O'Brien was born on 26 June 1972 in Mona Vale, New South Wales. He left school at the age of 15 to become a full-time carer for his mother, who had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease and died a year later. He subsequently worked as a labourer and factory process operator. He met his future wife Sharon when he was 17.[2]
O'Brien receiving the 15 year clasp to the QPS Medal for ethical and diligent service, April 2015
Prior to his election, O'Brien served as a police officer. He joined the Queensland Police in 1999.[2] In his first speech in Parliament he spoke of his own decade long experience of living with posttraumatic stress disorder brought about while serving as a traffic accident investigator.[4] In December 2013, O'Brien was accused of having misused police resources[5] for political purposes.[6][7] He was investigated and faced managerial action, but was cleared of the allegations by Queensland Police.[8]
O'Brien has received both State and National medals for his Police service between 1999 and 2016. In 2010 he was awarded the Queensland Police Service Medal. In 2011 he was awarded the Queensland Flood and Cyclone Citation. In April 2015 he was awarded a 15-year clasp to the Queensland Police Service Medal. In 2016 he was awarded both the National Police Service Medal and the National Medal for ethical and diligent service.[2]
Political career
O'Brien became a member of the National Party of Queensland in 2006, and joined the Liberal National Party of Queensland upon its formation in 2008. He has served in many roles within the parties, including Vice President, Regional Chairman, State Executive, Branch Chairman and Campaign Chairman.[9]
After the retirement announcement of long serving Member of Wide Bay and Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss, O'Brien was preselected for the 2016 federal election and won the seat.[10] He has served on the Joint Standing Committees for the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity; and Law Enforcement; as well as the House of Representatives Standing Committees for Indigenous Affairs; and Infrastructure, Transport and Cities.[2] In 2016, O'Brien was also appointed as the Queensland Chair of the Federal Government's Black Spot Advisory Panel for 2016/17 by Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester.[11]
In February 2020, O'Brien moved a spill motion for Barnaby Joyce to challenge Michael McCormack for leadership of the National Party. The challenge failed, and on 10 February O'Brien announced that he would no longer sit in the Nationals party room, but would remain a member of the LNP and continue to support the Morrison government.[1] O'Brien was subsequently elected as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, having been nominated unexpectedly by the Opposition against the Government's nominated choice, Damian Drum.[12]
O'Brien rejoined the Nationals partyroom on 7 December 2020.[13]
