Ross Cameron

Ross Cameron
Born	Ross Alexander Cameron (1965-05-14) May 14, 1965 Sydney, Australia
Occupation(s)	Politician, media contributor
Years active	1996–2004 (politics), 2013–2018 (media)
Known for	Member of Australian House of Representatives for Parramatta, Sky News contributor

Ross Alexander Cameron (born 14 May 1965) is an Australian political figure who served as the representative for the division of Parramatta in the Australian House of Representatives under the Liberal Party banner from 1996 until 2004.

Between 2013 and 2018, he was a contributor to Sky News Live, notably co-hosting the program Outsiders, until his contract was terminated following on-air racist remarks.

Since 2023, Cameron has held the position of president of the New South Wales Libertarian Party.

Early life

Cameron, son of Jim Cameron, who served in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, was born and grew up in Sydney. He completed his education at Knox Grammar School and Sydney University, where he qualified as a lawyer prior to embarking on his political career. Early professional experiences included working as a policy adviser and research officer for NSW Transport Minister Bruce Baird, as well as undertaking an internship with U.S. Republican Senator Mark Hatfield.

Member of Parliament

In the 1996 Federal election, Cameron secured the Division of Parramatta seat by defeating Labor incumbent Paul Elliott. Renowned for his oratory skills, he delivered his inaugural speech without referring to notes. Cameron maintained control of this traditionally Labor-held electorate for three consecutive terms.

During his parliamentary service, he acted as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Family and Community Services from 2001 to 2003, followed by Parliamentary Secretary to Treasurer (Peter Costello) between 2003 and 2004.

He was known for organizing frequent prayer gatherings for parliamentarians within his office at Parliament House and was associated with the American evangelical organization, The Fellowship. Former Labor leader Mark Latham described Cameron as "brilliant but creepy" and implied that his youth leadership forum functioned as a mechanism to mobilize Christian political support.

Cameron also spearheaded a prolonged eight-year opposition campaign against the contemporary art collection housed in Parliament House.

Extramarital affair

In August 2004, Cameron publicly acknowledged in an interview with Good Weekend that he had engaged in an extramarital relationship with an "exotic solicitor" while his wife was expecting twins. He reportedly made frequent visits to the mistress’s home, which she shared with a journalist. Following this disclosure, media outlets revealed further undisclosed affairs.

This scandal was widely considered a significant factor contributing to Cameron’s defeat at the 2004 Federal election, where he was among only three incumbent coalition members who lost their seats.

In 2011, Cameron signaled possible intentions to contest a future federal election and had discussions regarding this with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, though no formal candidacy ensued.

Post-parliament

After exiting parliament, Cameron joined the Investment Banking Group at Macquarie Bank, concentrating on public-private partnership initiatives. He left Macquarie in 2008.

He co-founded MyATM and was an inaugural board member alongside Don Fleming, Kym Weir, Tim Scala, and Grant Chapman. In 2010, Cameron purchased 15,787,600 shares (representing 7.52%) for $3.95 million, becoming a major shareholder. Despite initial regulatory constraints imposed by ASIC concerning viability issues and profit assurances, MyATM launched its public float in January 2011. However, within seven months its share price declined sharply from 21 cents to under one cent, inflicting substantial losses on investors. Cameron resigned from MyATM’s board four months after the float but retained positions on the boards of Aussie ATM and My ATM New Zealand. By December 2011, MyATM appointed a voluntary administrator to oversee its assets and subsidiaries.

From 2013 through 2018, Cameron regularly contributed to programming on Sky News Australia. In July 2014, he co-hosted The Contrarians alongside Kristina Keneally, later transitioning to their joint show Keneally and Cameron, which ended in March 2015. Beginning December 2016, he served as co-host of Outsiders.

In October 2016, during a Sky News discussion regarding Donald Trump’s Access Hollywood tape controversy, Cameron openly expressed strong support for Trump.

In February 2017, at a fundraiser for the far-right group Q Society of Australia, Cameron made contentious statements about the NSW Liberal Party that drew widespread criticism from figures including David Speers and Kristina Keneally. Subsequently, the NSW Liberal Party state executive imposed a four-and-a-half-year suspension on him following an ABC interview in which he described party operations as "corrupt" and referred to it as "basically a gay club." His appeal against this suspension was unsuccessful.

On 2 November 2018, Sky News terminated Cameron’s contract after he made racist remarks during an episode of Outsiders.

In 2021, Cameron joined the Liberal Democratic Party (Australia), taking a leading role in efforts toward a Senate campaign.

External links

• 2004 Good Weekend profile on Cameron