Julian Graham John Simmonds (born 29 August 1985) is a former Australian politician who was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for one term from the 2019 federal election, representing the

Division of Ryan The Division of Ryan is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. History The division was created in 1949 and is named after T. J. Ryan, Premier of Queensland from 1915 to 1919. Ryan is located in south east Queensland, and is general ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, until his defeat at the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth cons ...

. He is a member of the

Liberal National Party of Queensland The Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) is a major political party in Queensland, Australia. It was formed in 2008 by a merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal Party and the National Party. At a federal level and in most other ...

and sat with 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

in federal parliament. He previously served on the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisdic ...

from 2010 to 2019.

Early life

Simmonds was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. He holds the degrees of

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

and

Master of Journalism A Master of Journalism (abbreviated M.J., M.S.J., M.M.J.C., M.A. in Journalism, or M.S. in Journalism) is a master's degree awarded to students who have studied journalism at a graduate level. Like other master's degree programs, master of journ ...

from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = ...

Politics

Local government

Simmonds was elected to

at a by-election in 2010, representing Walter Taylor Ward for the LNP. He was re-elected at the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and 2016 local elections. Simmonds served as chair of the committees for public and active transport (2011–2012), finance, economic development and administration (2012–2016), and city planning (2016–2018). In his final speech to council in March 2019 he recalled there were "not many jobs that would give a 26-year-old the chance to help manage a $3 billion dollar budget". He resigned as a councillor in April 2019 to contest the upcoming federal election and was succeeded by James Mackay.

Federal politics

In May 2018, Simmonds defeated the sitting member

Jane Prentice Jane Prentice (''née'' Righetti; born 22 June 1953) is a former Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2019, representing the Division of Ryan in Queensland. She previously served on the Brisba ...

for LNP

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...

in the

. He won the vote by 256 votes to 103, in what ''

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northe ...

'' described as "a bitter preselection battle". He retained Ryan for the LNP at the 2019 election with a small negative swing. Simmonds was the Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement. Simmonds lost his seat in the

during the 2022 federal election to the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and ...

candidate Elizabeth Watson-Brown with a 10% negative swing against him. On 26 May 2022, Simmonds conceded losing the electorate of Ryan. Simmonds is a member of the centre-right faction.

Business

Simmonds' wife Madeline Simmonds works as a communications manager for Bowen River Utilities, the proponent of the proposed Urannah Dam in Queensland. Companies linked to the dam have donated more than A$150,000 to the LNP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmonds, Julian 1985 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Ryan Liberal National Party of Queensland politicians Queensland local councillors University of Queensland alumni