Jonathon Duniam


Jonathon Duniam is an Australian politician and a Liberal Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Tasmania. He was formerly Will Hodgman's deputy chief of staff, quitting in May 2016 to campaign in the Federal election. Duniam, the son of Waratah-Wynyard deputy mayor Mary Duniam, has a long history with the Liberal party, and was formerly president of the Tasmanian Division of the Young Liberals.

Education and career

Duniam grew up in Somerset, Tasmania on the North-West coast of the state. He attended Marist Regional College and the University of Tasmania, while a student at Jane Franklin Hall, where he studied law, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts in 2006. While at university, he served as President of the University of Tasmania Liberal Club. He commenced his career in politics with the President of the Senate, Liberal Senator the Hon Paul Calvert in 2003 before joining Liberal Senator the Hon Eric Abetz as an adviser in 2005. He later worked for Liberal Senator the Hon Stephen Parry, then Chief Opposition Whip, as his Chief of Staff in 2009. From 2010 until before his election in 2016 Duniam was Deputy Chief of Staff to the Hon Will Hodgman MP, playing an instrumental role in the historic 2014 state election win.

Politics

Since his election in 2016 Duniam has championed local Tasmanian issues in Canberra, such as the backpacker tax, funding for the Mersey Community Hospital, Commonwealth support for flood recovery efforts and palliative care funding.
In February 2019, Duniam was appointed Deputy Government Whip in the Senate. After the Coalition's victory at the 2019 federal election, he was appointed Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries and Assistant Minister for Regional Tourism in the Second Morrison Ministry.