Barry James O'Sullivan (born 24 March 1957) is an Australian politician who was a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

from 11 February 2014 until 30 June 2019. He is a member of the

Liberal National Party of Queensland The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a major conservative 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. In most other states ...

(LNP) and sat with the Nationals in federal parliament. A former police detective, grazier, property developer and LNP executive treasurer, O'Sullivan was appointed by the

Queensland Parliament The Parliament of Queensland is the unicameral legislative body of the Australian state of Queensland. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Queensland, and the ...

to the Senate seat vacated by

Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who was the leader of the National Party of Australia from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2021 to 2022. Joyce was the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia during both ...

, who had resigned to contest the House of Representatives seat of

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

at the 2013 federal election.Remeikis, Amy
LNP's Barry O'Sullivan headed for Senate
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 12 September 2013. He was elected to a three-year term at the 2016 federal election.

Background and early police career

O'Sullivan was educated at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School at Wandal and the Christian Brothers' College,

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

(now The Cathedral College, Rockhampton). Upon leaving school, he was employed as an office boy at the '' Rockhampton Morning Bulletin'' and '' The Longreach Leader'' newspapers before joining a road construction crew building the Beef Development Road from the Five Ways north of

Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. It is informally known by local people as The Curry. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known as the ''Friendl ...

to the Gregory River crossing. O'Sullivan joined the

Queensland Police Service The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

(QPS) in 1976. His career commenced in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

serving in Inala, the City Beat, the Metro Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), the Burglary Unit, the Fraud Squad and the Drug Squad. In 1979 he transferred to the

CIB and in 1981 moved to the Moranbah CIB (a one-man detective office) serving the police districts of Nebo, Glenden, Dysart,

Moranbah Moranbah is a coal mining town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Moranbah had a population of 9,425. In addition to the permanent population, Moranbah also has ...

, the eastern end of the Clermont district and the southern end of the

Charters Towers Charters Towers is a rural town in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. It is by road south-west from Townsville on the Flinders Highway. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the town boomed as the rich gold deposits und ...

District. O'Sullivan was provided a research grant to attend the United States' FBI Academy to study the profiling of serial offenders. At the end of the

Fitzgerald Inquiry The Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (the Fitzgerald Inquiry; 1987–1989) into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted ...

, O'Sullivan was appointed as one of the Queensland "change" agents to implement the recommendations in the Central Police Region, which stretched from Bowen to Gladstone and across to the Northern Territory border. He was appointed acting staff officer to the assistant commissioner in the central region, having the responsibility of supervising the project that restructured the framework of the Queensland Police Service in line with the Fitzgerald recommendations. In 1990 O'Sullivan worked with the Corrective Services Commission by the Queensland Public Service to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations from the Black Deaths in Custody Royal Commission and the Kennedy Review into Queensland prisons. Over some fifteen years of police service, O'Sullivan was awarded two imperial honours: the Bronze Medal for Bravery; and the Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. O'Sullivan was awarded also the commissioner's Commendation for Bravery, the commissioner's Commendation for Service, and twice obtained the commissioner's Favourable Record.

Business career

Upon retiring from the police force, O'Sullivan established an insurance loss adjuster practice that specialised in the preparation of briefs of evidence in civil litigation cases associated with worldwide catastrophic aviation accidents (principally international flights). O'Sullivan also established Jilbridge (currently NewLands) – a vertically integrated construction and development business (both civil and structural) based in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

, which currently employs over 100 staff. O'Sullivan and his family have operated livestock properties and contracted earthmoving services across leased and owned holdings at Cooyar, Ravensborne and Goondiwindi. On 6 August 2014, the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' reported that O'Sullivan owned 50 properties, making his property portfolio the largest of any parliamentarian in Canberra. The same analysis reports that the average federal politician each owns 2.5 properties.

LNP treasurer

In the lead up to the merger of the Liberal and National Parties, O'Sullivan was asked to assist in overseeing the registration of the new entity, the LNP. He was appointed honorary treasurer. O'Sullivan served in that role during the 2008 merger until his pre-selection to the Senate seat vacated by

, who had resigned to contest the House of Representatives seat of

at the 2013 federal election. O'Sullivan served on the Candidate Review Committee between 2009 and 2013, going on to be appointed chair of the committee in 2010. In mid-2012, O'Sullivan was appointed by Queensland public works minister

Bruce Flegg Bruce Stephen Flegg (born 10 March 1954, Sydney) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2004 to 2015, representing the electorate of electoral district of Moggill, Moggill in south-western ...

to conduct an audit of two state government agencies, GoPrint and GoPlant. The state opposition called the appointment "totally inappropriate", saying that an accounting firm should have conducted the audit rather than an LNP official. Premier Campbell Newman conceded that O'Sullivan's appointment was inappropriate, and that he was not aware of the appointment until it was reported in the media, but stressed that O'Sullivan was not paid for his work.LNP party treasurer Barry O'Sullivan in secret probe of GoPrint and GoPlant businesses
''The Courier Mail'', 12 July 2012.

Senate

On 12 September, the day the appointment was originally planned to take place, Queensland Premier

Campbell Newman Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman (born 12 August 1963) is an Australian former politician who served as the 38th Premier of Queensland from 26 March 2012 to 14 February 2015. He served as the member for Ashgrove in the Legislative Assembly of Que ...

postponed the debate and vote until 17 October due to O'Sullivan's involvement in an ongoing investigation by the Crime and Misconduct Commission.Queensland Premier Campbell Newman delays appointment of Barry O'Sullivan to Barnaby Joyce's vacant senate position
news.com.au, 12 September 2013. Newman again postponed the adjournment of parliament to affirm O'Sullivan's Senate appointment until at least February 2014, citing the need to give the CMC time to conclude their investigation. The CMC investigation was to determine whether LNP officials (including O'Sullivan) had offered MP

inducements to stand aside in the seat of Moggill to make way for Campbell Newman to enter parliament. In December 2013, the commission found no evidence for the allegations. O'Sullivan was appointed to the Senate by the Queensland Parliament on 11 February 2014. O'Sullivan is a public opponent of same sex marriage, and was one of twelve senators who voted against the 2017 bill. In 2017 when

Cory Bernardi Cory Bernardi (born 6 November 1969) is an Australian conservative political commentator and former politician. He was a Senator for South Australia from 2006 to 2020, and was the leader of the Australian Conservatives, a minor political party h ...

moved a motion to ban abortion on gender grounds O'Sullivan was one of the ten who voted yes on the motion. It was voted down with (10-36). After being criticized for attempting to stop pro-choice groups, the senator on 14 November 2018 stated in Parliament, in order to avoid other politicians making attacks over O'Sullivan's anti-abortion views, that "I'm going to declare my gender today - as I can - to be a woman, and then you'll no longer be able to attack me." O'Sullivan released a draft bill to enable a royal commission into the banking sector. In July 2018, O'Sullivan was defeated for LNP preselection by Susan McDonald. McDonald's father is former Nationals party president, Don McDonald.

Personal life

Barry O'Sullivan married Annie Van Lathum of Barcaldine in 1976. The couple had four children. Annie died in 2008. The extended O'Sullivan family now includes seven grand children. O'Sullivan's grandson, Patrick, made headlines across the nation after he was flung from an amusement park ride while at a school fete just north of

in 2013. Patrick fell 10 metres, suffered serious head injuries and was rushed to the Mater Children's Hospital in a critical condition. According to the Register of Members' Interests, O'Sullivan has a large portfolio of real estate, with stakes in at least 49 investment properties.

References

External links

Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Barry O'Sullivan on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:OSullivan, Barry 1957 births Living people Australian police officers Police detectives Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Liberal National Party of Queensland members of the Parliament of Australia 21st-century Australian politicians LGBTQ conservatism