Introduction
John James "Jack" Snelling (born 8 November 1972) is an Australian politician in the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party who has been the member in the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Playford since the 1997 election.
Background
Prior to his election into politics, Snelling was an electoral officer, and a staffer in the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA). Snelling was a supporter of the work of Christopher Pearson.
Parliament
Entering parliament in 1997 at the age of 24, he was the youngest member of the House of Assembly at the time. He was Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly for the Mike Rann Labor government from 2006 to 2010. He also served as Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees. He is aligned with Labor's right faction.
Cabinet
Following the 2010 election, Snelling was appointed as the Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Science, Information Economy, Veterans Affairs and Road Safety.
Following the parliamentary resignation of Kevin Foley, Snelling was sworn in as the Treasurer of South Australia on 8 February 2011.
Following the 2014 election, Snelling was appointed as the Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts and Minister for Health Industries in the Weatherill Labor cabinet.
Current portfolios
In addition to Leader of Government Business in the House of Assembly, Snelling represents the following portfolios in the Cabinet of South Australia:
- Minister for Health
- Minister for the Arts
- Minister for Health Industries
- Owen, Michael (2010-03-23). "Left MP Tony Piccolo refuses to back move on Right's Kevin Foley". The Australian. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
- Brett Williamson (25 March 2010). "Rann's reign continues as Labor Government sworn in". ABC News Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
- Michael Owen (19 January 2010). "South Australia's Right faction to seal deputy role for Rau". The Australian. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
- Cabinet of South Australia: Premier.sa.gov.au
Personal life
Jack Snelling is married to Lucia, and has six children. He met his wife through the Young Labor movement.