Representative Llew O'Brien Contact information

Born on June 26, 1972, Llewellyn Stephen O’Brien is a prominent Australian politician currently serving as a member of the House of Representatives from the Division of Wide Bay, since the 2016 federal election. O’Brien is affiliated with the Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) and sits with the Nationals in the federal parliament. From February 2020 to April 2022, he served as the deputy speaker of the House.

O’Brien’s early life was marked by adversity. He left school at the age of 15 to care for his mother who had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease. She passed away a year later. After this, he worked as a labourer and factory process operator. O’Brien met his future wife Sharon when he was 17. Interestingly, he is one of the four members of the 46th Parliament of Australia who did not complete high school. The other members are Julie Collins, Jacqui Lambie and Terry Young.

Before venturing into politics, O’Brien served as a police officer. He joined the Queensland Police in 1999. During his time as a traffic accident investigator, he suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder. He highlighted his experience in his first speech in Parliament. In December 2013, O’Brien was accused of misusing police resources for political purposes. However, he was cleared of the allegations after an investigation by the Queensland Police.

O’Brien has received several awards for his exemplary service in the Queensland Police. He was awarded the Queensland Police Service Medal in 2010, the Queensland Flood and Cyclone Citation in 2011, and a 15-year clasp to the Queensland Police Service Medal in April 2015. In 2016, he was awarded both the National Police Service Medal and the National Medal for ethical and diligent service.

O’Brien’s political career began when he became a member of the National Party of Queensland in 2006. After the formation of the Liberal National Party of Queensland in 2008, he joined the party and served in various roles, including Vice President, Regional Chairman, State Executive, Branch Chairman and Campaign Chairman. O’Brien was preselected for the 2016 federal election after the retirement announcement of Warren Truss, the long-serving Member of Wide Bay and Deputy Prime Minister. He won the seat and has since served on several important committees.

In February 2020, O’Brien moved a spill motion for Barnaby Joyce to challenge Michael McCormack for leadership of the National Party. However, the challenge failed, and on February 10, O’Brien announced that he would no longer sit in the Nationals party room but would remain a member of the LNP and support the Morrison government. Later that year, in a surprising turn of events, O’Brien rejoined the Nationals partyroom.