Llew O'Brien


Llewellyn Stephen O'Brien is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2016 federal election, representing the Division of Wide Bay, and deputy speaker of the House since February 2020. He is a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland, and sat with the Nationals in federal parliament until his election as deputy speaker.

Police career

Prior to his election, O'Brien served as a police officer. He joined the Queensland Police in 1999. In his first speech in Parliament he spoke of his own decade long experience of living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder brought about while serving as a traffic accident investigator. In December 2013, O'Brien was accused of having misused police resources for political purposes. He was investigated and faced managerial action, but was cleared of the allegations by Queensland Police.
O'Brien has received both State and National medals for his Police service between 1999 and 2016. In 2010 he was awarded the Queensland Police Service Medal. In 2011 he was awarded the Queensland Flood and Cyclone Citation. In April 2015 he was awarded a 15-year clasp to the Queensland Police Service Medal. In 2016 he was awarded both the National Police Service Medal and the National Medal for ethical and diligent service.

Political career

O'Brien became a member of the National Party of Queensland in 2006, and joined the Liberal National Party of Queensland upon its formation in 2008. He has served in many roles within the parties, including Vice President, Regional Chairman, State Executive, Branch Chairman and Campaign Chairman.
After the retirement announcement of long serving Member of Wide Bay and Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss, O'Brien was preselected for the 2016 federal election and won the seat. He has served on the Joint Standing Committees for the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity; and Law Enforcement; as well as the House of Representatives Standing Committees for Indigenous Affairs; and Infrastructure, Transport and Cities. In 2016, O'Brien was also appointed as the Queensland Chair of the Federal Government's Black Spot Advisory Panel for 2016/17 by Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester.
In February 2020, O'Brien moved a spill motion for Barnaby Joyce to challenge Michael McCormack for leadership of the National Party. The challenge failed, and on 10 February O'Brien announced that he would no longer sit in the Nationals party room, but would remain a member of the LNP and continue to support the Morrison government. O'Brien was subsequently elected as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, having been nominated unexpectedly by the Opposition against the Government's nominated choice, Damian Drum.