Patrick John Conaghan (born 31 January 1971) is an Australian politician. He 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 ...

for Cowper in

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 ...

, representing the Nationals since 2019.

Early career

Conaghan was born in

Kempsey, New South Wales Kempsey is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia and is the council seat for Kempsey Shire. It is located roughly 16.5 kilometres inland from the coast of the Pacific Ocean, on the Macleay Valley Way near where the P ...

. Prior to entering federal politics, he worked as a police officer in Kempsey before being transferred to Sydney as a detective and later on as a

police prosecutor In certain jurisdictions, police prosecutors are employed by the police, as counsel for the prosecution, to present cases in court. Australia In Australia, all States and Territories (other than the Australian Capital Territory) employ Police Pros ...

. He was also a councillor for Tunks Ward of

North Sydney Council North Sydney Council is a local government area on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, established on 29 July 1890 through the amalgamation of three boroughs. The area is bounded by Willoughby to the north and north-w ...

from 2004 to 2008, serving alongside future Member for North Sydney,

Trent Zimmerman Trent Moir Zimmerman (born 15 October 1968) is an Australian former politician. He was elected to succeed Joe Hockey as the Liberal Party of Australia member of the House of Representatives seat of North Sydney at the 2015 by-election. Zimmerma ...

. After departing law enforcement, Conaghan became a lawyer and established his own practice specialising in criminal defence, Conaghan Lawyers before being elected.

Politics

Conaghan was elected to the House of Representatives for the electoral division of Cowper at the

2019 Australian federal election The 2019 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 18 May 2019 to elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia. The election had been called following the dissolution of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolut ...

, succeeding retiring incumbent Luke Hartsuyker. In August 2022, Conaghan attracted media attention after remarks about

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...

Max Chandler-Mather Max Chandler-Mather ( ; born 1991–1992) is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He is the Greens member for the Division of Griffith following the 2022 Australian federal election, having defeated the incumbent Australian Labor Party ...

for not wearing a tie in Parliament House and objecting to the "state of undress". Conaghan would continue to complain about the MP's attire despite Speaker

Milton Dick Dugald Milton Dick (born 21 July 1972) is an Australian politician who currently serves as the 32nd Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has represented the Queensland seat of ...

's dismissal of the concern and would later say in a statement that "This is not a barbecue. This is question time in the Australian parliament. What next, board shorts and thongs? Maybe a onesie in winter". According to the House of Representatives Practice rulebook, attire is at discretion of the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

in the

Personal

Conaghan lives in

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...

, New South Wales with his wife, Ilona, and their two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conaghan, Pat National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia 1971 births Living people Australian barristers Australian police officers Australian prosecutors Criminal defense lawyers North Sydney Council Detectives and criminal investigators Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Cowper People from the Mid North Coast 21st-century Australian lawyers 21st-century Australian politicians