Leo McLeay

Leo Boyce McLeay (born 4 October 1945) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served in the House of Representatives from 1979 to 2004, including as speaker of the House from 1989 to 1993.

McLeay was raised in Sydney and after leaving school worked as a telephone technician for the Postmaster-General's Department. He was active in the labour movement and joined the ALP at a young age, serving as state secretary of Young Labor and later working as a paid organiser and assistant general secretary. McLeay was elected to parliament at the 1979 Grayndler by-election. He served as chairman of committees (1986–1989) before succeeding Joan Child as speaker. McLeay was involved in a number of reforms as speaker, including the introduction of television broadcasts of parliamentary proceedings. He resigned in 1993 following a controversy over an injury compensation payout he received for a bicycle hired from Parliament House. He later served as Labor's chief whip from 1993 to 2001.

Early life McLeay was born on 4 October 1945 in Marrickville, New South Wales. He was the older of two children born to Joan Ann and Ronald Boyce McLeay. His father was a council worker and worked on the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

McLeay attended De La Salle College, Marrickville. He left school before obtaining a leaving certificate and began working as a post office telegram boy. In 1962 he joined the Postmaster-General's Department as a telephone technician, receiving further training at North Sydney Technical College. He was a member of the Postal Telecommunication Technicians' Association and the Federated Clerks' Union.

McLeay was elected to federal parliament at the 1979 Grayndler by-election, following the death in office of Frank Stewart. He was re-elected to the House of Representatives on ten further occasions. His transfer was due to the abolition of the seat of Phillip, which caused incumbent government minister Jeanette McHugh to move to Grayndler.

McLeay was active across a number of parliamentary committees. In 1982 he chaired the subcommittee that delivered the In a Home or at Home report on aged care.

Bicycle controversy and resignation In December 1992, it was reported that McLeay had been paid $65,000 by a parliamentary body in relation to an elbow injury he sustained after falling off a collapsible bicycle. The compensation comprised $55,000 in medical costs and $10,000 in legal fees.

On 3 February 1993, McLeay announced his resignation as speaker, which took effect on 8 February.

Final years in politics After his resignation as speaker, McLeay was appointed as government whip on 24 March 1993. His title was changed to chief government whip on 12 May 1994, following the addition of a second whip, and he later served as chief opposition whip until the 2001 federal election. He retired from parliament at the 2004 election. In 2003, McLeay and another pro-Palestinian backbencher Julia Irwin came into conflict with ALP leader Simon Crean when he refused them permission to speak on a parliamentary debate on the Middle East. Irwin stated that Crean's decision was at the behest of Jeremy Jones, the president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, who had previously been publicly criticised by McLeay.

Later career After leaving parliament McLeay became a director of the Mary MacKillop Foundation in 2005. He was also the New South Wales director of the Enhance Group, a government relations group with Jim Elder and Chris Ellison as other directors. In 2009, it was reported that he was a registered lobbyist for Enhance Corporate, with one of his clients being Serco.

Personal life In 1969, McLeay married Janice Delaney, a schoolteacher, with whom he had three sons.