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Jonathan O'Dea

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The Honourable
Jonathan O'Dea
31st Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
In office
7 May 2019 – 9 May 2023
DeputyLeslie Williams
Preceded byShelley Hancock
Succeeded byGreg Piper
Member of the New South Wales Parliament
for Davidson
In office
24 March 2007 – 25 March 2023
Preceded byAndrew Humpherson
Succeeded byMatt Cross
Councillor of North Sydney Council
for Belmore Ward
In office
1 July 1993 – 9 September 1995
Alderman of the Municipality of North Sydney
for Belmore Ward
In office
14 September 1991 – 30 June 1993
Personal details
Born (1966-03-09) 9 March 1966 (age 58)
Sydney
Political partyLiberal Party
ParentMichael O'Dea
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
OccupationFinancial manager

Jonathan Richard O'Dea (born 9 March 1966) is a former Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Davidson for the Liberal Party from 2007 until 2023. He served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2019 to 2023.[1]

Early life

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O'Dea was born in Sydney in 1966 to Michael O'Dea and Marianne O'Dea, one of nine brothers and sisters.[2] His father served several terms as mayor of North Sydney Council and was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia in 1994.[3]

He was educated on the North Shore of Sydney at St Aloysius College and St Ignatius' College, Riverview,[4] and attended the University of Sydney where he gained a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws. He has also undertaken further studies and was awarded a Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies and a Master of Business Administration. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.[1] While at university, O'Dea was the Vice-President of the University of Sydney Students' Representative Council between 1986 and 1987.[4]

Admitted as a solicitor, O'Dea practiced for five years before moving into commercial and senior management roles. He joined the Liberal Party in 1994, serving in numerous capacities,[4] and was elected as a Councillor on North Sydney Council from 1991 until 1995.

In addition to his regular work, from 1995 to 2009 he was a non-executive board director with the private health insurer HCF. From 2000 to 2004, O'Dea also served part-time as Deputy Convenor for the Australian Classification Review Board.[4]

Political career

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In 2005, O'Dea was the general manager of the Crown Insurance Group and a director with HCF and was named as a potential candidate for the seat of Pittwater, following the resignation of the sitting member and Opposition leader, John Brogden.[5] However, O'Dea did not stand.

In a Liberal Party preselection battle before the 2007 state election, O'Dea defeated the sitting member for Davidson, Andrew Humpherson.[6] Humpherson had cross-factional backing among many delegates, but had lost support in local branches after reportedly instructing party members to quit branches supportive of O'Dea, thereby reducing their voting power. Despite Humpherson having the support of the Party Leader, Peter Debnam, O'Dea won the vote 54 votes to 52 and Humpherson chose to not re-contest the election.[6] In March 2007, O'Dea was elected to Parliament with a majority of 24.7 points. In June 2007, he was appointed a member of the Committee on the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).[1] From 2008, in Opposition, O'Dea served as the chair of the NSW Coalition WasteWatch Committee. In 2011 he was elected Chair of the crucial cross-party Public Accounts Committee of the NSW Parliament.[7]

In September 2009, O'Dea was accused in a local newspaper, the Manly Daily, of failing to adequately represent his constituents, by Ku-ring-gai Councillor Tony Hall, who urged O'Dea to "get off his backside" and lobby New South Wales Planning Minister Kristina Keneally to protect the area from excessive development. O'Dea responded, defending his record: "Along with (Opposition Leader and MP for Ku-ring-gai) Barry O'Farrell I have fought long and hard against inappropriate planning and over development...in the past 12 months I have taken part in 30 formal meetings with authorities and community representatives regarding Ku-ring-gai planning matters, three involved the planning minister and community representatives".[8]

On 18 October 2010, the Liberal Party announced that O'Dea had been endorsed as the party's candidate for Davidson ahead of the 2011 state election.[9] O'Dea was elected with a swing of 13.8 per cent and won the seat with 86.5 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis.[10] His main competitor was Labor's Mathew Gilliland. In 2015, O'Dea was re-elected with 78.8 per cent of the vote on a two party preferred basis, a swing 4.1 per cent against him, defeating the Green's David Sentinella. In 2019, O'Dea was again re-elected with 75.2 per cent of the vote on a two party preferred basis, a swing 3.7 per cent against him, defeating the Green's Felicity Davis.[11]

On 28 March 2015, O'Dea was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and Major Events. In April 2016, Premier Baird conferred the additional title of Parliamentary Secretary for Trade and Investment. After the change in Premier to Gladys Berejiklian, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier and Treasurer.[1] At the 2019 state election, O'Dea suffered a small swing against him, but was still re-elected with a majority of 75.2 percent against the Greens, making Davidson the safest Liberal seat in Sydney. Following the election, Premier Berejiklian nominated Mr O'Dea as the 40th Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, succeeding Shelley Hancock. The NSW Parliament Legislative Assembly subsequently elected Mr O'Dea as Speaker on 7 May 2019. In line with established parliamentary tradition, Mr O'Dea was ceremonially ‘dragged’ to the Speaker's chair by Premier Berejiklian and Planning Minister, Rob Stokes.[12]

He stood down at the 2023 New South Wales state election, and was succeeded by Liberal candidate Matt Cross.[13]

Honours

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  • On 9 June 2023, O'Dea was granted retention of The Honourable title by the Governor for life, for having served as speaker for more than three years.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Mr Jonathan Richard O'Dea, BA, LLM, MBA MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Inaugural speech of the Member for Davidson" (PDF). Hansard – Legislative Assembly of New South Wales. Parliament of New South Wales. 30 May 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  3. ^ "Mr John Michael O'DEA AM". Australian Honours Search Facility. 26 January 1994. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d "About Jonathan". Jonathan O'Dea. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2009.[self-published source?]
  5. ^ "Police to investigate Brogden suicide note leak". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 2 October 2005.
  6. ^ a b "Humpherson loses preselection". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 November 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  7. ^ "Jonathan O'Dea, Member for Davidson". Members of Parliament. Liberal Party. Archived from the original on 13 July 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  8. ^ "MP defends his record". Manly Daily. News Limited. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
  9. ^ "Liberal Party Endorses Jonathan O'Dea for Davidson". NSW candidates 2011. Liberal Party of Australia. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2010.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Green, Antony (5 April 2011). "Davidson". NSW Votes 2011. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  11. ^ Green, Antony (4 April 2019). "Davidson". NSW Votes 2019. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Yesterday a new Speaker, the Hon @jonathanodeamp was elected in the Legislative Assembly and was ceremonially 'dragged' to the chair". NSW Parliament. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2019 – via Instagram.
  13. ^ "Davidson – NSW Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Parliament, Ministerial, Courts and Police" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (254): 0940. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  15. ^ "令和５年秋の外国人叙勲 受章者名簿" (PDF). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  16. ^ "NSW recipients of 2023 Autumn Imperial Decorations" (Media Release). Consulate-General of Japan, Sydney. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
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New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for Davidson
2007–2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
2019–2023 		Succeeded by
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