Melinda Jane Pavey (; born 1969), an Australian politician, is the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Minister for Water, Property and Housing since April 2019 in the second Berejiklian ministry and the

Perrottet ministry The Second Perrottet ministry or Second Perrottet–Toole ministry is the 99th ministry of the Government of New South Wales, and is led by Dominic Perrottet, the state's 46th Premier. The Liberal–National coalition ministry was formed on 2 ...

. Pavey has been a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

since 2015, representing the seat of

Oxley Oxley may refer to: Places Australia Australian Capital Territory * Oxley, Australian Capital Territory is a suburb of Canberra, Australia Queensland *Oxley, Queensland is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia **Oxley railway station, Brisbane ...

for The Nationals. She was previously a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

between 2002 and 2015. Pavey has previously served as the Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight from January 2017 until March 2019 in the

first Berejiklian ministry First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

government. A former party staffer, the

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 as per 2021 census. The Gumbaynggirr ...

businesswoman became the party's youngest New South Wales member of parliament at the age of 33.

Career

Pavey initially worked as a radio journalist with 2UW in Sydney, but soon became involved in the National Party, and in 1988 took up a position as a media officer for Matt Singleton, the then-Minister for Administrative Services. Over the next decade, she worked for a number of MPs, including Deputy Premier

Wal Murray Wallace Telford John Murray (11 September 1931 – 15 July 2004) was an Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. He was a National Party member for the seat of Barwon from 1 May 1976 until 3 Mar ...

(1990–1993), Minister for Consumer Affairs

Wendy Machin Wendy Susan Machin (born 14 October 1958 in Wingham, New South Wales), was the president of the National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA). She was the first woman member of the Nationals elected to the New South Wales Parliament and was ...

(1993–1994) and National Party leader Ian Armstrong (1994–1997). Pavey entered politics in July 2002, when long-serving Legislative Council member

Doug Moppett Douglas Frederick Moppett (14 May 1940 – 18 June 2002) was an Australian politician. He was a National Party of Australia – NSW, Country Party, later National Party of Australia – NSW, National Party, member of the New South Wales Le ...

died suddenly. In the subsequent weeks, Pavey announced her intention to nominate for the resulting casual vacancy. At the time, the party was recovering from a significant defeat at the 2001 election, and the party was keen to look for younger and more appealing candidates. Despite being nine months pregnant at the time, Pavey was ultimately successful in obtaining preselection, and was sworn in as an MLC in September 2002, three weeks after the birth of her daughter, Emily. She has dedicated much of her time to advocating for the people of the

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...

region, in her role as The Nationals duty member for the Labor-held Legislative Assembly electorate of Monaro. She has also served on the Parliamentary Committee on Children and Young People since 2003. After the 2011 state election,

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is a former Australian politician who has been Australia's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan since May 2020. O'Farrell was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minis ...

announced that Pavey would not enter Cabinet; despite previously holding the role of Shadow spokesperson for Emergency Services. Pavey was subsequently appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Health. In December 2014, Pavey was preselected by the Nationals as the party's candidate for the lower house seat of

at the 2015 state election. Following the resignation of

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South W ...

as Premier,

Gladys Berejiklian Gladys Berejiklian (born 22 September 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the 45th premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party from 2017 to 2021. Berejiklian became a member ...

was elected as Liberal leader and sworn in as Premier. The Berejiklian ministry was subsequently formed with Pavey sworn in as the Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight with effect from 30 January 2017. Following the 2019 state election Pavey was appointed as the Minister for Water, Property and Housing in the second Berejiklian ministry with effect from 2 April 2019.

National Party Leadership

Following the resignation of National Party leader and

Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

John Barilaro Giovanni Domenic "John" Barilaro (born 14 November 1971) is a former Australian politician who served as the 18th deputy premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales division of the National Party from 2016 to 2021. He wa ...

, Mrs. Pavey announced that she would run in the leadership contest, to be contested on 6 October 2021. She received the endorsement of popular talkback radio broadcaster and a Channel Nine commentator, Ray Hadley. If elected

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

, she would have been the first female leader of the party, and the first female conservative Deputy Premier of New South Wales (the first female deputy premier being

Carmel Tebbutt Carmel Mary Tebbutt (born 22 January 1964) is an Australian former politician. She was the Labor Party Member for the former seat of Marrickville in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly until the 2015 election and was Deputy Premier of New ...

, 2008–2011). On 6 October 2021, Pavey was defeated in the leadership election, 15–3, against former Deputy Leader

Paul Toole Paul Lawrence Toole (born 2 August 1970), an Australian politician, is the Deputy Premier and leader of the New South Wales Nationals since October 2021. Toole is the Minister for Regional New South Wales in the second Berejiklian and Perrot ...

Bronnie Taylor Bronwyn Taylor (known as Bronnie Taylor), an Australian politician, is the New South Wales Minister for Women, the Minister for Regional Health, and the Minister for Mental Health in the Perrottet ministry, since December 2021. Taylor has ser ...

was elected unopposed as his deputy. In a cabinet reshuffle in December 2021, Pavey was dropped from the

References

Notes Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavey, Melinda 1969 births Living people National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Women members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 21st-century Australian women politicians

Career

National Party Leadership

See also

References

External links