Preceded by Geoffrey Giles Name Neil Andrew Preceded by Ian Sinclair Role Australian Politician | Nationality Australian Succeeded by David Fawcett Occupation Horticulturalist | |
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Born 7 June 1944 (age 79)
Waikerie, South Australia ( 1944-06-07 ) Political party Liberal Party of Australia Party Liberal Party of Australia Books Report Relating to the Proposed Development of Infrastructure on the Bradshaw Field Training Area, Near Timber Creek, NT | ||
John Neil Andrew, AO (born 7 June 1944) is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1983 to October 2004, representing the Division of Wakefield, South Australia. He was born in Waikerie, South Australia, and was a horticulturalist before entering politics.
Andrew was a Councillor in the District Council of Waikerie from 1976–83, before being elected to the House of Representatives in the 1983 federal election.
Having been for 15 years a little-known Liberal backbencher, Andrew became Speaker of the House after the October 1998 elections. He presided over the House during the special sitting in May 2001 to mark the centenary of the Parliament of Australia, which met in the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, as did the first Parliament in 1901. In 2003, he "named" Greens Senators Bob Brown and Kerry Nettle after they interjected during George W. Bush's speech to Parliament.
Along with Leo McLeay and Bronwyn Bishop, Andrew was one of only three Speakers (as of 2014) to be subjected to a motion of no confidence. In all cases these motions were unsuccessful as they were votes determined on party lines.
Andrew previously represented a slice of rural territory north of Adelaide. However, a redistribution ahead of the 2004 elections pushed his seat well to the south to take in heavily pro-Labor northern Adelaide suburbs, territory that Andrew did not know and that did not know him. Andrew held his old seat with a comfortably safe majority of 14 percent, but the reconfigured Wakefield had a paper-thin Labor majority of just over one percent. Andrew nonetheless concluded that the reconfigured Wakefield was unwinnable, and seriously considered challenging fellow Liberal Pat Secker for preselection in the neighboring seat of Barker, which had absorbed much of his former territory, including his hometown of Waikerie. Ultimately, Andrew opted not to run for reelection in 2004. He remained Speaker until David Hawker was elected to succeed him on 16 November.
Andrew was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2008 Australia Day awards.