James Newbury

James Newbury MP
Payphone displaying a picture of James Newbury in Church St Brighton
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Brighton
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 November 2018
Preceded by	Louise Asher
Personal details
Born	James Benjamin Kingsley Newbury (1978-05-13) 13 May 1978 (age 43) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal

James Benjamin Kingsley Newbury (born 13 May 1978)^[1] is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since November 2018, representing the seat of Brighton.

Early life[]

Newbury grew up in Malvern East, and his grandfather, Dr Charles Renton Newbury, was President of the World Dental Federation and a recipient of a CBE.^[2]

Newbury was a Liberal staffer in Canberra and Melbourne before his election, and holds three degrees.^[3]

Politics[]

Newbury was a backer of Michael Kroger to be the president of the Liberal Party in Victoria. He also was a close ally of Marcus Bastiaan, who claimed to control a large portion of the administrative committee. Together with Bastiaan, Newbury was seen as a new generation of religious right wing politicians in the Victorian branch, despite the generally progressive nature of Victorian politics.^[4][5] This group generally aimed to install conservative politician, or have moderate toe a more conservative line.^[6]

This support translated into Newbury winning the preselection for Brighton, which was being vacated by Louise Asher. This was the cause of some disappointment in the Liberal ranks, as it would lead to a reduction in their female representation. Newbury's victory came with allegations of branch stacking.^[7]

Newbury won the seat in an electoral landslide for the Labor Party but suffered an 8.7% swing against him, and was in danger of losing the previously safe Liberal seat to a relatively unheard of 19 year old who had only joined the Labor party two months prior and whose entire electoral campaign budget was $1750.^[8][6]

Newburys Office on New Street Brighton

Political positions and first term as a MP[]

Newbury has been an outspoken critic of duck hunting, and called for the practice to be stopped in his maiden speech.^[9][10]

Newbury has backed the idea that police should be able to racially profile people that they question, and to store that information for future reference.^[11]

As the Victorian government placed the state under lockdown for the fourth time on May 27 2021, Newbury was outspoken via his Twitter account with his attacks on the premier Daniel Andrews for not "providing a message of support for our State, as we struggle through a fourth lockdown^[12]". Similar messages were posted on subsequent days, despite the fact that the Premier was on sick leave as a result of a serious fall that injured his back.

Newbury stated in March 2021 Reason Party MP Fiona Patten that she had more positions than the Kama Sutra. This statement also referenced Pattens previous employment as an advocate for the sex industry.^[13][14] The Reason Party was also previously called the Sex Party.

Newbury received considerable backlash for sharing a photo on social media that showed a girl's self-harm. He linked the post to the COVID-19 lockdown and the strain on mental health. Due to the significant backlash, Newbury removed the post from Twitter two hours after he posted it.^[15]

In June 2021, Newbury used his parliamentary privilege to name Dustin Halse as the MP who was accused of having sex in his parliamentary office. There was no suggestion that Halse's relationship was illegal or non-consensual, although it was seen as inappropriate behavior. Reason Party MP Fiona Patten called Newbury's actions had "dropped to a new low".^[16]

References[]

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