Deborah O'Neill
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Deborah Mary O'Neill (born 4 June 1961) is an Australian politician who has served as 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
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
with the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
since 2013. She previously served as Member of Parliament for
Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Plac ...
from 2010 to 2013. Before entering politics O'Neill was a school teacher and university academic. In her Senate role, she has been described as taking "a fierce approach to accountability." In June 2023, O'Neill was appointed to chair the newly formed Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services. In this role, the committee has largely focused on failures of governance and public accountability amongst the large consulting firms
Deloitte Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...
, EY,
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and
PwC PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a Multinational corporation, multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Fo ...
.


Early life

O'Neill was born in
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
,
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
. She grew up in
Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...
, one of six children born to Irish Catholic immigrants Mary and Jim O'Neill. Her mother was born in Thomastown and her father in
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
, though they met in
Manchester, England Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. Drawn by a sense of opportunity and the image "of washing drying in the sun in their own backyard", they migrated to Australia. O'Neill attended Catholic primary schools in
Marayong Marayong is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marayong is located approximately 32 kilometres north west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is part of ...
and Girraween and high school at St Patrick's College, Campbelltown. At age 11, she took it upon herself to manage the invoicing for her parents' construction and plant hire business, which they had financed by selling the family home. O'Neill began an arts degree, but withdrew when her younger sister, Helen, was diagnosed with
acute myeloid leukemia Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal cells that build up in the bone marrow and blood and interfere with haematopoiesis, normal blood cell production. Sympt ...
. With her passing, O'Neill returned to tertiary studies, fulfilling a promise she made to her sister to become a teacher. O'Neill completed a Bachelor of Arts at the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
and
University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 26,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 6,000 students See also * New England Coll ...
, a Diploma of Teaching and Master of Arts at
Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation ...
, and a graduate diploma at
Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...
. When interviewed in 2023, O'Neill indicated that family and community life gave her a strong sense of social justice, which propelled her first into a teaching a career, then politics. Following university, she worked as a high school teacher and later as an academic in the Faculty of Education and Arts at The University of Newcastle, Central Coast Campus. O'Neill taught at Mercy Catholic College Chatswood, where she would meet her future husband, then at
St Edward's College, East Gosford St Edward's College is an Independent school, independent Catholic school, Catholic Secondary school, secondary day school for Single-sex education, boys, located in , in the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast region of New South Wa ...
, and Corpus Christi College. After marrying she moved to the Central Coast where the couple have raised their three children. It is reported that, having established her home, and pregnant with their third child, O'Neill heard
Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously ser ...
's 1996 speech on creating a modern Australia; and then decided to join the Labor Party.


Political career

O'Neill would go on to serve, primarily, in federal politics. Her main areas of activity having been the policy areas of small business, finance and corporations, women's rights and education. She is connected to the conservative right flank of the Labor party, a member the "shoppies" faction, backed by the
Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) is a private sector trade union in Australia, representing retail, fast-food and warehousing workers, and has branches in each state and territory. Its membership is predominantly ...
, along with senior Labor figures including Don Farrell and Jacinta Collins.


State politics

Her political life began in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
state politics, challenging the Liberal Party's Chris Hartcher for the seat of
Gosford Gosford is a waterfront city at the northern end of Brisbane Water on the Central Coast in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Gosford Waterfront is known for its boating and scenic views on the shores of Brisbane Water. Gosford is ...
in the state election of 2003, reducing his margin to 272 votes. She challenged Hartcher again in the 2007 NSW election, this time in the newly created seat of
Terrigal Terrigal is a coastal town on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located east of Gosford on the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the local government area. At the 2021 census, the town had a population of . History Terrigal was fi ...
, but was defeated.


National politics

Entering federal politics, O'Neill was chosen as Labor candidate for
Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Plac ...
gaining preselection over incumbent Labor member, Belinda Neal. She went on to win the seat for Labor at the
2010 Australian federal election The 2010 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 August 2010 to elect members of the 43rd Parliament of Australia. The incumbent centre-left Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard won a second term against the ...
, defeating the Liberal candidate Darren Jameson, and increasing Labor's margin by 1 point. She served with Labor under Prime Minister
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...
, joining Committees for Health and Ageing; for Education and Employment; and Chairing the Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, at the behest of then assistant treasurer,
Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. He also ...
At the 2013 election, O'Neill suffered a 4-point swing against her, being defeated by the Liberals' Lucy Wicks. Her legacy from this time in office was the construction of a cancer clinic for the local region.


Senate career


Becoming a Senator, 44th Parliament

O'Neill re-entered the Parliament of Australia a few weeks after the 2013 election, only as a Senator for NSW. This followed Bob Carr's resignation from the Senate on 24 October 2013, both of that term and the following six-year term. As vacant Senate positions are filled by the respective state or territory, the matter was resolved by a joint sitting of NSW Parliament, which took four minutes, with the President of the Legislative Council appointing O'Neill to the Senate, in the term which had begun on 1 July. O'Neill joined the Senate on the opposition benches of the 44th Parliament of Australia serving on the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. Her anticipated six-year term did not eventuate due to the
double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolutio ...
of parliament in 2016. While serving as Senator for NSW, O'Neill has also been made Labor's duty Senator for the divisions of
Farrer Farrer may refer to: People * Alisha Farrer (born 1993), Australian actress and model * Austin Farrer (1904–1968), English theologian, philosopher, and friend of C. S. Lewis * Buster Farrer (1936–2025), South African cricketer * Claude Farrer ...
, Lyne, Hume,
Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...
, Calare and
Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...
.


Senator and Shadow Minister, 45th Parliament

Regardless, O'Neill was elected to the Senate in her own right in the
2016 Australian federal election The 2016 Australian federal election was a double dissolution election held on Saturday, 2 July 2016, to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign p ...
. In the first sitting of the new Senate she was chosen to be one of the six-year senators in accordance with Section 13 of the Constitution. Serving under Opposition Leader
Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. He also ...
, she was appointed as Shadow Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Shadow Assistant Minister for Innovation. O'Neill chose to abstain from the Senate Vote on the Same Sex Marriage Bill in 2017. Her strong opposition to Matthias Corman's proposal to reduce corporate tax in 2018 led to her being listed amongst "Women Who Are Absolutely Done Listening To Men."


Senator, 46th Parliament

O'Neill continued to serve from opposition benches, but now under the leadership of Labor leader
Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the Leaders of the Australian Labor Party#Leader, leader of the Labor Party si ...
. In July 2019, she was appointed to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade; and the Joint Statutory Committee on Corporations and Financial Services. Using this position she pressured
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to investigate
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for unfair contracts with financial planners. She also accused
AMP Limited AMP Limited (formerly Australian Mutual Provident Society) is an Australian financial services company that operates in Australia and New Zealand. It offers superannuation and investment products, financial advice and banking services through '' ...
, EY and
KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...
of allowing sexual harassment and bullying in their organisations, and challenged a member of the Fair Work Commission for displaying sexualised
waifu The following is a glossary of terms that are specific to anime and manga. Anime includes animated series, films and videos, while manga includes graphic novels, drawings and related artwork. ''Note: Japanese words that are used in general ...
s in a government office. In her committee work on Community Affairs, O'Neill confronted the cosmetic surgery industry for "butchering" many patients, then for gaslighting those patients; she also challenged government for its failure to regulate the industry. Likewise, O'Neill pursued the Department of Social Services' Robodebt scheme, for information about suicides amongst people who had been handed unlawful debts, and clashing with the department's secretary Kathryn Campbell. The scheme was scrapped in May 2020 with the government refunding $721m to Australian people. During this Parliament, O'Neill held senior party positions, including Deputy Co-chair of the ALP's National Policy Forum.


Senator on Government benches, 47th Parliament

In the run up to the
2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 May 2022, to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Morrison government, Liberal–National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, soug ...
, O'Neill refused to relinquish the top position for the Labor Senate ticket to
Kristina Keneally Kristina Marie Kerscher Keneally (born 19 December 1968) is an American-born Australian politician who served as the first female Premier of New South Wales from 2009 to 2011 and was later a Labor Senator for New South Wales from February 2018 u ...
, leading to a bitter internal contest, in which she prevailed. O'Neill campaigned in regional and metropolitan NSW and was returned to the Senate for a second time. Prime Minister
Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the Leaders of the Australian Labor Party#Leader, leader of the Labor Party si ...
appointed her to the committees for Treaties, for Corporations and Financial Services and for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade – which she chairs. O'Neill has asserted Labor's commitment to introducing new laws, in
47th Parliament of Australia 47th may refer to: Chicago Transit Authority stations * 47th station (CTA Green Line) 47th is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's "L" system, located in the Grand Boulevard community area of Chicago, Illinois and serving the Gree ...
, allowing faith-based schools to select staff of that faith. She stood against legislation enabling
Assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...
in Australia's territories.


PWC tax scandal

Beginning in August 2022, O'Neill has served as the chair of The Joint Standing Committee on Corporations and Financial Services. In this role she focused the committee on "uncovering the full extent of failure points" amongst the
Big Four accounting firms The Big Four are the four largest professional services networks in the world: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, EY, KPMG, and PwC. They are the four largest global accounting networks as measured by revenue. The four are often grouped because they ar ...
, particularly their "lack of accountability" to "ensure the national interest prevails.” Having uncovered the 144-page cache of internal PwC emails, O'Neill played a leading part in exposing the PwC tax scandal, revealing that 30 partners and staff were involved. She demanded a clean-out of all who had participated in the breach of confidential Australian Tax Office information, whether “actively or passively.” In June 2023 O'Neill announced a new joint parliamentary inquiry into these companies, their lack of disclosure obligations; the committee will explore how these companies are regulated and disciplined "for bad behaviour." ''
The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...
'' described her approach as "not being so different to installing order in a high school classroom." She has been open in stating her goal is to force large consultancies, like
PwC PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a Multinational corporation, multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Fo ...
, to be fully transparent in their dealings with government.


Political views

O'Neill is reported to carry two items in her handbag: a set of pink rosary beads and a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Known as a devout
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Christian, she has described politics as her way of giving action to faith. O'Neill is known to be part of the socially conservative Right faction of the Labor Party. She has been quoted as saying, “My faith and my belief about people is absolutely embedded in my politics." Political reporter Miriam Webber has described O'Neill's faith as a driving force to "get to the truth" in parliamentary hearings. Along with Senator James Paterson and Peter Khalil, O'Neill is a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, she is the Oceania representative for the International Parliamentary Network for Education (IPNEd), and a delegate to the International Parliamentary Union (IPU). Her notable positions have been: * Supportive of a strong public sector, and with that a critic of
neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...
desire for private sector delivery of government services. * Hawkish on China, criticising China's leadership on matters of human rights and religious freedom. * Supportive of workers rights, advocating for the benefits of entitlements that come with fulltime positions for staff. * Conservative on marriage, saying "I believe in the traditional definition of marriage." * Strong advocate for
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...
. * Concerned at the growing divide between religious and non-religious Australians. She called for a greater focus on religious studies in schools in order to further
cultural literacy Cultural literacy is a term coined by American educator and literary critic E. D. Hirsch, referring to the ability to understand and participate fluently in a given culture. Cultural literacy is an analogy to literacy proper (the ability to read ...
. * Opposition to euthanasia.


Personal life

O'Neill has three children with her husband Paul and lives in Erina on NSW's Central Coast.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Deborah 1961 births Living people Australian people of Irish descent People from Parramatta Australian Catholic University alumni Politicians from Sydney Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Right politicians Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Women members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Robertson Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Academic staff of the University of Newcastle (Australia) 21st-century Australian women politicians Australian schoolteachers Australian MPs 2010–2013