David Hodgett 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 Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...

 representing the seat of Kilsyth

Electoral district of Kilsyth

Kilsyth is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. It is a 41 km² electorate located in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, encompassing the suburbs of Bayswater North and Croydon South and parts of the suburbs of Kilsyth, Lilydale and Montrose...

 since 2006.

Hodgett was born in Cooma

Cooma, New South Wales

-Education: is Cooma's only public high school, it serves the town and seven of the neighbouring rural towns and villages such as Berridale, Jindabyne, Nimmitabel, Bredbo and Dalgety....

, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, and before his involvement in politics worked as a registrar

Registrar (academic)

In education outside the United Kingdom, a registrar or registrary is an official in an academic institution who handles student records. Typically, a registrar processes registration requests, schedules classes and maintains class lists, enforces the rules for entering or leaving classes, and...

. He received a Bachelor of Business and Management in 1996 from 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....

, a Graduate Diploma

Graduate Diploma

A Graduate Diploma is generally a postgraduate qualification, although some graduate diplomas involve the study of undergraduate level courses...

 in 1998 from the Australian Institute of Company Directors

Australian Institute of Company Directors

The Australian Institute of Company Directors is Australia's leading membership body for directors in Australia and the leading Australian not-for-profit corporate governance organisation....

, a Graduate Certificate in eBusiness and Communication in 2002 from Swinburne University of Technology

Swinburne University of Technology

Swinburne University of Technology is an Australian public dual sector university based in Melbourne, Victoria. The institution was founded by the Honourable George Swinburne in 1908 and achieved university status in June 1992...

, and an Advanced Diploma in 2004, again from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In 1997 he was elected to Yarra Ranges Shire Council

Shire of Yarra Ranges

The Yarra Ranges Shire is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the outer eastern and northeastern suburbs of Melbourne extending into the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges...

, serving several periods as mayor (1998–99, 2004, 2004–05).

Hodgett left the council in 2005 and was preselected as the 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...

 candidate for the Labor

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 seat of Kilsyth

Electoral district of Kilsyth

Kilsyth is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. It is a 41 km² electorate located in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, encompassing the suburbs of Bayswater North and Croydon South and parts of the suburbs of Kilsyth, Lilydale and Montrose...

 for the 2006 state election

Victorian state election, 2006

An election for the 56th Parliament of Victoria took place on Saturday, 25 November 2006. Just over 3 million Victorians registered to vote elected 88 members to the Legislative Assembly and, for the first time, 40 members to the Legislative Council under a proportional representation system...

. The result was very close, with Hodgett eventually defeating sitting MP Dympna Beard

Dympna Beard

Dympna Anne Beard was an Australian politician. She was an Australian Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2002 to 2006.Beard was born in Colac, Victoria....

 by 185 votes. He has represented the seat since 2006.

In the 2010 state election

Victorian state election, 2010

The 2010 Victorian state election was held on 27 November. The incumbent centre-left Australian Labor Party government, led by John Brumby, was defeated by the centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition, led by Ted Baillieu....

Hodgett increased his primary vote to 53.42%, with a final 2PP result of 60.62%.

Hodgett is married with seven children.