Neil Patrick O'Keefe (born 7 May 1947) is a retired Australian politician and lobbyist. Born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, he was educated at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...

and then

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

before becoming a teacher, union official and small business proprietor. In 1984, he was elected to the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members o ...

as the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

member for

Burke Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...

. On 24 March 1993 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport and Communications. On 24 December 1993 this portfolio became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industrial Relations and Transport. On 24 March 1994 he became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport, a position he held until Labor's electoral defeat in 1996. O'Keefe retired unexpectedly in 2001, after he'd been preselected to run again in the election scheduled that year. After his retirement from politics, he was able to use his close relationship with then Victorian Premier Steve Bracks, who he once employed as an adviser to build another career as a lobbyist and through government appointments. On 8 May 2003 O'Keefe accepted a

Victorian government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...

appointment as chairman of the joint venture between the government and the Royal Agricultural Society to redevelop the

Royal Melbourne Showgrounds Melbourne Showgrounds is located in the inner north-western suburb of Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia, next door to Flemington Racecourse. The largest and most flexible indoor/outdoor venue space in Melbourne the Showgrounds is the home of the an ...

. O'Keefe was a director of the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the o ...

Football Club and was executive producer of Australian film production "The Independent." He also served as an independent director of Water for Rivers, an agency created jointly by federal, NSW and Victorian governments that administers the Snowy and Murray Rivers. He also served as chair of the Centre for Public Infrastructure and Director of Melbourne University Private, before it folded. An active motorcyclist, Neil O'Keefe has also served as the ministerial appointed chair of the Victorian Motorcycle Advisory Council for the past seven years. The former politician is now a lobbyist, through his company O'Keefe Solutions. His clients include large-scale property developers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okeefe, Neil Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Burke (1969–2004) Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1947 births Living people 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians Politicians from Melbourne La Trobe University alumni Monash University alumni