Grant Allen Woodhams in Sydney, 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...

 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 National Party

National Party of Western Australia

The National Party of Western Australia is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity....

 member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly

Western Australian Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Perth....

 since February 2005.

Arriving in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 in 1967, Woodhams was schooled in Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 and Albany

Albany, Western Australia

Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....

 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from Murdoch University

Murdoch University

Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975...

 before starting work with ABC radio

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

. After working with the ABC in Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, Woodhams returned to Western Australia in 1990 to work in the Mid West. He left the ABC in 2004 to pursue his Masters Degree in Education.

At the 2005 state election

Western Australian state election, 2005

Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 26 February 2005 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council...

, Woodhams defeated one term 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...

 MP Jamie Edwards to take the seat of Greenough

Electoral district of Greenough

Greenough was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia from 1890 to 2008.Greenough was one of the original 30 seats contested at the 1890 state election. The district was based in the northern part of Western Australia's Wheatbelt region...

 for the Nationals

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

. He was re-elected at the 2008 state election

Western Australian state election, 2008

A general election was held in the state of Western Australia on Saturday 6 September 2008 to elect 59 members to the Legislative Assembly and 36 members to the Legislative Council...

, again defeating an incumbent Liberal MP, Gary Snook

Gary Snook

Gary Snook was born 21 October 1947 in Perth, Australia. He was a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from February 2005 to September 2008 representing the electorate of Moore...

, this time for the seat of Moore

Electoral district of Moore

Moore is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia.Moore has had three incarnations as an electorate. It its first incarnation, Moore was one of the original 30 seats contested at the 1890 state election....

, following Greenough's abolition. Woodhams was elected Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly

Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly

The Speaker of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer in the Legislative Assembly. The office has existed since the creation of the Legislative Assembly in 1890 under the Constitution Act 1889...

in November 2008.