Deborah O'Neill

Senator Deborah O'Neill
Senator for New South Wales
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 November 2013
Preceded by	Bob Carr
Member of the Australian Parliament for Robertson
In office 21 August 2010 – 7 September 2013
Preceded by	Belinda Neal
Succeeded by	Lucy Wicks
Personal details
Born	(1961-06-04) 4 June 1961 Parramatta, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Paul
Children	Caitlin, Brianna and Noah
Profession	University lecturer

Deborah Mary O'Neill (born 4 June 1961) is an Australian federal politician, formerly representing the seat of Robertson as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2010 to 2013 for the Australian Labor Party. On 13 November 2013, O'Neill was chosen to fill a casual vacancy in the Senate, representing the state of New South Wales.

Early years and background

O'Neill grew up in Western Sydney, a child of Irish immigrants, before moving to the Central Coast when she got married. She was a local teacher and a lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Arts at The University of Newcastle, Central Coast Campus. O'Neill is linked with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA).

Political career

At the NSW state election in 2003, O'Neill challenged Chris Hartcher in the seat of Gosford and lost by only 272 votes. After that seat was redistributed, O'Neill again challenged Hartcher for the new seat of Terrigal but was defeated.

In 2010, O'Neill was endorsed as Labor candidate for Robertson following a very public process that saw incumbent Labor member, Belinda Neal, lose preselection. At the 2010 federal election O'Neill was challenged by Liberal candidate Darren Jameson, but won the seat with an increased margin for Labor of 1%. At the 2013 election, O'Neill suffered a 3.8% swing against her and was defeated by the Liberals' Lucy Wicks.

Following the resignation of Bob Carr from the Australian Senate on 24 October 2013, O'Neill was selected by Labor to fill the casual vacancy, and was appointed by the NSW Parliament on 13 November 2013. In an unprecedented situation where Carr resigned both his current term and the following six-year term, the NSW Government sought legal advice regarding the tenure of O'Neill's appointment. O'Neill was re-appointed to the Senate by the New South Wales Parliament after the commencement of the 2014–2020 Senate term. To mitigate the cost of recalling both houses of the parliament for a joint sitting (estimated at AUD $300,000), Premier Mike Baird convened a sitting on 2 July of two government members and two opposition members before the President of the Legislative Council to appoint O'Neill to the Senate for the term which began on 1 July.

As of May 2016, Senator O'Neill is the longest serving non-elected Senator due to her being chosen to fill the vacancy caused by Carr's resignation near the end of the previous Senate term and then serving the term that Carr had originally been elected, but never served for. O'Neill could have served for a full six year term as a non-elected Senator which would have ended on June 30 2020 if it weren't for a double dissolution election called for July 2 2016 which meant that all Senate places including O'Neill's was up for election.

In March 2016, Deborah O'Neill is the only NSW Labor Australian Senator to still personally oppose same-sex marriage. Her reason is that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.

External links

• Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Deborah O'Neill on TheyVoteForYou.org.au

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Belinda Neal	Member for Robertson 2010–2013	Succeeded by Lucy Wicks
Preceded by Bob Carr	Senator for New South Wales 2013–present	Incumbent