David Charles Morris (born 30 December 1955) is a former member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

representing the electorate of Mornington for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

from 2006 until 2022.

Early life and education

Morris was born in

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ce ...

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 ...

and lived variously in Melbourne and Geelong, attending

Geelong College The Geelong College is an Australian independent and co-educational, Christian day and boarding school located in Newtown, an inner-western suburb of Geelong, Victoria. Established in 1861 by Alexander James Campbell, a Presbyterian minister, ...

and

Caulfield Grammar Caulfield Grammar School is a private school, private, co-educational, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day school, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boy ...

. He was a retail executive from 1975 to 1980, after which he became a small business proprietor, a career that lasted until his election to the Legislative Assembly in 2006.

Politics and Parliament

Morris joined the Liberal Party in 1975 and was elected to

Mornington Shire Council The Shire of Mornington is a local government area in northwestern Queensland, Australia. The shire covers the Wellesley Islands, which includes Mornington Island; the South Wellesley Islands; Bountiful Islands; and West Wellesley / Forsyth ...

, in 1987, serving until 1994 (including a period as President, 1992 to 1993). Im 2005 Morris was selected as the Liberal candidate for Mornington, a seat being vacated by sitting member Robin Cooper. He was first elected in November 2006. In 2008, he voted in favour of the "Abortion Law Reform Act 2008" one of the few Liberal MP's to do so, he also became the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government and in 2010 added Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Climate Change to his responsibilities. Following the election of the Baillieu Government in 2010 Morris was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government and a member of the Privileges Committee of the Legislative Assembly and of the Parliament's Public Accounts and Estimates Committee. In February 2013 he was elected Chair of that Committee. In 2014, following the change of Government, Morris was appointed Shadow Minister for Finance by the new Opposition Leader,

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 ...

, and was elected Deputy Chair of both the Legislative Assembly Privileges Committee and the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee. In 2017, after a minor re-shuffle of the Shadow Ministry he was appointed Shadow Minister for Local Government and Shadow Cabinet Secretary in addition to his existing responsibilities. In December 2021 Morris lost Liberal Party preselection for 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 ...

to former Federal member for Dunkley

Chris Crewther Christopher John Crewther (born 6 August 1983) is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2016 to 2019 before being elected to the Victorian State Parliament in 2022, ...

. He retired at the

Personal

Morris is married to Linda and has three stepchildren, one of which is federal MP Tim Wilson. In 2008 he walked the wartime route of the

Kokoda Track The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland – in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japane ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, David 1955 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian politicians Politicians from Melbourne People educated at Geelong College People educated at Caulfield Grammar School