Michelle Anne O'Byrne (born 6 March 1968) is an Australian politician for the Labor Party and from 2024 until 2025, served as

Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly The Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania. The role of Speaker (politics), Speaker has traditionally been a partisan office, filled by the governing party of the time. ...

. O'Byrne was elected in the 2006 state election to the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Tasmanian Legislative Council, Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House, Hobart, Parliament Hou ...

in the

division of Bass The Division of Bass is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in Tasmania. It includes most of the city of Launceston, Tasmania, Launceston and its surrounds. It has traditionally been a margin ...

. In the

2024 Tasmanian state election The 2024 Tasmanian state election was held on 23 March 2024 to elect all 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The House of Assembly uses the proportional Hare-Clark system of voting, with the 35 members elected from five seven-memb ...

, O'Byrne was the second most successful candidate across the state for the Labor Party, receiving 0.95 quotas in her own right in the first preferences alone, only outdone by then-leader,

Rebecca White Rebecca Peta White (born 4 February 1983) is an Australian politician. She was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2025 federal election, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Tasmanian seat of Lyons. She was previo ...

. Prior to her election to state parliament she was a member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

from 1998 to 2004, representing the

Division of Bass The Division of Bass is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in Tasmania. It includes most of the city of Launceston, Tasmania, Launceston and its surrounds. It has traditionally been a margin ...

. O'Byrne announced her retirement from parliament in the 2025 state election.

Early life

O'Byrne was born in Launceston, Tasmania, a grand-niece of a former Labor senator and President of the Senate,

Justin O'Byrne Justin Hilary O'Byrne, AO (1 June 1912 – 10 November 1993) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1947 to 1981, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He was President of the Senate from 1974 to 197 ...

. She graduated from the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

in 1992, with a Bachelor of Arts in

General Studies North America Some North American universities offer the Bachelor of General Studies degree. England, Wales and Northern Ireland General Studies is a GCSE and former A-level examination offered to 16- to 18-year-olds in England, Wales and North ...

. She was an organiser for the

Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union United Voice was an Australian trade union from 1992 to 2019. It merged with the National Union of Workers to form the United Workers Union in 2019. United Voice was part of the Labor Left faction of the Australian Labor Party. The union was ...

, and electorate officer to

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 ...

Kerry O'Brien before entering politics.

Federal MP for Bass

She won the federal seat of Bass in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, and again in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, but was defeated by her

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

opponent Michael Ferguson in the

2004 election The following elections occurred in the year 2004. Africa * 2004 Algerian presidential election * 2004 Botswana general election * 2004 Cameroonian presidential election * 2004 Comorian legislative election * 2004 Equatorial Guinean legislativ ...

. Many put this down to concern about loss of forestry jobs under Labor's environment policy, which had the potential to adversely affect O'Byrne's electorate.

State MP for Bass

After more than a year out of politics, O'Byrne ran as a Labor candidate in the 2006 state election and was easily elected for the state seat of Bass, which covers the same territory as the federal seat. She topped the poll in the five-member electorate, receiving 23.3% of first preferences, helping ensure that Bass was the only seat to record a swing to Labor. Until the defeat of the Labor government in the 2014 state election, she served in the Tasmanian cabinet as Minister for Health, Children and Sport & Recreation. She served in cabinet with her brother

David O'Byrne David O'Byrne (born 17 March 1969) is an Australian trade unionist and politician. A prominent union leader prior to entering politics and the brother of fellow politician Michelle O'Byrne, he has been an Independent member of the Tasmanian H ...

, one of a very few pairs of siblings to have served in cabinet together anywhere in the world. Prior to the 2010 election, O'Byrne was Minister for Environment, Parks, Heritage and the Arts, Minister for Tourism and Minister for Sport and Recreation in the Bartlett government. After 28 years in parliament, O'Byrne announced in June 2025 she would not seek preselection to contest the

2025 Tasmanian state election The 2025 Tasmanian state election will be held on 19 July 2025 to elect all 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The Liberal government, led by Premier Jeremy Rockliff, will attempt to win a fifth consecutive term against the Labor ...

“whether it be in weeks or months to come.”

Speaker of the House of Assembly

O'Byrne was re-elected in Bass at the 2024 election and was elected unopposed to the position of Speaker of the House of Assembly on 14 May 2024, the new parliament's opening day. Her elevation to the position came despite the Labor Party winning only 10 seats at the election and remaining in

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

. In June 2025, O'Byrne exercised her

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

as speaker to secure the passage of a

no-confidence motion A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

in Premier

Jeremy Rockliff Jeremy Page Rockliff Tasmanian House of Assembly, MP (born 5 February 1970) is an Australian politician currently serving as the 47th premier of Tasmania. Rockliff's Premiership of Jeremy Rockliff, premiership began in 2022 following the resign ...

, precipitating a snap state election. In parliament she stated "when I was elected to this position, it was made clear to this house and the public that despite no longer attending the caucus and strategy meetings of the Labor Party, that I would always vote with them ..no-one in this chamber could realistically expect me to provide confidence to a Liberal government". O'Byrne announced her retirement in 2025.

Political interests

A former National co convener of

EMILY's List Australia EMILY's List Australia is a political network in Australia that supports progressive Labor Party (ALP) women candidates seeking election to political office. Founded in 1996, EMILY's List Australia was inspired by EMILY's List, a political acti ...

, Lyk Elect website, ''Michelle O’Byrne'', retrieved 2024-06-06
/ref> O’Byrne had worked to increase the number of women in Parliament and been responsible for delivering significant legislative reform for women. O'Byrne is currently the Australian Chair of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians who work to increase women's participation in political processes globally. Michelle in Africa as part of CWP

Personal life

She is a keen

Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of 5K run, events for runners, walkers and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across five continents. Parkrun was founded by Paul Sinto ...

ner, taking part in Launceston runs when she can. Michelle Park Run

A proud product of the public education system O'Byrne and her partner, Priam Arumugam, live in Launceston with their two teenage daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obyrne, Michelle 1968 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Tasmania Labor Left politicians Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bass Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Speakers of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian trade unionists University of Tasmania alumni 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly 20th-century Australian women politicians Women deputy opposition leaders Australian MPs 1998–2001 Australian MPs 2001–2004