Members’ biographical register

Parliamentary Service

• MLC South-West Province 24 October 1987 (by-election)–21 May 1989. Elected to the Thirty-second Parliament for South-West Province at the by-election on 24 October 1987 held to fill the vacancy consequent upon the resignation of Hon Victor Jasper Ferry
• MLC South-West Region from 22 May 1989. Elected to the Thirty-third Parliament for South West Region from 22 May 1989. Re-elected 1993, 1996, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013 for terms commencing 22 May. Retired 21 May 2017.

• President of the Legislative Council 22 May 2009–21 May 2017
• Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education 22 December 1999–16 February 2001
• Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer 23 September 2008–22 May 2009
• Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Commerce; Science and Innovation; Housing and Works 23 September 2008–22 May 2009
• Deputy Chair of Committees: 11 November 2008–22 May 2009
• Shadow Minister for Lands; Regional Development (until August 1991); Youth Affairs (from 17 June 1990) 7 March 1989–24 May 1992
• Shadow Minister for Lands; Youth Affairs; South West; Conservation and Land Management (until 18 August 1992) 24 May–24 November 1992
• Coalition Shadow Minister for South West 24 November 1992–16 February 1993
• Shadow Minister for Housing; Racing and Gaming 9 March 2001–31 December 2001
• Shadow Minister for Racing and Gaming; South West 1 January 2002–20 March 2005
• Shadow Minister for Education and Training 20 March 2005–8 April 2006
• Secretary of the Parliamentary Liberal Party 9 May 2005–20 September 2005
• Shadow Spokesperson for Science and Innovation; Biotechnology 8 April 2006–23 September 2008

• Chair of Committees 22 June 1993–27 May 1997
• Deputy Chair of Committees 23 May 2001–21 May 2005
• Deputy Chair Joint Select Committee on Parole 7 September 1989–28 August 1991
• Additional member Standing Committee on Estimates and Financial Operations (to consider the Estimates for 1990–1991 and 1991–1992)
• Member Standing Committee on Government Agencies May 1990–14 November 1996 (Chair 3 August 1993–14 November 1996)
• Member Standing Orders Committee 22 June 1993–27 May 1997
• Member Joint Standing Committee on the Commission on Government 17 August 1994–14 November 1996
• Member Joint House Committee 18 March 1997–10 June 1998
• Member Standing Committee on Public Administration 10 April 1997–26 June 1997 (Chair 10 April 1997–26 June 1997)
• Member Select Committee on Native Title Rights in Western Australia 17 September 1997–10 November 1998
• Member Select Committee to Review the Legislative Council Standing Committee System 26 June–27 August 1997
• Member Parliamentary Services Committee 11 June 1998–10 January 2001
• Member Select Committee on Native Title Legislation 1 December 1998–10 December 1998
• Member Standing Committee on Procedure and Privileges 31 May 2001–21 May 2005
• Member Standing Committee on Public Administration and Finance 28 June 2001–21 May 2005. (Chair 1 August 2001–21 May 2005). Reappointed 26 May 2005–17 August 2005 (Chair 9 June 2005–17 August 2005]
• Member Standing Committee on Public Administration 17 August 2005–4 June 2009 (Chair 24 August 2005–4 June 2009)
• Chair Standing Committee on Procedure and Privileges 4 June 2009–
• Chair Parliamentary Services Committee 4 June 2009–21 May 2017

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the 20th Australasian and Pacific Region Conference–Cook Islands/Sydney 1990
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Congress, Melbourne/Canberra 2001
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the 3rd Canadian Parliamentary Seminar, Ottawa, Canada 2003
• Chair WA Branch Commonwealth Parliamentary Association 2009–present
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the ExCo and General Assembly, London, July 2011
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the ExCo meeting, London, December 2011
• Australian Regional Representative on CPA Executive Committee 2011
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the ExCo meeting, Tonga, April 2012
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the ExCo and General Assembly, Sri Lanka, September 2012
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the ExCo meeting, Cayman Islands, April 2013
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the ExCo and General Assembly, Johnnesburg, South Africa, August 2013
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the ExCo meeting, London, UK, April 2014
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the CPA Seminar, Dal as Salaam, Tanzania
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the CPA Workshop on Codes of Conduct, Melbourne, April 2015
• Represented WA Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association at the CPA Seminar, Dhaka, Bangladesh, May 2015

• Attended 24th Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference, Port Vila, Vanuatu, July 1993
• Attended 26th Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, July 1995
• Attended Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference, Darwin 2010
• Attended Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference, Brisbane 2011
• Attended Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference, Solomon Islands 2012
• Attended Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference, Canberra 2013
• Attended 45th Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference, Samoa 2014
• Attended Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference, Hobart 2015

Personal Information