Michelle Leanne Landry (née Martin; born 15 October 1962) is an Australian politician who has been 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 ...

since the 2013 federal election, representing the

Division of Capricornia The Division of Capricornia is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. Capricornia is a traditionally a Labor-voting electorate, having been Labor-held for 72 years of the 100 years since 1922. However, Capricornia has recently trended ...

. Landry served as the Assistant Minister for Children and Families (2018–2022) and as the Assistant Minister for Northern Australia (2020–2022) in the

Morrison Government The Morrison government was the federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison government commenced on 24 August 2018, when it was sworn ...

. She 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 ...

, and sits with the Nationals in federal parliament.

Early life and career

Landry was born in

Rockhampton, Queensland Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

. She was educated at Hall State School and Rockhampton Girls Grammar. From 1978 to 1985 Landry worked as a pathology and medical biochemistry laboratory assistant. From 1985 to 2007 she worked at the National Australia Bank. She ran a local bookkeeping business from 1999 to 2009.

Political career

Landry contested the seat of Capricornia for the first time in the 2010 federal election. Her opponent, long-term Labor MP Kirsten Livermore defeated her in a 54-46 two party preferred vote; an 8% swing to the LNP. Following the retirement of Livermore in 2013, Landry won the seat in the 2013 federal election. She was reelected in the

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, the

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and the

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

federal elections. In February 2018, Landry became the National Party's Chief Whip in the House of Representatives. She was replaced by

Damian Drum Damian Kevin Drum (born 28 July 1960) is an Australian politician who has represented Murray and Nicholls in the Australian House of Representatives since the 2016 federal election as a member of The Nationals. Drum served as the Assistant Mi ...

following her appointment as an assistant minister. In August 2018, Landry was appointed as the Assistant Minister for Children and Families in the

. She was additionally appointed Assistant Minister for Northern Australia in February 2020; and held both positions until May 2022, following the appointment of the Albanese ministry. Following the resignation of

Bridget McKenzie Bridget McKenzie (born 27 December 1969) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the National Party and has been a Senator for Victoria since 2011. She has held ministerial office in the Turnbull and Morrison governments, also servin ...

in February 2020, she was the National Party's only female member of the ministry until McKenzie was reappointed in July 2021.

CFMEU bullying allegations

In November 2014, Landry claimed to the media that she, her daughter, and son-in-law, had been targeted with bullying and intimidation by representatives from the

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU, though most commonly still referred to as CFMEU) is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry, maritime, mining, energy, textile, clothing and footwear producti ...

(CFMEU). Landry did not make an official complaint about the alleged harassment to police or the union. The publicly aired allegations prompted the CFMEU's district president, Stephen Smyth to demand Landry apologise to union members and Blackwater residents, and described the allegations as baseless. Smyth said the union was offended by Landry's comments as it fights against bullying on a daily basis. He said that if she had any evidence, she should have taken it to the police.

'Wishy Washy' comments

In April 2016, Landry drew national attention when she repeatedly aired criticisms to the media about her own government being "wishy washy." Her comments prompted senior government ministers to defend the Coalition Federal Government's performance, including Prime Minister,

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

, National Party leader,

Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who served as the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia under Malcolm Turnbull from 2016 to 2018 and under Scott Morrison from 2021 to 2022. He was the leader of the ...

, and Industry Minister Christopher Pyne.PM faces 'internal criticism'
SBS World News Radio, 6 April 2016

Adani political donations

Questions were raised after Adani attended a fundraiser for Landry's 2019 federal election campaign and made donations of $60,800 to the Liberal and National Parties. Landry is a strong backer of the controversial Adani Carmichael coal mine project.

References

External links

Michelle Landry official website
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Michelle Landry
at OpenAustralia.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Landry, Michelle 1962 births Living people Liberal National Party of Queensland members of the Parliament of Australia People from Rockhampton Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Capricornia Women members of the Australian House of Representatives 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Morrison Government