Llewellyn Stephen O'Brien (born 26 June 1972) is an Australian politician who 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 ...
since the
2016 federal election, representing the
Division of Wide Bay
The Division of Wide Bay is an Australian electoral division in the state of Queensland.
Geography
Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed b ...
. He was
deputy speaker of the House from February 2020 to April 2022. He is a member of the
Liberal National Party of Queensland
The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a major 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. At a federal level and in most other ...
(LNP) and sits with the
Nationals in federal parliament.
Early life
O'Brien was born on 26 June 1972 in
Mona Vale, New South Wales
Mona Vale is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 28 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in an area known as the Northern Beaches. Formerly the administrative centre of Pittwat ...
. He left school at the age of 15 to become a full-time carer for his mother, who had been diagnosed with
motor neurone disease
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...
and died a year later. He subsequently worked as a labourer and factory process operator. He met his future wife Sharon when he was 17.
O'Brien is one of just 4 members of the
46th Parliament of Australia
The 46th Parliament of Australia was a meeting of the legislative branch of the Australian federal government, composed of the Australian Senate and the Australian House of Representatives. The 2019 federal election gave the Coalition of th ...
who did not graduate from high school, the others being
Julie Collins,
Jacqui Lambie
Jacquiline Louise Lambie (born 26 February 1971) is an Australian politician who is the leader and founder of the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN). She is a Senator for Tasmania since 2019, and was previously a Senator from 2014 to 2017.
Lambie, an ...
and
Terry Young.
Police career

Prior to his election, O'Brien served as a police officer. He joined the
Queensland Police
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 ...
in 1999.
In his first speech in Parliament he spoke of his own decade long experience of living with
posttraumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
brought about while serving as a traffic accident investigator. In December 2013, O'Brien was accused of having misused police resources for political purposes. He was investigated and faced managerial action, but was cleared of the allegations by Queensland Police.
O'Brien has received both State and National medals for his Police service between 1999 and 2016. In 2010 he was awarded the Queensland Police Service Medal. In 2011 he was awarded the
Queensland Flood and Cyclone Citation. In April 2015 he was awarded a 15-year clasp to the Queensland Police Service Medal. In 2016 he was awarded both the
National Police Service Medal
The National Police Service Medal (NPSM) is a special service award within the Australian honours system to provide "recognition for the unique contribution and significant commitment of those persons who have given ethical and diligent service a ...
and the
National Medal for ethical and diligent service.
Political career
O'Brien became a member of the
National Party of Queensland in 2006, and joined the
Liberal National Party of Queensland
The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a major 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. At a federal level and in most other ...
upon its formation in 2008. He has served in many roles within the parties, including Vice President, Regional Chairman, State Executive, Branch Chairman and Campaign Chairman.
After the retirement announcement of long serving Member of Wide Bay and Deputy Prime Minister
Warren Truss
Warren Errol Truss, (born 8 October 1948) is a former Australian politician who served as the 16th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott Government and the Turnbull Govern ...
, O'Brien was
preselected for the 2016 federal election and won the seat. He has served on the Joint Standing Committees for the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity; and Law Enforcement; as well as the House of Representatives Standing Committees for Indigenous Affairs; and Infrastructure, Transport and Cities.
In 2016, O'Brien was also appointed as the Queensland Chair of the
Federal Government's Black Spot Advisory Panel for 2016/17 by Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
Darren Chester.
In February 2020, O'Brien moved a
spill motion
In Australian politics, a leadership spill (or simply spill) is a colloquialism referring to a declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant and open for contest. A spill may involve all or some of the leadership positions (le ...
for
Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who served as the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia under Malcolm Turnbull from 2016 to 2018 and under Scott Morrison from 2021 to 2022. He was the leader of th ...
to challenge
Michael McCormack for leadership of the National Party. The challenge failed, and on 10 February O'Brien announced that he would no longer sit in the Nationals party room, but would remain a member of the
LNP and continue to support the Morrison government.
O'Brien was subsequently elected as
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives
Deputy or depute may refer to:
* Steward (office)
* Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy"
* Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including:
** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...
, having been nominated unexpectedly by the Opposition against the Government's nominated choice,
Damian Drum.
O'Brien rejoined the Nationals partyroom on 7 December 2020.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Llew
1972 births
Living people
Liberal National Party of Queensland members of the Parliament of Australia
Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Wide Bay
Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Australian police officers
21st-century Australian politicians