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Brendan Nelson

Minister for Defence

Parliamentary Service

Elected to the House of Representatives for Bradfield, New South Wales, 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2004.

Ministerial Appointments

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence from 30.01.01 to 26.11.01.

Minister for Education, Science and Training from 26.11.01.

Personal

Born 19.8.1958, Coburg, Vic.

Qualifications and Occupation before entering Federal Parliament

BM BS (Flinders), MRACGP, FRACP (Hon), FAMA.

General medical practitioner 1985-95.

Director, Hobart and Launceston After Hours Medical Services 1987-91.

State President, Australian Medical Association (Tas Branch) 1990-92.

Federal Vice-President, Australian Medical Association 1991-93.

Federal President, Australian Medical Association 1993-95.

Medical columnist 1995-97.

Nostalgia rears its silly head

Thursday, 8 May 2008 - Throwing off the mistakes of the past is never easy; just look at the Liberal Party and its attitude to industrial relations. There is not the slightest doubt that the Work Choices laws of John Howard were a principal reason for the Coalition's defeat last year. Campaigning to restore Work Choices would guarantee defeat next time. Yet Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson could not help himself the moment a journalist gave him a peg to hang a comment on to suggest that John Howard was right all along – Work Choice legislation was good and abolishing it was bad. The man is a light weight and Kevin Rudd's honeymoon will continue forever if he is not replaced.

On the road again

Tuesday, 8 April 2008 - We left our wandering Liberal Leader last week having an “absolutely fabulous” first day of his Listening Tour of Australia on the Gold Coast. Since then his adventure has taken him to Brisbane where Brendan really learned about life and actually went to a petrol station where “one lady I gave a hand to get some petrol into her car, who put $30 in, was saying ‘gee, I really hope petrol comes down soon. I've got to buy groceries; we've got other commitments with the house and interest rates and so on' ”. Fancy that! Real people actually pay for things – which he saw when he helped bag people's groceries at a Woolies and learned that people are “not too happy about the idea of some sort of tax on plastic bags.” more

On the road with grey power

Wednesday, 2 April 2008 - Wittier writers than me over the years have written spoof diaries purporting to tell the story of politicians and/or their spouses but the Australian Liberal Leader Brendan Nelson is making sure that no one sends him up in such a satirical way. Dr Nelson is doing the job on himself and publishing on the Liberal Party website a daily account of his fravels around Australia.

Brendan's mistake

Friday, February 15, 2008 - Brendan Nelson made a mistake in being sucked in by the emotion of the day in agreeing to take part in a "cabinet of national unity" to deal with Aboriginal affairs. more

Description	Date
Leadership Talk Makes Brendan More Frenetic	19 May 2006
Too Big to Manage?	18 May 2006
Defending Executors of Christians	9 May 2006
Bringing Iraq Back Home	27 Apr 2006