Melissa Iris McIntosh (; born 24 August 1977) is an Australian politician. She is a member of 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 ...

and was elected to the

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

at the 2019 federal election, running in the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

seat of Lindsay.

Early life

McIntosh was born on 24 August 1977 in

Penrith, New South Wales Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevati ...

. Her father Edmund Grah immigrated to Australia in the late 1950s from

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

, Austria. His parents and sister had been killed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. McIntosh attended Blaxland High School but experienced bullying at the school, particularly around her performing arts and dance talent. She later switched to the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts. She then studied journalism, public relations and video production at the University of Western Sydney, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Communications.

Career

McIntosh began working in politics after graduating university, working as an aide to arts and sport minister Jackie Kelly and later in the office of Prime Minister John Howard. From 2011 to 2015, she worked at the United States Studies Centre at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

as head of partnerships and director of events. She then served as chief of staff to Assistant Treasurer Alex Hawke until 2016, when she joined Wentworth Community Housing as executive manager (communications). Prior to her election to parliament, McIntosh was a vice-president of the

Liberal Party of Australia (New South Wales Division) The New South Wales Liberal Party, officially called The Liberal Party of Australia, New South Wales Division, and colloquially known as the NSW Liberals, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in New South Wales. The party is ...

and a member of the state executive. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the Fourth Ward of the Blue Mountains City Council in 2016. McIntosh is a member of the centre-right faction of the Liberal Party.

Member of Parliament

In November 2018, McIntosh won Liberal

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 ...

for the Division of Lindsay. She was elected to the

at the 2019 federal election, defeating

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP) candidate Diane Beamer, who had defeated the incumbent ALP member Emma Husar for preselection.

Personal life

McIntosh has three children with her husband Stuart McIntosh, a former Olympic canoeist. They met at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in Sydney. He works for the New South Wales Government Department of Planning. She has sometimes used the name "Melissa Grah-McIntosh". McIntosh lives in Mount Riverview in New South Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McIntosh, Melissa 1977 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 Lindsay Australian people of Austrian descent Women members of the Australian House of Representatives 21st-century Australian women politicians Australian public relations people Western Sydney University alumni People educated at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts Australian MPs 2019–2022 Australian MPs 2022–2025