Chris Picton

Christopher James Picton^[1][2] was born on 13 January 1983 in South Australia.^{[3][better source needed]}

Picton attended public schools in Adelaide, and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and Bachelor of Arts from Flinders University.^[1]

Picton was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in the Supreme Court of South Australia.^[1]

He was chief of staff for his parliamentary predecessor John Hill, and later a staffer for Nicola Roxon, the federal Minister for Health and Attorney-General.^[4] He also served as an associate director at Deloitte Access Economics.^[1]

Picton was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly on 15 Mar 2014, as a representative of the South Australian Labor Party.^[1] He was appointed as a member of the Cabinet of South Australia in September 2017 as Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, and Minister for Road Safety,^[5] until Labor lost the 2018 state election on 19 March 2018. He was also convenor of SA Labor's Policy Platform Committee.^[1]

After Labor won the 2022 state election, Picton was appointed as Minister for Health and Wellbeing in the Malinauskas ministry,^[6] previously having shadowed the role while in opposition.^[1] As health minister, he had to answer questions about ambulance ramping as well as issuing an apology for a government emailing error that led to the breach of privacy of a patient.^[7][8]

After the 2026 state election, on 25 March 2026 Picton was appointed Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy, Defence and Space Industries, State Development, and Veterans' Affairs.^[1] In his role as Minister for State Development, he is responsible for developing the state's economy, at the time when there is a global fuel crisis owing to the 2026 Iran war.^[7] Soon after his appointment, he had a meeting with the Australia India Council to discuss trade as well as the former US ambassador to Australia, to discuss space and artificial intelligence.^[7]

Picton married Connie Blefari,^[7] and they have three children. He is a fan of AFL team the Adelaide Crows, and does volunteer surf life saving at Moana Beach.^[1]

Picton's brother is Tim Picton, who died in January 2026 at the age of 36 following a fatal punch. Tim was an electoral strategist for the Western Australian Labor Party in the 2021 state election.^[9]