Dean Smith (Australian politician)
{{Short description|Australian politician}}
{{About|the Liberal Party of Australia senator for WA|text=For the House of Reps candidate for O'Connor, WA, in the 2019 election, see Pauline Hanson's One Nation; for other uses, see Dean Smith (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = Senator
| name = Dean Smith
| honorific-suffix =
| image =Senator Dean Smith (cropped).jpg
| caption = Smith in 2022
| imagesize =
| smallimage =
| alt =
| order =
| office = Chief Government Whip in the Senate
| primeminister = Scott Morrison
| term_start = 21 January 2019
| term_end = 23 May 2022
| predecessor = David Bushby
| successor = Anne Urquhart
| office1 = Senator for Western Australia
| term_start1 = 2 May 2012
| term_end1 =
| predecessor1 = Judith Adams
| successor1 =
| constituency =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|5|15|df=y}}
| birth_place = Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| birthname = Dean Anthony Smith
| nationality = Australian
| party = Liberal Party of Australia
| alma_mater = University of Western Australia
| occupation = Politician
}}
Dean Anthony Smith (born 15 May 1969) is an Australian politician and Liberal Party member of the Australian Senate since 2012, representing Western Australia.{{cite Hansard |url=https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Hansard/hansard.nsf/0/12E8850467F971E448257AF7002B1AC6/$file/C38%20S1%2020120502%20All.pdf |title=Election of Senator |date=2 May 2012 |jurisdiction=Western Australia |house=Joint Sitting of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly |page_start=2022 |page_end=2024 }} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109000753/https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Hansard/hansard.nsf/0/12E8850467F971E448257AF7002B1AC6/$file/C38%20S1%2020120502%20All.pdf |date=9 November 2021 }}{{cite Au Parliament |mpid=241710 |name=Senator Dean Smith |access-date=2021-11-07}}
Early life
Smith attended Mirrabooka Primary School and Mirrabooka Senior High School, later attending the University of Western Australia where he graduated with honours in political science.
Politics
Smith joined the Liberal Party at the age of 17, and later worked as a policy adviser to Premier of Western Australia Richard Court. In 1998, he was a senior advisor to Prime Minister John Howard during the Coalition's 1998 federal election campaign. In 2010, he founded Smith & Duda Consulting, a political lobbying firm,[https://web.archive.org/web/20240503153427/https://au.linkedin.com/in/dean-smith-7733047a LinkedIn profile] and also served as treasurer of the Liberal Party state branch in Western Australia.{{cite news |title=Former Howard man steps into West Australian Senate seat (Subscription) |author=Guest, Debbie |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/former-howard-man-steps-into-west-australian-senate-seat/story-fn59niix-1226335710997 |newspaper=The Australian |date=23 April 2012 |access-date=2 May 2012 |archive-date=25 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425115910/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/former-howard-man-steps-into-west-australian-senate-seat/story-fn59niix-1226335710997 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/nov/29/same-sex-marriage-bill-passes-in-australian-senate|title=Same-sex marriage bill passes in Australian Senate|last=Karp|first=Paul|date=2017-11-29|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-02-08|archive-date=27 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527063431/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/nov/29/same-sex-marriage-bill-passes-in-australian-senate|url-status=live}}
Smith is factionally unaligned.{{cite web |last1=Massola |first1=James |title=Who's who in the Liberals' left, right and centre factions? |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/who-s-who-in-the-liberals-left-right-and-centre-factions-20210303-p577gv.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=20 March 2021 |publisher=Fairfax Media |access-date=1 February 2022 |archive-date=22 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322020317/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/who-s-who-in-the-liberals-left-right-and-centre-factions-20210303-p577gv.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Massola |first1=James |title=How Morrison's shattering defeat gave Dutton a seismic shift in factional power |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/how-morrison-s-shattering-defeat-gave-dutton-a-seismic-shift-in-factional-power-20230330-p5cwoq.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=8 April 2023 |access-date=4 December 2023 |archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410122913/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/how-morrison-s-shattering-defeat-gave-dutton-a-seismic-shift-in-factional-power-20230330-p5cwoq.html |url-status=live }}
=Senate=
Smith was appointed to the Senate on 2 May 2012 by a joint sitting of the Parliament of Western Australia, to fill a casual vacancy caused by the death of Senator Judith Adams.{{cite news|title=Dean Smith confirmed as WA's newest Senator|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-02/new-wa-senator-to-be-confirmed/3985026?section=wa|access-date=2 May 2012|newspaper=ABC News|date=2 May 2012}}
Smith was the first openly-LGBTI member of the Parliament of Australia from the Liberal Party, and has supported same-sex marriage in Australia since the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis.{{cite news|title=Liberal MP Dean Smith's views on same-sex marriage turned at 30,000ft|author=Knott, Matthew|url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/liberal-mp-dean-smiths-views-on-samesex-marriage-turned-at-30000ft-20150220-137spm.html|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=20 February 2015|access-date=21 February 2015|archive-date=21 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221035945/http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/liberal-mp-dean-smiths-views-on-samesex-marriage-turned-at-30000ft-20150220-137spm.html|url-status=live}} Prior to that, he opposed same-sex marriage and voted against it.[https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/wa/dean_smith/policies/1|Dean Smith voted very strongly against same-sex marriage equality] Smith introduced the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 to the Senate on 15 November and passed the Senate on 29 November 2017 following the affirmative result of the national postal survey.{{cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/love-finally-conquered-historic-same-sex-marriage-bill-passes-australian-parliament/4xdiycoai |title='Love finally conquered': Historic same-sex marriage bill passes Australian parliament|work=SBS News|date=8 December 2017|orig-date=7 December 2017|access-date=11 March 2025|archive-date=30 August 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830073553/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/love-finally-conquered-historic-same-sex-marriage-bill-passes-australian-parliament/4xdiycoai |first1=James |last1=Elton-Pym |last2=Copp |first2=Amanda |url-status=live}}
Smith was appointed Chief Government Whip in the Senate on 21 January 2019.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/DeanSmithWA/status/1087266567929253888|work=Dean Smith MP|date=21 January 2019|title=It's a great honour to be chosen by my Liberal Senate colleagues to be the Chief Government Whip in the Senate. I am delighted to be joining the ranks of WA Liberals who have served in the office which includes Malcolm Scott, Reg Withers, Fred Chaney and John Panizza. #auspol|publisher=Twitter|access-date=25 January 2019|archive-date=7 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207002455/https://twitter.com/DeanSmithWA/status/1087266567929253888|url-status=live}}
He served on the "Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000 year old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia", which delivered its interim report in December 2020.{{cite book |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Northern_Australia/CavesatJuukanGorge/Interim_Report |title=Never again: Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000 year old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia - Interim Report |date=December 2020 |author=Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia |isbn=978-1-76092-197-2 |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |access-date=23 June 2021 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203247/https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Northern_Australia/CavesatJuukanGorge/Interim_Report |url-status=dead }} [https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024579/toc_pdf/NeverAgain.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241120102536/https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024579/toc_pdf/NeverAgain.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf |date=20 November 2024 }} He co-authored additional dissenting comments to the Inquiry's final report with George Christensen MP, arguing against the report's recommendation for new Commonwealth heritage legislation because the "duplication of cultural heritage protection laws at a Federal level is not supported by peak [mining] industry bodies."{{Cite book |last=Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia|title=A Way Forward: Final report into the destruction of Indigenous heritage sites at Juukan Gorge |publisher=Parliament of Australia|year=2021 |location=Canberra |url=https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf |pages=214}}
Smith is a member of a number of political and community organisations, including Australians for Constitutional Monarchy{{Cite web|date=2015-05-05|title=Conference on The Crown|url=https://norepublic.com.au/conference-on-the-crown/|access-date=2021-11-09|website=Australians for Constitutional Monarchy|language=en-AU}} and the Australian National Flag Association.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}
Personal life
Smith is the son of a policeman and housewife and is originally from Mirrabooka.{{cite web | url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/new-senator-a-constitutional-revolutionary/story-fn59niix-1226348195231 | title=New senator a 'constitutional revolutionary' | publisher=THE AUSTRALIAN | date=6 May 2012| access-date=20 November 2016 | author=Taylor, Paige}} He was the first person in his family to attend university. He is an Anglican.{{cite tweet |user=deansmithwa |number=902693361101955072 |date=29 August 2017 |title=Proud to be an anglican. Congrats to WA's new Anglican Archbishop - grace, dignity and true leadership }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Biography|Australia|LGBTQ|Western Australia}}
- [http://deansmithwa.com.au/ Official website]
- [https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/wa/dean_smith Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Dean Smith on TheyVoteForYou.org.au]
{{Australian Senators}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Dean}}
Category:Australian monarchists
Category:Australian political consultants
Category:Australian gay politicians
Category:LGBTQ legislators in Australia
Category:Australian LGBTQ rights activists
Category:Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
Category:Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia
Category:Members of the Australian Senate
Category:Politicians from Perth, Western Australia
Category:University of Western Australia alumni