David McLean Davis (born 8 April 1962) is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

since March 1996, representing East Yarra Province from 1996 until 2006 when it was abolished and the Southern Metropolitan Region from 2006 onwards. He was state

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

from 2010 to 2014 under Premiers

Ted Baillieu Edward Norman Baillieu (born 31 July 1953) is a former Australian politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2010 to 2013. He was a Victorian Liberal Party, Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2014, represe ...

and Denis Napthine.

Early career

Davis was born in

Millicent, South Australia Millicent is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located about south-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about north of the regional centre of Mount Gambier. In the , the population was 4,760. The town is home to the Milli ...

and studied in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. He was educated at Kingswood College (Box Hill). He studied

applied science Applied science is the application of the scientific method and scientific knowledge to attain practical goals. It includes a broad range of disciplines, such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted with basic science, ...

at the Phillip Institute of Technology (now part of the

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...

). Davis also later studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

. He worked as a

chiropractor Chiropractic () is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of physical disorder, mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the vertebral column, spine. It is based on sever ...

and maintained a private practice until being elected to the Legislative Council in 1996.

Political career

Davis had become involved with the Liberal Party during the early 1990s, serving as a delegate on several party committees, and acting as a delegate to the party's State Council between 1993 and 1995. This was to ultimately result in receiving preselection for the safe Liberal seat of East Yarra at the 1996 state election. After the Liberal Party's defeat at the 1999 state election, Davis became the Chair of the Opposition Waste Watch Committee. In this position, he was one of the Labor government's strongest critics, regularly making claims of perceived abuses. In 2000, he became the Parliamentary Secretary for Scrutiny of Government. Davis almost lost his seat of East Yarra in the 2002 election, but became Shadow

, replacing Ron Wilson, who had lost his seat in the 2002 election. In September 2004, Davis announced that if elected, a Liberal government would ban smoking in pubs and clubs. This was followed by a decision from the state government weeks later to the same effect. Davis was often an opponent of

Robert Doyle Robert Keith Bennett Doyle (born 20 May 1953) is an Australian politician who was the 103rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne, elected on 30 November 2008 until he resigned on 4 February 2018 amidst allegations of sexual harassment. He was previously M ...

's leadership of the parliamentary Liberal Party. In 2005 Doyle transferred Davis to the lower-profile environment portfolio. In May 2006, after Doyle's resignation and replacement by

, Davis was once again promoted and given Baillieu's former portfolio of planning. Following the 2006 election, Davis was again promoted by Baillieu to the position of Shadow Minister for State and Regional Development. In January 2008 he was elected Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council. Between February 2008 and November 2009, Davis was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Environment and Climate Change and in November 2009, he was appointed Shadow

and Ageing, maintaining his responsibility for Scrutiny of Government. Davis was appointed Shadow Treasurer in late 2021 following

Matthew Guy Matthew Jason Guy (born 6 March 1974) is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party member of the Parliament of Victoria since 2006, representing the Northern Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council (2006–2014) and Bullee ...

's return to the Liberal leadership. In February 2022, Davis, along with

, Peter Walsh, Gary Blackwood and Melina Bath, were fined $100 each for breaching face mask rules, after the Coalition MPs were photographed maskless while attending an event in Parliament House. After incumbent member for

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

Tim Smith confirmed that he would not seek re-election at the

2022 Victorian state election The 2022 Victorian state election was held on Saturday, 26 November 2022 to elect the 60th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly (lower house) and all 40 seats in the Victorian Legislat ...

, Davis nominated for preselection for the seat, a move which some believed to be an attempt to succeed Matthew Guy as leader of the Liberal Party should the Liberals fail to win the 2022 state election. Business Council of Australia director Jess Wilson was ultimately endorsed as the Liberal candidate for Kew, defeating Davis 99–64. In March 2022, Davis was criticised for being ‘hammered’ at a multicultural gala and allegedly 'making people feel uncomfortable by touching, hugging and getting too close to people.' Davis apologised in a written statement for his behaviour. David was a member of the 'Kennett faction' of the Victorian Liberals. He voted for Matthew Guy in his successful 2021 leadership challenge against Michael O’Brien.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, David 1962 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Ministers for health (Victoria) People from Millicent, South Australia 21st-century Australian politicians Ministers for ageing (Victoria) Australian chiropractors