Steve Thomas

Steve Thomas has been a Liberal Party Member of the Legislative Council for South West Region since 2017.

Mr Thomas was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from February 2005 to September 2008, representing the electorate of Capel. He was appointed acting speaker of the Legislative Assembly (Lower House) in March 2005, Shadow Minister of the Environment for most of 2006, and Shadow Treasurer in 2008.

Mr Thomas became Shadow Minister for Environment, Emergency Services, and Forestry under Liza Harvey's Shadow Cabinet in 2019. He relinquished the Emergency Services portfolio and took on the Finance portfolio in a cabinet reshuffle in February 2020. In July 2020, Mr Thomas became the new Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food, Regional Development, and Royalties for Regions; and relinquished the portfolios of Environment and Forestry.

He became the Liberal Party deputy leader in the Legislative Council in 2021. Following the 2021 WA state elections, Mr Thomas became the Shadow Minister for treasury and small business. The National-Liberal Alliance was formed in February 2023 and Mr Thomas became the leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council and the Shadow Minister for energy, treasury, industrial relations. Mr Thomas stood down from all ministerial roles in February 2024 following revelations he held conversations with disgraced former premier Brian Burke about coal issues in Collie, and used him to set up a meeting with advisory firm Poynton Stavrianou. He managed to hold on to the energy and industrial relations shadow portfolios following a cabinet reshuffle by opposition leader Libby Mettam a few days later.

Prior to entering politics, Mr Thomas was a veterinary surgeon and has a degree in Veterinary Science.