Jason Peter Wood (born 24 May 1968) is an Australian politician and former police officer. He is a member of the Liberal Party and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2013, representing the seat of La Trobe. He previously held the seat from 2004 to 2010. He was an assistant minister in the Morrison government from 2019 to 2022.
Early life
Wood was born on 24 May 1968 in Sutherland, New South Wales.[1] He grew up in Ferny Creek, Victoria, attending Ferny Creek Primary School and Ferntree Gully Technical School.[2] His final year of secondary education was completed at Boronia Secondary College. He specialised in outdoor education and briefly worked as a school camp coordinator.[3]
Wood joined the Victoria Police in 1988 and from 1990 was a detective in the organised crime squad. He completed a graduate diploma in innovative service management and a Master of Applied Science at RMIT University.[1] He was involved in investigating gangland figure Alphonse Gangitano.[4] In 2003 Wood became a senior sergeant in the counter-terrorism coordination unit.[1]The Age reported in 2004 that he was "believed to be youngest senior sergeant in the force and has received various commendations".[4]
Wood was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2004 federal election, retaining the Division of La Trobe for the Liberals following the retirement of Bob Charles. From December 2004 he served on the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment and Heritage as well as the Joint Statutory Committee for the Australian Crime Commission.[1]
In 2013, he was appointed chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration. During the 2016–2019 parliamentary term, Wood campaigned on law and order issues, particularly in relation to "African gangs", which made up one percent of reported crimes at the time.[6] He later said he had "no regrets" about the campaign and rejected claims that the Liberals campaign had racist undertones.[7]
After winning re-election in 2019, Wood was appointed as Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs in the Morrison government. He held this position until that government’s defeat in May 2022.[1]
In 2022, Wood was included in new opposition leader Peter Dutton's shadow ministry with responsibility for the portfolio of community safety, migrant services and multicultural affairs.[1]
Political views
In 2023, Wood was identified by the Sydney Morning Herald as a member of the Centrist faction of the Liberal Party,[8] after previously being aligned with the centre-right faction during the Morrison government years.[9]
In a speech he made in parliament in 2009, Wood said he had often campaigned on environmental issues, had formerly supported an emissions trading scheme, and had been a member of Greenpeace for longer than he had been a member of the Liberal Party.[10]
