Background
Aplin was born in Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, on 9 October 1952.
Aplin was born in Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, on 9 October 1952.
He studied at the University of Cape Town, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours.
He returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was given a three years posting to Sydney. In 1980 he then returned to the newly independent Zimbabwe to work for the government in regional development, and arranging state visits. Aplin is a Rotarian and has been awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship, given to members who donate United States$1,000 to Rotary International.
When Ian Glachan announced his retirement, Aplin was preselected as the Liberal Party"s candidate for the seat in the 2003 state election.
He received more than 16,826 first preference votes, out polling the nearest candidate, Albury City Councillor and Independent candidate, Clare Douglas, who received 8,595 first preference votes. Another two Albury City councillors polled third and fourth, with Olympian Rob Ballard receiving 5,267 votes, and Labor Party candidate Nico Matthews receiving 4,710 votes.
Aplin was appointed to the Standing Committee on Natural Resource Management in Public Affairs Committee two months after his election to the Parliament, and is the parliamentary ambassador for Keep Australia Beautiful. He was appointed to the Public Accounts Committee in October 2005.
In March 2006, Peter Debnam (who was Opposition leader at the time) promoted Aplin to the Opposition front bench as the Shadow Minister for Housing.
Aplin was re-elected at the 2007 and 2011 general elections. Prior to the 2011 general election, Aplin held the shadow portfolio of Mental Health and Aboriginal Affairs. However, Aplin was not selected to join the O"Farrell ministry.