Deborah O'Neill
Encyclopedia
Deborah Mary O'Neill an Australia
n federal politician
, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives
representing the seat of Robertson
, New South Wales
for the Australian Labor Party
, elected at the 2010 federal election.
, Central Coast Campus.
, 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. O'Neill was challenged by Liberal
candidate Darren Jameson but won the seat with a 0.09% margin.
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 federal politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
representing the seat of Robertson
Division of Robertson
The Division of Robertson is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. The Division is located on the Central Coast, immediately north of the Hawkesbury River. It encompasses the towns of Woy Woy, Gosford and Terrigal....
, 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...
for the Australian Labor Party
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...
, elected at the 2010 federal election.
Early years and background
O'Neill grew up in the western suburbs of 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 NewcastleUniversity of Newcastle, Australia
The University of Newcastle is an Australian public university that was established in 1965. The University's main and largest campus is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle in New South Wales...
, Central Coast Campus.
Political career
At the NSW State election in 2003New South Wales state election, 2003
Elections to the 53rd Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday 22 March 2003. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election...
, O'Neill challenged Chris Hartcher
Chris Hartcher
Christopher "Chris" Peter Hartcher MP , an Australian politician, is the New South Wales Minister for Resources and Energy, Special Minister of State and Minister for the Central Coast in the O'Farrell-Stoner Liberal/National coalitition government...
in the seat of Gosford
Electoral district of Gosford
Gosford is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Chris Holstein of the Liberal Party. The former district of Gosford was renamed Terrigal for the 2007 state election...
and lost by only 272 votes. After that seat was redistributed
Redistribution (Australia)
The term redistribution is used in Australia to mean a redrawing of electoral boundaries. It is equivalent to the term redistricting in the United States....
, O'Neill again challenged Hartcher for the new seat of Terrigal
Electoral district of Terrigal
Terrigal is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It was contested for the first time at the 2007 election and was won by the former member for Gosford, Chris Hartcher of the Liberal Party of Australia. Hartcher was re-elected at the 2011...
but was defeated.
In 2010, O'Neill was endorsed as Labor candidate for Robertson
Division of Robertson
The Division of Robertson is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. The Division is located on the Central Coast, immediately north of the Hawkesbury River. It encompasses the towns of Woy Woy, Gosford and Terrigal....
following a very public process that saw incumbent Labor member, Belinda Neal
Belinda Neal
Belinda Jane Neal , a former Australian federal politician, was a Member of the House of Representatives representing the electorate of Robertson between 2007 and 2010; and representing the state of New South Wales in the Senate from 1994 to 1998, both of behalf of the Australian Labor...
, lose preselection. O'Neill was challenged by 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 Darren Jameson but won the seat with a 0.09% margin.