David Elliott (politician)
Encyclopedia
David Andrew Elliott MP (born ca 1972), an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

 representing Baulkham Hills for the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 since 2011
New South Wales state election, 2011
Elections to the 55th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The 16-year incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Premier Kristina Keneally was defeated in a landslide by the Liberal-National coalition opposition led by Barry O'Farrell.New South Wales has...

.

Early years and background

In 1995, Elliott joined the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...

 and commenced his officer training at Royal Military College, Duntroon
Royal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...

, attaining the rank of Captain in April 1997. Taking 18 months leave, he worked as Press Secretary for the Hon. Peter Collins
Peter Collins (Australian politician)
Peter Edward James Collins, AM, RFD, QC was the Leader of the Opposition in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 4 April 1995 to 8 December 1998.-Early years and background:...

, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

 MP who was elected NSW Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (New South Wales)
The role of the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in New South Wales is a title held by the leader of the largest minority party in the state lower house, the New South Wales Legislative Assembly...

 following the 1995 state election
New South Wales state election, 1995
Elections to the 51st Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday 25 March 1995. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election. The minority Liberal Party of Australia-led Coalition government of Premier John Fahey was defeated by...

. During 1999, Elliott was Director for the Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy
Australians for Constitutional Monarchy is a group that aims to preserve Australia's current constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II as Queen of Australia...

 campaign against the referendum for Australia to become a republic
Australian republic referendum, 1999
The Australian republic referendum held on 6 November 1999 was a two-question referendum to amend the Constitution of Australia. The first question asked whether Australia should become a republic with a President appointed by Parliament following a bi-partisan appointment model which had...

; for which he was awarded the Centenary Medal
Centenary Medal
The Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...

 on 1 January 2001 for service to the constitutional reform debate.

Returning to the Army in 2000, Elliott served in peace-keeping forces in Bouganville, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

 and was awarded the Australian Service Medal. For the next four years, Elliott worked as State Operations Manager in St John Ambulance (NSW)
St John Ambulance Australia
St John Ambulance Australia is a self-funding charitable organisation dedicated to helping people in sickness, distress, suffering or danger. It is part of an international organisation that consists of eight Priories that form the Order of St John.- History :St John First Aid training centres...

, before commencing as Executive Officer of the Australian Hotels Association
Australian Hotels Association
The Australian Hotels Association is an employer advocacy and lobby group representing hoteliers around Australia.The AHA was established in 1839, and is an organisation of employers registered under Commonwealth Industrial Relations law and respective State Laws...

, and later becoming Deputy Chief Executive Officer. In 2008, Elliott became Chief Executive Officer of the Civil Contractors Federation and held this position up until his election to Parliament.

Elliott has been a Director of Castle Hill RSL Club Limited since 2009. Elliott was a Director of Life Education Australia between 2009 and 2011, and a Member of Sydney Chamber of Commerce from 2008 to 2011. Between 1992 and 2001, he has held a range of Liberal Party elected positions.

Political career

On 16 June 2007, Elliott sought Liberal Party preselection for the Federal seat of Mitchell
Division of Mitchell
The Division of Mitchell is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the north-west suburbs of Sydney, and includes the entire suburbs of Baulkham Hills, Beaumont Hills, Bella Vista, Box Hill, Kellyville, Nelson and Winston Hills...

, but lost by a margin of 20 votes to 81 against Alex Hawke
Alex Hawke
Alexander George "Alex" Hawke MP , an Australian politician, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing Mitchell, in north-western metropolitan Sydney, for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2007...

, then an advisor to Ray Williams MP. Paul Blanch, a grazier from Orange
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....

, received 8 votes. Alan Cadman
Alan Cadman
Alan Glyndwr Cadman, AM , Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from 18 May 1974 to 17 October 2007, representing the Division of Mitchell, New South Wales....

, who had been the member for Mitchell since 1974, chose not to contest the preselection, but was later quoted as saying that this was due to "relentless branch-stacking within the electorate." In February 2010, Elliott unsuccessfully sought Liberal Party pre-selection for the Legislative Council of New South Wales in a bitter and public battle with David Clarke
David Clarke (Australian politician)
David John Clarke, an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council representing the Liberal Party of Australia since 2003. and is considered to have conservative Christian views.-Personal life:...

, a member of the Liberal's so called 'religious right' faction.

Following the announcement of the retirement of sitting Liberal member, Wayne Merton
Wayne Merton
Wayne Ashley Merton , a former Australian politician, was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing the electorates of Carlingford between 1988 and 1991 and Baulkham Hills between 1991 and 2011 for the Liberal Party of Australia...

, Elliott successfully won party pre-slection, running against Baulkham Hills Councillor Mike Thomas and solicitor, Damien Tudehope. At the 2011 election, Elliott was elected to the safe Liberal seat with a swing of 14.4 per cent and won the seat with 76.4 per cent of the vote on a two party preferred basis. Elliott's main opponent was Tony Hay, representing Labor.

External links

  • Mr David Andrew ELLIOTT, BA, GradCertPubPol, MA MP - Parliament of New South Wales
    Parliament of New South Wales
    The Parliament of New South Wales, located in Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney, is the main legislative body in the Australian state of New South Wales . It is a bicameral parliament elected by the people of the state in general elections. The parliament shares law making powers with...

    .
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