Dr Marjorie O'Neill | |
|---|---|
 O'Neill at a Bring Back Our Buses Rally in 2019 | |
| Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Coogee | |
| Assumed office 23 March 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Bruce Notley-Smith |
| Parliamentary Secretary for Transport | |
| Assumed office 26 April 2023 | |
| Minister | Jo Haylen |
| Preceded by | Mark Taylor |
| Councillor of Waverley Council for Waverley Ward | |
| In office 9 September 2017 – 16 March 2021 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Marjorie Spooner O'Neill 6 December 1985[1][2] Sydney, Australia |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Residence | Bronte[3] |
| Alma mater | St Vincent's College, Potts Point |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | marjorieoneill |
Marjorie Spooner O'Neill is an Australian politician. O'Neill was elected as a Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Coogee at the 2019 state election.[4][5] O'Neill was also a Councillor of Waverley Council from 2017 to 2021.[6]
Dr O'Neill has used her political position to advance the rights of women and marginalised groups including advocating for better domestic violence services in the eastern suburbs and across NSW. She is a cosignatory of the consent education petition to NSW parliament and has been very outspoken on the need for better age appropriate consent education to be taught at all schools.
Dr O’Neill is a passionate advocate to eliminate modern day slavery, and has formally been a Member of the NSW Government Modern Slavery Committee. Marjorie has used her position in parliament to speak out against the NSW Liberals reforms that saw the watering down of NSW legislation. Dr O’Neill is the patron the Sisters of Charity Foundation that devote themselves to helping the poor and marginalised through compassion, care and practical assistance including the establishment of their Modern Slavery Housing Program that provides survivors with accommodation that is tailored to individual needs, and is designed to overcome the barrier of entering the rental market experienced by people who have no previous rental or employment history. This approach also eliminates the need for survivors to move again when they exit the program, unless they choose to.
A passionate advocate for public transport, Dr O’Neill started a Save our Buses Campaign in response to the NSW Liberal Government seeking to privatise region 9 buses (the eastern suburbs) along with removing 31 bus routes from the Eastern suburbs and over 60 bus stops. This campaign to save public transport in the eastern suburbs in her first term of Government earnt Dr O’Neill the respect of her peers and demonstrated that she is a political force to reckon with.
In 2023 Dr Marjorie O’Neill was appointed to the NSW government as the Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and is playing a hands on role in the Bus Industry Taskforce. The Bus Industry Taskforce is bringing together bus operators, industry experts, the workforce, and community representatives to determine how to deliver more efficient and reliable services, they will make recommendations to improve the reliability, quality and effectiveness of bus services across NSW. The purpose of the taskforce to examine consequences of bus privatisation as well as other issues plaguing sector such as driver shortages. Dr Marjorie O’Neill is tasked with chairing Bus Passenger Forum to provide commuters across NSW with an opportunity to provide feedback on bus routes and cuts to services that have occurred due to privatising the their regions bus networks.
Following over a decade of advocacy and community consultation, Dr O’Neill listened to the community and advanced the reestablishment of a coeducational public high school in the eastern suburbs, seeing Randwick Girls high and Randwick Boys high become Randwick high to be opened in 2025. While this decision was controversial at the time, in particular receiving backlash from the Girls school, there has been a 40% increase in enrolments into the new Randwick high school demonstrating that the correct decision was made. [1]
Anti-Corruption:
Dr. O’Neill is committed to government accountability through a strong and independent Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and supports legislating guaranteed independent funding for the NSW ICAC.
- ^ Baker, Jordan; Maddox, Gary (24 March 2019). "Surf lifesaver, rugby star, motorbike-riding newcomer: Labor's only shining light". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Interview with Marjorie O'Neill". State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ "Candidates - The Legislative Assembly District of Coogee". elections.nsw.gov.au. New South Wales Electoral Commission. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ "State Electoral District of Coogee". NSW State Election 2019. New South Wales Electoral Commission. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ Barwell, David (26 March 2019). "O'Neill mourns death in the face of victory". Southern Courier. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ "Marjorie O'Neill - Waverley Council". Waverley Council. Retrieved 28 March 2019.