Sharon Claydon

Sharon Catherine Claydon (born 26 April 1964) is an Australian politician serving as the 33rd Deputy Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives since 2022. A member of the Labor Party, she represents the New South Wales Division of Newcastle in the Australian House of Representatives since the 2013 election.

Early life Claydon was born on 26 April 1964 in Camperdown, New South Wales. Her father Kevin was an Australian Army soldier and she first attended school at Holsworthy Barracks. He left the army shortly after completing a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1970. The family subsequently lived in Bermagui for several years where she learned to ride horses, later moving to the Newcastle suburb of New Lambton Heights where she attended Lambton High School.

After leaving school, Claydon enrolled at the University of Sydney as an arts and law student. She left after two years to return to Newcastle, where through a job centre she found work at Helen Springs Station in the Northern Territory. She was recruited as a gardener but later worked as a jillaroo and camp cook. After a few years, Claydon returned to New South Wales, where she worked for a disability service provider on the South Coast. She later returned to university and completed an honours degree majoring in anthropology. She subsequently began a PhD thesis on "contemporary political representation in the Bunuba Aboriginal community", moving to Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia. She worked in remote Aboriginal communities "for the best part of decade" before returning to Newcastle. She was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2013 federal election. She is a member of the Labor Left faction.

On 26 July 2022, following the ALP's victory at the 2022 election, Claydon was chosen as the party's nominee for Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. She was re-elected to this position on 22 July 2025, during the sitting of the 48th Parliament.

Personal Claydon is currently a patron of the Stockton Historical Society and has served as treasurer of the Newcastle Aboriginal Support Group.