Jonathan Richard O'Dea

Jonathan Richard O'Dea (born 9 March 1966) is a former Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Davidson for the Liberal Party from 2007 until 2023. He served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2019 to 2023.

Early life O'Dea was born in Sydney in 1966 to Michael O'Dea and Marianne O'Dea, one of nine brothers and sisters. His father served several terms as mayor of North Sydney Council and was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia in 1994.

He was educated on the North Shore of Sydney at St Aloysius College and St Ignatius' College, Riverview, and attended the University of Sydney where he gained a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws. He has also undertaken further studies and was awarded a Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies and a Master of Business Administration. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. However, O'Dea did not stand.

In a Liberal Party preselection battle before the 2007 state election, O'Dea defeated the sitting member for Davidson, Andrew Humpherson. In March 2007, O'Dea was elected to Parliament with a majority of 24.7 points. In June 2007, he was appointed a member of the Committee on the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

In September 2009, O'Dea was accused in a local newspaper, the Manly Daily, of failing to adequately represent his constituents, by Ku-ring-gai Councillor Tony Hall, who urged O'Dea to "get off his backside" and lobby New South Wales Planning Minister Kristina Keneally to protect the area from excessive development. O'Dea responded, defending his record: "Along with (Opposition Leader and MP for Ku-ring-gai) Barry O'Farrell I have fought long and hard against inappropriate planning and over development...in the past 12 months I have taken part in 30 formal meetings with authorities and community representatives regarding Ku-ring-gai planning matters, three involved the planning minister and community representatives".

On 18 October 2010, the Liberal Party announced that O'Dea had been endorsed as the party's candidate for Davidson ahead of the 2011 state election. O'Dea was elected with a swing of 13.8 per cent and won the seat with 86.5 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis. His main competitor was Labor's Mathew Gilliland. In 2015, O'Dea was re-elected with 78.8 per cent of the vote on a two party preferred basis, a swing 4.1 per cent against him, defeating the Green's David Sentinella. In 2019, O'Dea was again re-elected with 75.2 per cent of the vote on a two party preferred basis, a swing 3.7 per cent against him, defeating the Green's Felicity Davis.

On 28 March 2015, O'Dea was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and Major Events. In April 2016, Premier Baird conferred the additional title of Parliamentary Secretary for Trade and Investment. After the change in Premier to Gladys Berejiklian, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier and Treasurer.

He stood down at the 2023 New South Wales state election, and was succeeded by Liberal candidate Matt Cross.

Honours On 9 June 2023, O'Dea was granted retention of The Honourable title by the Governor for life, for having served as speaker for more than three years. ribbon bar Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette (2023) for contributions to "promoting interregional exchanges and mutual understanding between Japan and Australia".