John Edwin McGrath is a Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

n politician and has been the Liberal

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...

 member for the electorate of South Perth

Electoral district of South Perth

South Perth is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia.The district is located in the suburbs immediately south of the Perth CBD....

 in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly

Western Australian Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....

 since the 2005 election

Western Australian state election, 2005

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 26 February 2005 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council...

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Before entering Parliament McGrath was a journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 and held several positions including Sports editor

Editing

Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...

, Chief Football Writer and Bureau Chief in Melbourne covering sport for The West Australian

The West Australian

The West Australian is the only locally-edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia, and is owned by ASX-listed Seven West Media . The West is published in tabloid format, as is the state's other major newspaper, The Sunday Times, a News Limited publication...

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McGrath was elected with a swing of 14.2% following the retirement of Phillip Pendal and holds the seat by a margin of 5.8%, he was appointed the Opposition Spokesperson on Seniors, Racing and Gaming and Liquor licensing in 2005 and in 2008 was appointed as Shadow Minister of Road Safety and Housing and Works.

In 2008, McGrath was cleared by the Corruption and Crime Commission

Corruption and Crime Commission

The Corruption and Crime Commission is a permanent investigative commission established by the Government of Western Australia in 2003, largely as a result of the findings of a Royal Commission into the state's police service. Its role is to investigate public corruption...

 in relation to dealings with lobbyist Brian Burke

Brian Burke

Brian Thomas Burke was Labor premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1983 until his resignation on 25 February 1988...

. Burke approached McGrath in order to move a parliamentary motion that Burke had prepared, but the CCC cleared the charges on the grounds that McGrath had no knowledge of Burke's commercial interest in the matter.

McGrath was appointed Government Whip following the 2008 election.