Michelle Anne O'Byrne (born 6 March 1968) is an Australian politician representing the Labor Party and from 2024 until 2025, served as speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly.
O'Byrne announced her retirement from parliament in the 2025 state election.
Early life
O'Byrne was born in Launceston, Tasmania, a grand-niece of a former Labor senator and President of the Senate, Justin O'Byrne. She graduated from the University of Tasmania in 1992, with a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies. She was an organiser for the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union,
Many put this down to concern about loss of forestry jobs under Labor's environment policy, which had the potential to adversely affect O'Byrne's electorate.
State MP for Bass
After more than a year out of politics, O'Byrne ran as a Labor candidate in the 2006 state election and was easily elected for the state seat of Bass, which covers the same territory as the federal seat. She topped the poll in the five-member electorate, receiving 23.3% of first preferences, helping ensure that Bass was the only seat to record a swing to Labor.
Until the defeat of the Labor government in the 2014 state election, she served in the Tasmanian cabinet as Minister for Health, Children and Sport & Recreation. She served in cabinet with her brother David O'Byrne, one of a very few pairs of siblings to have served in cabinet together anywhere in the world.
Prior to the 2010 election, O'Byrne was Minister for Environment, Parks, Heritage and the Arts, Minister for Tourism and Minister for Sport and Recreation in the Bartlett government.
After 17 years in state parliament, O'Byrne announced in June 2025 she would not seek preselection to contest the 2025 Tasmanian state election “whether it be in weeks or months to come.”
Speaker of the House of Assembly
O'Byrne was re-elected in Bass at the 2024 election and was elected unopposed to the position of Speaker of the House of Assembly on 14 May 2024, the new parliament's opening day. Her elevation to the position came despite the Labor Party winning only 10 seats at the election and remaining in opposition.
In June 2025, O'Byrne exercised her casting vote as speaker to secure the passage of a no-confidence motion in Premier Jeremy Rockliff, precipitating a snap state election. In parliament she stated "when I was elected to this position, it was made clear to this house and the public that despite no longer attending the caucus and strategy meetings of the Labor Party, that I would always vote with them [...] no-one in this chamber could realistically expect me to provide confidence to a Liberal government".
O'Byrne announced her retirement in 2025. O’Byrne worked to increase the number of women in Parliament, and has been responsible for delivering significant legislative reform for women.
O'Byrne is currently the Australian Chair of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians
See also
- Political families of Australia
References