Michael Daley

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable

| name = Michael Daley

| honorific-suffix = MP

| image = Michael Daley, official portrait (cropped).jpg

| imagesize = 200px

| caption =

| office = Attorney-General of New South Wales

| premier = Chris Minns

| term_start = 28 March 2023

| term_end =

| predecessor = Mark Speakman

| successor =

| office1 = 38th Leader of the Opposition in New South Wales
{{small|Elections: 2019}}

| premier1 = Gladys Berejiklian

| deputy1 = Penny Sharpe

| term_start1 = 10 November 2018

| term_end1 = 25 March 2019

| predecessor1 = Luke Foley

| successor1 = Jodi McKay

| office2 = Leader of the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch)

| deputy2 = Penny Sharpe

| term_start2 = 10 November 2018

| term_end2 = 25 March 2019

| predecessor2 = Luke Foley

| successor2 = Penny Sharpe (Acting)
Jodi McKay (Permanent)

| constituency_MP4 = Maroubra

| parliament4 = New South Wales

| term_start4 = 17 September 2005

| term_end4 =

| predecessor4 = Bob Carr

| office5 = Minister for Police

| term_start5 = 14 September 2009

| term_end5 = 28 March 2011

| predecessor5 = Tony Kelly

| successor5 = Mike Gallacher

| premier5 = Nathan Rees
Kristina Keneally

| office6 = Deputy Mayor of Randwick

| 1blankname6 = Mayor

| 1namedata6 = Dominic Sullivan

| term_start6 = September 2000

| term_end6 = 20 April 2004

| predecessor6 = Shane Barber

| successor6 = Bruce Notley-Smith

| office7 = Councillor of the Randwick City Council
for South Ward

| term_start7 = 9 September 1995

| term_end7 = 13 September 2008

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1965|11|1}}

| birth_place = Maroubra, New South Wales, Australia

| party = Labor

| profession = Lawyer

| website = {{URL|michaeldaley.com.au}}

}}

Michael John Daley (born 1 November 1965) is an Australian politician and has been the Attorney-General of New South Wales since 28 March 2023. He was previously the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of New South Wales from November 2018 to March 2019. He is the member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Maroubra for the Australian Labor Party since 2005.{{cite NSW Parliament |id=27 |name=Mr Michael John DALEY, DipLaw MP |access-date=25 March 2019}} Daley is aligned with the Labor Right faction.{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/michael-daley-elected-nsw-labor-party-leader-over-chris-minns-20181110-p50f8i.html |title=Michael Daley elected NSW Labor Party leader, promising to 'press the reset button' |date=10 November 2018 |access-date=14 November 2018 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |author=Visentin, Lisa }}

Personal life

Daley is of Irish Catholic background.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/08/luke-foley-nsw-labor-leadership-unsustainable-michael-daley-likely-successor|title=Michael Daley tipped to succeed Luke Foley as NSW Labor leader|first=Michael|last=McGowan|date=8 November 2018|access-date=25 March 2019|via=www.theguardian.com}} He was educated at Marcellin College, Randwick, finishing in 1983. He spent 13 years as a customs officer with the Australian Customs Service, during which time he studied law at night.

Daley married Christina Ithier in 2005 whom he met "at a photocopier" at his legal firm in 1997. She had two children from a previous marriage whom Daley counts as his own. He and Christina have since had two other children.{{cite news | url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/a-labor-government-will-civilise-the-place-says-leader-michael-daley-20190111-p50qql.html | title=A Labor government will 'civilise the place', says leader Michael Daley |work=The Sydney Morning Herald | first=Deborah | last=Snow | first2=Alexandra |last2=Smith | date=2019-01-12 | access-date=2019-01-19}}{{cite web | url=https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/member/files/27/Michael%20Daley%20Inaugural%20Speech.pdf | title=Inaugural speeches: Michael Daley | first=Michael |last=Daley | publisher=Parliament of NSW |date=2005-10-12 }}

Early career

In 1998, having completed his legal studies he was admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales as a legal practitioner and began to pursue a career as a lawyer, and worked for a year in a law firm in central Sydney before spending five years as a senior in-house lawyer with NRMA Motoring and Services.

Daley was elected as a councillor to Randwick City Council in 1995 and was deputy mayor from 2000 to 2004.

Political career

Daley was elected to represent Maroubra for the Australian Labor Party in 17 Sep 2005, replacing previous Labor member Bob Carr who announced his retirement from politics. Daley served on the backbench until the elevation of Nathan Rees as Premier of New South Wales in September 2008 when Daley became the Minister for Roads on 8 September 2008. Daley held this portfolio until a cabinet reshuffle on 14 September 2009 where he was subsequently appointed Minister for Police and Minister for Finance, the portfolios he held until 4 December 2009.

When Kristina Keneally became Premier in December 2009 he remained as Minister for Police and Minister for Finance until the 2011 state election, where he was one of just 20 Labor MPs elected. Daley was believed to be a potential candidate for the Labor leadership, however, he did not contest it.{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/state-election-2011/daley-wont-contest-nsw-labor-leadership-20110330-1cfn2.html|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|title=Daley 'won't contest' NSW Labor leadership|agency=AAP|date=30 March 2011}} As a result, John Robertson was elected unopposed as Keneally's replacement,{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/john-robertson-elected-labor-leader-unopposed/story-fn7q4q9f-1226031296931|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=John Robertson elected NSW Labor leader unopposed|location= Australia|date=30 March 2011}} and Daley was appointed as Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Finance and Services in the Robertson shadow ministry and the subsequent Foley shadow ministry from 11 April 2011 to 10 March 2016 and 28 March 2014, respectively.

In March 2016 he was appointed Shadow Minister for Gaming and Racing, Shadow Minister for Planning and Infrastructure which he held on to until 27 November 2018. He also served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 7 March 2016 before being elected as the Leader of the Opposition on 10 November 2018.

=Leader of the Opposition=

Following Luke Foley's resignation of the role, Daley nominated for the role of New South Wales Labor leader and Leader of the New South Wales Opposition. On 10 November 2018, Daley won the leadership election against Chris Minns 33 votes to 12,{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-10/nsw-labor-michael-daley-elected-after-luke-foley-resigns/10485066|title=NSW Labor elects paperboy turned lawyer Michael Daley as new leader|date=2018-11-10|work=ABC News|access-date=2018-11-10|language=en-AU}} and was elected as the Leader of the Labor Party in New South Wales and became the 38th NSW Leader of the Opposition.

On 19 March 2019, a few days before the state election, a video from September 2018 surfaced in which Daley made comments about Asian immigration in Sydney. Daley said "Our young children will flee and who are they being replaced with? They are being replaced by young people from typically Asia with PhDs," and "So there's a transformation happening in Sydney now where our kids are moving out and foreigners are moving in and taking their jobs".{{cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/nsw-labor-leader-michael-daley-apologises-for-foreign-workers-comment|title=NSW Labor leader Michael Daley apologises for foreign workers comment|website=SBS News|access-date=25 March 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/19/michael-daley-claims-asian-workers-taking-young-peoples-jobs-in-sydney|title=Michael Daley claims Asian workers taking young people's jobs in Sydney|agency=Australian Associated Press|date=18 March 2019|access-date=25 March 2019|via=www.theguardian.com}} Daley apologised from his comments, stating "What I was referring to was housing affordability in Sydney ... I could've expressed myself better, no offence was meant."{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/they-ve-accepted-what-i-ve-said-daley-forced-to-explain-himself-over-immigrant-comments-20190319-p515ev.html |title='They've accepted what I've said': Daley forced to explain himself over immigrant comments |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald |date=19 March 2019 |access-date=2019-03-19}} The party was unsuccessful in the election a few days later, and Daley subsequently stood aside as leader and withdrew his candidacy for the subsequent leadership ballot after initially stating that he would contest it.{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/nsw-election-2019/michael-daley-stands-aside-as-nsw-labor-leader-until-after-federal-election-20190325-p517fu.html|title='I don't want to be a distraction': Michael Daley stands aside as NSW Labor leader|first=Alexandra Smith, Esther|last=Han|date=25 March 2019|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=25 March 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-26/michael-daley-not-contesting-nsw-labor-leadership/10941948|title=Michael Daley abandons NSW Labor leadership race|first=Jamie|last=McKinnell|date=26 March 2019|website=ABC News|access-date=27 May 2019}} Jodi McKay became the new permanent as party leader and opposition leader in June 2019 after Daley's resignation.

On 30 May 2021, following the resignation of McKay as party leader, Daley announced he would run again for party leadership.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-30/michael-daley-to-contest-nsw-labor-leadership/100176894|title=Michael Daley to make another tilt at NSW Labor leadership|publisher=ABC News|date=30 May 2021|access-date=31 May 2021}} On 4 June 2021, he pulled out of the leadership contest, allowing Chris Minns to be elected leader unopposed.{{cite web |last=Raper |first=Ashleigh |title=Kogarah MP Chris Minns to be NSW Opposition Leader after Michael Daley pulls out |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-04/chris-minns-to-be-nsw-opposition-leader/100189910 |access-date=4 June 2021|work=ABC News}}