australia.[1] However, in July 2009, Catania announced that he would be leaving the Labor Party and joining the National Party. He cited dissatisfaction with Eric Ripper, the Labor leader, and concerns that Labor had become too "city-centric".[3]

In a redistribution prior to 2013 state election, the North West electorate was abolished and replaced with the new seat of North West Central. The new electorate remained a marginal seat, with a notional non-Labor majority of 3.3 points. At the election, Catania and the Nationals received a 21.0-point swing on first preferences, with Labor being relegated to third place behind the Liberals. The final two-candidate-preferred count had the Nationals winning 59.7 percent of the vote.[4] In December 2013, a few months after the election, Catania was made parliamentary secretary to Mia Davies, the new Minister for Water and Minister for Forestry. He has also served two terms as the National Party whip.[5]

See also

• Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
• Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council

References

1. Vincent Alexander Catania, Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
2. David Black (2014), The Western Australian Parliamentary Handbook (Twenty-Third Edition) Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Perth [W.A.]: Parliament of Western Australia, p. 239.
3. Chalpat Sonti, "Vince Catania quits Labor", WAtoday, 21 July 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
4. North West Central (*)(Key Seat), WA Votes 2013, ABC News. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
5. Mr Vincent Alexander Catania MLA, Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 5 December 2016.