Dean Smith (Australian politician)

Senator
Dean Smith
Senator for Western Australia
Assumed office
2 May 2012
Preceded by Judith Adams
Personal details
Born Dean Anthony Smith
(1969-05-15) 15 May 1969
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Nationality Australian
Political party Liberal Party of Australia
Alma mater University of Western Australia
Occupation Politician

Dean Anthony Smith (born 15 May 1969) is an Australian politician and Liberal Party member of the Australian Senate since 2012, representing Western Australia.[1]

Smith joined the Liberal Party at the age of 17, and later worked as a policy adviser to Premier of Western Australia Richard Court. In 1998, he was a senior advisor to Prime Minister John Howard during the Coalition's 1998 federal election campaign. In 2010, he founded Smith & Duda Consulting, a political lobbying firm,[2] and also served as treasurer of the Liberal Party state branch in Western Australia.[3][4]

Smith was appointed to the Senate on 2 May 2012 by a joint sitting of the Parliament of Western Australia, to fill a casual vacancy caused by the death of Senator Judith Adams.[5]

Smith was the first openly-LGBTI member of the Parliament of Australia from the Liberal Party, and has supported same-sex marriage in Australia since the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis.[6] Prior to that, he opposed same-sex marriage and voted against it.[7] Smith introduced the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 to the Senate on 15 November and passed the Senate on 29 November 2017.[8]

Smith is a member of a number of political and community organisations, including Australians for Constitutional Monarchy and the Australian National Flag Association.

Personal life

Smith is the son of a policeman and housewife and is originally from Mirrabooka.[9] He was the first person in his family to attend university.[9] He is an Anglican.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Hansard: Election of Senator, Parliament of Western Australia, 2 May 2012.
  2. ↑ LinkedIn profile
  3. ↑ Guest, Debbie (23 April 2012). "Former Howard man steps into West Australian Senate seat (Subscription)". The Australian. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Karp, Paul (2017-11-29). "Same-sex marriage bill passes in Australian Senate". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  5. ↑ "Dean Smith confirmed as WA's newest Senator". ABC News. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  6. ↑ Knott, Matthew (20 February 2015). "Liberal MP Dean Smith's views on same-sex marriage turned at 30,000ft". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  7. ↑ Smith voted very strongly against same-sex marriage equality
  8. ↑ "Legislative Tracker: Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017". Parliament of Australia. 15 November 2017.
  9. 1 2 Taylor, Paige (6 May 2012). "New senator a 'constitutional revolutionary'". THE AUSTRALIAN. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  10. ↑ @deansmithwa (29 August 2017). "Proud to be an anglican. Congrats to WA's new Anglican Archbishop - grace, dignity and true leadership" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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