Burton was first elected as the member for the relatively safe Labor seat of Kogarah in 1999, defeating the
Liberal candidate, Sam Witheridge. At the time of
her election, aged 30, she was one of the youngest Labor politicians on the back bench, second only to
Matt Brown, aged 27. Burton was the Minister for Housing and the Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Mental Health) from August 2005 to March 2007. Citing family reasons, Burton announced she had decided to step down from the ministry following the
2007 NSW election. == Outside politics ==