William Edward Slade Brockman (born 27 March 1970) is an Australian politician who has served as a Senator for

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

since 2017, representing 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 ...

. He was elected

President of the Australian Senate The President of the Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. The position is provided for by Section 17 of the Constitution of Australia. The Senate elects one of its members ...

in October 2021 following the resignation of Scott Ryan. Prior to his appointment to the Senate, Brockman was an adviser and chief of staff for Senator

Mathias Cormann Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann (; ; born 20 September 1970) is a Belgian-born Australian politician and diplomat who currently serves as Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), having assumed the off ...

, and a policy director for the Pastoralists and Graziers Association. His policy interests include agriculture, mining, trade, oil and gas, infrastructure and regional development.

Early life and career

Brockman was born in 1970 in Manjimup,

, and grew up on a family farm in the South West region of Western Australia. He has a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New England and a first-class Honours Degree in Political History from

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its n ...

. His work background includes running a family farm, management roles in business and working for industry associations.

Senate

On 16 August 2017, Brockman was appointed as a Senator for Western Australia by a joint sitting of the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Western Australia, forming the legislative branch of the Government of Western Australia. The parliament consists of a lower house, the Legislative Ass ...

to fill the casual vacancy resulting from the resignation of Chris Back. Brockman is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party. Brockman has served in a range of parliamentary and committee roles, including as Government Deputy Whip of the Senate, Chair of the Economics Legislation Committee, and Chair of the Select Committee on Multi-Jurisdictional Management and Execution of the Murray Darling Basin Plan. At the time of the

Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was a national survey designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia. The survey was held via the postal service between 12 September and 7 November 2017. Unlike voting in e ...

, Brockman said that he would vote against the bill in parliament, in line with his personal beliefs. He voted against the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill on 29 November 2017.

President of the Senate

Following the resignation of Scott Ryan from the role, Brockman was chosen as the Liberal Party's candidate for President of the Senate. In the ensuing Senate ballot, Brockman stood against Greens Senator

Mehreen Faruqi Mehreen Saeed Faruqi (born 8 July 1963) is an Australian politician and former engineer who has been a Senator for New South Wales since 15 August 2018, representing the Greens. She was chosen to fill a casual vacancy caused by the resignation ...

and won the position 45 votes to 7 on 18 October 2021.

References

1970 births Living people Presidents of the Australian Senate Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia 21st-century Australian politicians People from Manjimup, Western Australia {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub