David Gillespie

Biography

David Arthur Gillespie is an Australian politician and gastroenterologist who was born on 20 December 1957 in Canberra. He attended Saint Ignatius’ College, Riverview and worked as a gastroenterologist for twenty years. Prior to his election to the House of Representatives in 2013, Gillespie was the director of physician training at Port Macquarie Base Hospital.

Gillespie is a member of the National Party and represents the New South Wales seat of Lyne in the House of Representatives. He contested the seat of Lyne for the first time in 2010 but lost to the incumbent National-turned-independent Rob Oakeshott. However, Gillespie won the seat resoundingly in 2013 after Oakeshott’s retirement.

Gillespie has held various ministerial portfolios in the Turnbull and Morrison governments. He was Assistant Minister for Rural Health (2016–2017), Assistant Minister for Health (2017), Assistant Minister for Children and Families (2017–2018), Minister for Regional Health (2021–2022), and Minister Assisting the Minister for Trade and Investment (2021–2022). He was not retained in the ministry when Scott Morrison replaced Turnbull as prime minister in August 2018.

Gillespie has advocated for politicians representing electorates larger than 10,000 square kilometres to receive additional expenses. He was briefly a candidate to replace Barnaby Joyce as National Party leader in February 2018 but withdrew from the race and endorsed Michael McCormack. Gillespie stood unsuccessfully for the deputy leadership of the National Party in February 2020.

Gillespie’s eligibility to hold public office came under scrutiny after the High Court ruling in the Bob Day case. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) opposition and some community groups believe that Gillespie had an indirect financial relationship with the federal government, in that he owned a suburban shopping complex in Port Macquarie which leased a premises to an Australia Post licensee. In July 2017, the ALP launched a High Court challenge to Gillespie’s eligibility as an MP. Gillespie sold his interest in the shopping complex in early 2018, which would ensure his eligibility in a by-election if the court ruled that he was ineligible at the time of the 2016 election. On 21 March 2018, the High Court determined unanimously that it does not have the jurisdiction to hear the case, unless this matter is referred to it by parliament.

Gillespie is married to Charlotte and they have three children. The family lives at Sancrox, west of Port Macquarie. He is a Roman Catholic.