Jonathon Duniam

Jonathon Roy "Jonno" Duniam (born 31 December 1982) is an Australian politician who has been a senator for Tasmania since 2016. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as an assistant minister in the Morrison government from 2019 to 2022. Prior to entering Parliament, Duniam was a political staffer, including as deputy chief of staff to Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman. In June 2026, Duniam announced his intention to resign from parliament before the end of the year, citing family reasons and the earlier Liberal leadership change as central to his decision.

Early life Duniam was born on 31 December 1982 in Launceston, Tasmania. He is the son of Mary (née Graham) and Roy Duniam, and is a sixth-generation Tasmanian. His mother has served on the Waratah-Wynyard Council, including as mayor. His maternal grandmother Iris Graham was the first woman elected to the Burnie City Council and an Australian Labor Party (ALP) candidate for the Tasmanian Legislative Council, although she later left the party. His mother's uncle Bob Graham was an ALP state government minister.

Duniam grew up in Somerset, Tasmania, attending Stella Maris Catholic Primary School and Marist Regional College in Burnie. as well as holding various party offices. He resigned his position with Hodgman the following month. Despite a double dissolution resulting in twice as many seats being vacant, he was the only new Tasmanian senator to win election in 2016.

Duniam served on various Senate committees before being appointed Deputy Government Whip in the Senate in February 2019. After the Coalition's victory at the 2019 federal election, he was appointed Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries and Assistant Minister for Regional Tourism in the Second Morrison Ministry. He relinquished the latter portfolio in December 2020 and was instead made Assistant Minister for Industry Development. He was also made Deputy Manager of Government Business in the Senate

In May 2021, Duniam defeated Eric Abetz for the first position on the Liberal Senate ticket in Tasmania at the 2022 federal election.

In June 2022, following the defeat of the Morrison Government, Duniam was appointed to Shadow Cabinet serving as Shadow Minister for Fisheries and Forestry and Shadow Minister for the Environment.

Duniam has been critical of the Albanese Government's decision to provide $8.2 million in taxpayer funding to the controversial "Environmental Defender's Office" (EDO). He has been particularly vocal against the role of the EDO in relation to salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour. a decision against which Duniam has fought with the local community in Strahan.

On 14 June 2026, Duniam announced he would retire from politics by the end of the year. He stated that family reasons were central to his decision, noting he needed to prioritise family and that the earlier Liberal leadership change had "started to really wear on me" and helped "crystallise" his decision. Duniam also said, "Twenty-five years, a quarter of a century, devoted to politics I think is more than enough for anyone".

Political views Duniam is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party.

In 2016, Duniam was reported as personally opposed to same-sex marriage but supportive of a referendum on the issue. During the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey, he stated that he would vote "in accordance with the majority view of the public", subsequently voting in favour of the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017.

During the 2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Duniam refused to state whether he voted for incumbent prime minister Malcolm Turnbull or challenger Peter Dutton in the first vote. In the second vote days later, he reportedly voted for Dutton against Scott Morrison, with the latter emerging successful.

In 2023, Duniam campaigned against the Albanese Government's Indigenous Voice to Parliament and predicted that the majority of Tasmanians would vote against it.

Personal life Duniam had three children with his wife Anisa, whom he met at university, and lived on a "small acreage outside of Hobart". They started a child care centre in Hobart in 2016. His father-in-law Zekri Palushi is an Albanian cardiologist who sought asylum in Australia due to his political activities. His wife is related to other prominent Albanian anti-communists, including Catholic martyr Fran Mirakaj.

Duniam is a Christian and attends the Mount Stuart Presbyterian Church in Hobart.