Julian Simmonds
Julian Graham John Simmonds (born 29 August 1985) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2019 federal election, representing the Division of Ryan in Queensland. He is a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland and sits with the Liberal Party in federal parliament. He previously served on the Brisbane City Council from 2010 to 2019. Early life. Simmonds was born in Brisbane, Queensland. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Journalism from the University of Queensland. Politics. Local government. Simmonds was elected to  Brisbane City Council at a by-election in 2010, representing Walter Taylor Ward for the LNP. He was re-elected at the 2012 and 2016 local elections. Simmonds served as chair of the committees for public and active transport (2011–2012), finance, economic development and administration (2012–2016), and city planning (2016–2018). In his final speech to council in March 2019 he recalled there were "not many jobs that would give a 26-year-old the chance to help manage a $3 billion dollar budget". He resigned as a councillor in April 2019 to contest the upcoming federal election and was  succeeded by James Mackay. Federal politics. In May 2018, Simmonds defeated the sitting member Jane Prentice for LNP preselection in the Division of Ryan. He won the vote by 256 votes to 103, in what "The Courier-Mail" described as "a bitter preselection battle". He retained Ryan for the LNP at the 2019 election with a small negative swing. Simmonds is the Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement Simmonds is a member of the Centre-Right faction of the Liberal Party. Business. Simmonds' wife Madeline Simmonds works as a communications manager for Bowen River Utilities, the proponent  of the proposed Urannah dam in Queensland. Companies linked to the Urannah dam have donated more than $150000 to the LNP.