Garth Russell Hamilton (born 5 March 1979) is an Australian politician who is a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

representing the

Division of Groom The Division of Groom is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. Groom is an agricultural electorate located on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland. It includes the regional city of Toowoomba and rural communities to the west an ...

. He was elected in the 2020 Groom by-election, following the retirement of John McVeigh. He is a member of the

Liberal National Party of Queensland The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a major political party in Queensland, Australia. It was formed in 2008 by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal Party and the National Party. At a federal level and in most other ...

(LNP) and sits with the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

in federal parliament.

Early life and career

Hamilton grew up in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

and his father was a concreter. His mother had worked as a Hansard reporter in the Australian Parliament. Hamilton attended

Ipswich Grammar School , motto_translation = Work and Honour , address = Darling Street , city = Ipswich , state = Queensland , postcode = 4305 , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boa ...

before studying engineering at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. He is an engineer who has worked around the world on various large infrastructure projects. Prior to his election, Hamilton led research in the mining industry for CRC ORE.

Political career

Within the LNP, he previously served as a campaign manager for the state MP for Toowoomba North,

Trevor Watts Trevor Charles Watts (born 26 February 1939) is an English jazz and free-improvising alto and soprano saxophonist. Biography Watts was born in York, England. He is largely self-taught, having taken up the cornet at age 12 then switched to s ...

. Hamilton wrote articles for ''

The Spectator Australia ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'', including an opinion column titled "Absent Fathers Matter", arguing that social problems among Aboriginal Australians and African Americans such as incarceration rates would be alleviated if fathers were more present in the lives of the children.

Preselection

John McVeigh, the member for

Groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man an ...

, resigned from parliament in September 2020, triggering a preselection contest between seven candidates to contest the safe LNP seat. The Prime Minister,

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...

was reported to have wanted a woman to be preselected, and the Queensland Resources Council had backed two women who were both reported to be frontrunners. Hamilton won the preselection for the seat in October 2020. Hamilton was labelled a "consensus candidate" by party members who attended the preselection, and was reported to have given the strongest speech and answers to questions. During the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in November 2020, Hamilton defeated three other candidates and was elected with a 3% swing against the LNP. He was sworn into the

on 3 December 2020.

Parliament

Hamilton was an early critic of the Queensland Government's handling of the Wellcamp Quarantine Facility. Prior to its approval by the Queensland State Government, Hamilton was a vocal supporter of the New Acland Mine Stage 3 expansion. Hamilton has pushed for delivery of the Inland Rail project, pointing to the economic benefits it will bring to the Toowoomba Region. As part of the South East Queensland City Deal, Hamilton called for the inclusion of the Railway Parklands project on the basis that it would help alleviate Toowoomba's housing crisis and increase foot traffic for city traders. $25 million of funding was eventually included in the city deal. Hamilton has been supportive of the proposed new dam at Emu Creek. Hamilton was appointed Deputy Chair of the House Standing Committee on Economics on 26 July 2022. Hamilton was reported to be a member of the "National Right" faction of the Liberal Party.

Personal life

, Hamilton lives in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

with his wife Louise and three children, Adeline, Everard and Claude. Hamilton is a volunteer firefighter.

References

External links

Mr Garth Hamilton MP - Parliament of Australia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Garth 1979 births Living people Australian mining engineers University of Queensland alumni Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Liberal National Party of Queensland members of the Parliament of Australia