Dean Smith was appointed a Senator for WA in May 2012. In his first five years, Senator Smith has been a champion for WA issues, including being the first WA Federal Liberal parliamentarian to call for a fairer share of the GST for WA; standing up for WA wheat growers against attempts to unwind WA’s successful wheat export arrangements; leading the campaign against local government recognition in the constitutional in 2013; leading efforts for reform of Australia’s free speech laws in 2016; and advocated other issues such as supporting WA grandparent carers raising their grandchildren.
Among his many parliamentary roles, Senator Smith has been Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Human Rights and is currently the Chair of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, one of the oldest and most senior joint committees in the Parliament. Senator Smith is the Government’s Deputy Whip in the Senate and also holds a number of other Government appointments including Deputy Chair of the Australian Political Exchange Council and the Government’s representative on the Australian National University’s Australian Centre on China in the World’s Advisory Board.
Senator Smith is the Liberal Party’s first openly gay federal parliamentarian and in February 2015 become a public advocate for equality before the law for same-sex couples in Australia. He was a member of the 2017 Senate Select Committee that tabled a consensus report on how to legislate for same-sex marriage while at the same time protecting people’s religious views about marriage. Senator Smith has consistently argued for a parliamentary free vote to resolve the issue of same-sex marriage in Australia, was the only member of the Coalition to publicly argue against the plebiscite and did not support the plebiscite legislation when it came before the Senate.
Dean brings to his parliamentary role over 10 years corporate experience at IAG and SingTel Optus. He has been a member of the WA Liberal Party for almost 30 years and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 2011 for his service.
I have always been outcomes focused - nothing frustrates me more than talk-fests.
The best politicians are those that set themselves goals and get on with the job of delivering on those commitments.