David McLean Davis is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician. He has been a Liberal

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 member of the Victorian Legislative Council

Victorian Legislative Council

The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...

 since March 1996, representing East Yarra Province 1996-2006 (until it was abolished) and the Southern Metropolitan Region from 2006 onwards. He is currently the Victorian Minister for Health

Health minister

A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services....

 since 2 December 2010 under Premier Ted Baillieu

Ted Baillieu

Edward Norman "Ted" Baillieu MLA is an Australian politician. He is currently the Premier of Victoria and the member for the Legislative Assembly seat of Hawthorn...

.

Early career

Davis was born in Millicent

Millicent, South Australia

Millicent is a town in South Australia, south-east of Adelaide, and north of Mount Gambier. At the 2006 Census, the population was 4,771.The town is home to the Millicent National Trust Museum, and is nearby to the Tantanoola Caves Conservation Park and the Canunda National Park.The Millicent...

, South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 and studied in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

. He studied applied science at the Phillip Institute of Technology (now part of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

RMIT University

RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....

). Davis also later studied philosophy at the University of Melbourne

University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...

. He worked as a chiropractor and maintained a private practice until being elected to the Legislative Council in 1996.

Political career

Davis had become involved with the Liberal Party during the early 1990s, serving as a delegate on several party committees, and acting as a delegate to the party's State Council between 1993 and 1995. This was to ultimately result in receiving preselection for the safe Liberal seat of East Yarra at the 1996 state election. After the Liberal Party's defeat at the 1999 state election, Davis became the Chair of the Opposition Waste Watch Committee. In this position, he was one of the Labor government's strongest critics, regularly making claims of perceived abuses. In 2000, he became the Parliamentary Secretary for Scrutiny of Government.

Davis almost lost his seat of East Yarra in the 2002 election, but became Shadow Minister for Health, replacing Ron Wilson

Ron Wilson (Australian politician)

Ronald Charles "Ron" Wilson is a former Australian politician. He was the Liberal member for Bennettswood in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2002....

, who was one of was unelected in the 2002 election. In September 2004 Davis announced that if elected, a Liberal government would ban smoking in pubs and clubs. This was followed by a decision from the state government weeks later to the same effect. Davis was often an opponent of Robert Doyle

Robert Doyle

Robert Keith Bennett Doyle is an Australian politician and the 103rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne, elected on 30 November 2008...

's leadership of the parliamentary Liberal Party. In 2005 Doyle transferred Davis to the lower-profile environment portfolio. In May 2006, after Doyles' resignation and replacement by Ted Baillieu

Ted Baillieu

Edward Norman "Ted" Baillieu MLA is an Australian politician. He is currently the Premier of Victoria and the member for the Legislative Assembly seat of Hawthorn...

, Davis was once again promoted and given Baillieu's former portfolio of planning.

Following the 2006 election, Davis was again promoted by Baillieu to the position of Shadow Minister for State and Regional Development. In January 2008 the was elected Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council. Between February 2008 and November 2009, Davis was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Environment and Climate Change and in November 2009, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing, maintaining his responsibility for Scrutiny of Government.