The Honourable Tony Smith MP has served as the Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives since August 2015. First elected as the Federal Member for Casey (Victoria) in 2001, Mr Smith has previously served as a Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Howard and in a range of Shadow Ministerial and committee positions. Most recently he was the Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters in the 44th Parliament.

Tony Smith graduated from Carey Baptist Grammar School and went on to complete a Commerce and Arts degree with honors at The University of Melbourne. Before being elected to the House of Representatives, he worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Public Affairs and as a Media Adviser and then Senior Political Adviser to former federal Member and Treasurer, the Honourable Peter Costello AC.

The Speaker has lived his whole life in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs and now lives in the heart of the Casey electorate with his wife Pam and their two sons. He is a lifelong supporter of the Carlton Football Club and enjoys restoring classic cars.

Here's an extract of his first speech, which you can read from the Speaker's home page:

“To me, the first principle of government should be a recognition and essential honesty about its true capacity and its limitations. This does not mean that governments do not always have a role; sometimes it is just important to recognise that government does not always possess the only solution to every problem. Governments can provide assistance and support to families and communities—and they should—but this does not mean that governments hold the solution to their every problem or difficulty. Families and local communities will always have a greater capacity to affect their own future than any government alone.”

Fiona is a mum, psychologist and small businesswoman, who has spent her life working to better the lives of people, supporting some of the most vulnerable children in our community.

Like many people who live in Reid, Fiona attended school locally, firstly at Santa Sabina College and then Rosebank College, before graduating from the University of Sydney and undertaking specialised training at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Fiona’s work has improved the social functioning of young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and she has also developed a resilience program for children.

Before becoming Reid’s first female Federal Member, Fiona founded and ran the Sydney Psychology Centre. As an expert in her field, she has served as a consultant for a wide variety of organisations including Only About Children and SafeWork NSW and is a special adviser for Little Blue Dinosaur. She has also been recently appointed as an Ambassador Expert by Life Education.

Here's an extract of her first speech, which you can read from her First Speech page:

"Poor mental health often affects more than just the person and can have a terrible impact on those around them. Prioritising mental health is at the core of addressing a number of societal problems in this country, but particularly domestic violence. Living free of violence is everyone's right and reducing violence is everyone's business. We must continue to make reducing violence a priority. All forms of violence against women and children are unacceptable in any community and in any culture."

David Smith is a member of the House of Representatives, representing the electorate of Bean in the ACT. On 23 May 2018, the High Court of Australia declared him elected as a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory after Labor senator Katy Gallagher was found ineligible to be elected.

Before his election, Smith was the ACT director of the Professionals Australia union. David went to Marist College Canberra and the Australian National University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons). He has also worked in the Australian Public Service and ACT Government Service.

David was sworn in to the Australian Senate on 18 June 2018. He was elected to the lower-house seat of Bean at the 2019 federal election and sworn in on 2 July 2019. He is in the unusual but not unique position of making two first speeches.

Here's an extract of his first speech, which you can read from his First Speech page:

"Every day I have walked into this building, I have done so in the knowledge that I am honoured to serve. But while I am one representative of many, each of us has a responsibility to work together to make Australia a nation where everyone has a chance to succeed. We owe this not just to our future generations but those who have gone before us, and, in particular, those who have paid the ultimate price."

Zali Steggall OAM is the Independent Federal Member for the seat of Warringah in Sydney’s North. She is also Australia’s most successful alpine skier, winning a bronze medal in slalom at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, and a World Championship gold medal in 1999. 

Upon her retirement from skiing in 2002, Zali completed a BA in communications and media studies from Griffith University and then went on to study law. She was admitted as a solicitor and then to the NSW Bar as a barrister in 2008. Her principal areas of practice have been family law, sports law, commercial law, real property law, local government and planning law, corporations and insolvency law, and equity. She was appointed to the Court of Arbitration for sport in 2017.

Zali received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2007. She was inducted into the Australian Institute of Sport’s 'Best of the Best' in 2001 and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2004.

In 2019, Zali contested the Federal Parliamentary Seat of Warringah as an Independent Candidate and won.

Here's an extract of her first speech, which you can read from her First Speech page:

"I believe Australia has always punched above its weight and never shied away from a challenge or doing its share. We live in a time where we are facing possibly our biggest challenge to date—to properly appreciate, respect and nurture our environment and evolve to a zero carbon economy. Our schoolkids are leading the way in pointing out that there is no second planet, no planet B."