The Minister for Communications was the minister in the Government of Ireland created by the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act, 1983 to replace the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs. In 1991 the ministers functions were passed to the retitled Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications and the department ceased to exist (the functions are now with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources).

Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009. He currently serves as the Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband.

Turnbull has represented the Division of Wentworth in Sydney's eastern suburbs since his election in October 2004. He served as the federal Minister for Environment and Water Resources in 2007. Before entering parliamentary politics he practised as a journalist, barrister, company legal counsel, and merchant banker, and was leader of the Australian Republican Movement.

In September 2008, Turnbull was chosen Liberal Party leader and Leader of the Opposition. He served for a little over a year. In November 2009, he ordered the Liberal Party to support the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme proposed by the Labor government. This prompted substantial opposition in the party, and Turnbull was voted out of his leadership post on 1 December.

Jason Dean Clare (born 22 March 1972) is the Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for the seat of Blaxland in the western suburbs of Sydney. He won election in the 2007 Australian federal election.

Clare was born and raised in western Sydney and attended Cabramatta Primary School and Canley Vale High School. He was the dux of Canley Vale High School in 1989. When he left school he joined the Labor Party and was the secretary of the Cabramatta Branch for 10 years (1992 to 2002). He has a BA (Hons) and an LLB (law degree) from the University of New South Wales. He was a senior adviser to former NSW Premier Bob Carr and an executive at Transurban, one of Australia's Top 100 companies.

Blaxland was the electorate of Prime Minister Paul Keating from 1969 to 1996. From 1996 to 2007 it was held by Michael Hatton, who lost his Labor preselection for the 2007 election in May of that year and was replaced by Clare. Clare also competed for preselection against George Williams who had been "anointed by the ALP executive", had the "blessing of [former Prime Minister] Gough Whitlam" and whose chances had been "talked up" by ABC news reports. Since Blaxland is regarded as a safe Labor seat, Clare was almost certain to be elected in the 2007 federal election. Although the seat had a redistribution in 2006, it is likely that the redistribution has made the seat safer for Labor.

Gareth Hughes (23 August 1894 – 1 October 1965) was a Welsh stage and silent screen actor. Usually cast as a callow, sensitive hero in Hollywood silent films, Hughes got his start on stage during childhood and continued to play youthful leads on Broadway.

Born William John Hughes into a working class family in Dafen, Carmarthenshire, after undertaking some local amateur roles aged 15 he walked to London and joined a West End theatre based group of Welsh players. The group took a tour to the United States, and although not successful Hughes was spotted in New York, and left the group to take a series of minor roles on Broadway. Seen by the right people, they persuaded Hughes to get involved in the new-fangled picture business.

Hughes' earlier screen work was with Clara Kimball Young in Eyes of Youth (1919) and with Marguerite Clark in Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1920). He was teamed with Viola Dana in The Chorus Girl’s Romance (1920), and signed with Paramount Pictures for Sentimental Tommy (1921), the picture which attracted attention to his ability.

Edward Henry Butler Vaizey (born 5 June 1968) is the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries in the UK, a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State post with responsibilities in both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

He was elected Conservative Member of Parliament for the constituency of Wantage in the 2005 general election, and was re-elected in the 2010 general election.

He is a trained barrister, and regular columnist and commentator.

Vaizey is the son of the late Lord Vaizey, a life peer, and Marina Vaizey, a well-known art historian. As the son of a peer he has the title "The Honourable Edward Vaizey". Vaizey spent part of his childhood growing up in Berkshire. He was educated at St Paul's School and Merton College, Oxford, where he rose to the rank of Librarian (Vice President) of the Oxford Union and took a BA in History, achieving a 2.1. After leaving Oxford, Vaizey worked for the Conservative politicians Kenneth Clarke and Michael Howard as an adviser on employment and education issues. He trained and practised as a barrister for several years, specialising in family law and child care cases.