Maree Davenport

This article includes a list of general references, but it remains largely unverified because it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (July 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Maree Therese Luckins Davenport (born 14 March 1968) is an Australian politician. She was a Liberal member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1996 to 2002, representing Waverley Province as Maree Therese Luckins.

Early life[]

Davenport joined the Noble Park Young Libs Liberal Party in 1986, and was active in the Young Liberals.^[1]

Politics[]

Luckins (as she was then) was endorsed as the Liberal candidate for the seat of Dandenong North in 1991 and gained a swing of over 8 per cent, but was unsuccessful by 19 votes. She was Ministerial Advisor to Minister for Industry and Employment and Deputy Leader of the Liberal party Phil Gude from 1992 until 1996 when she was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council for Waverley Province at the age of 28. She was the youngest woman elected in Victoria (with an 18-month-old son) and the first to give birth (eldest daughter), while serving as a Member of Parliament.

From 1996 to 2002, she chaired the Liberal Party health policy committee and was later appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Human Services with responsibility for Health, Housing, Community Services and Aged Care. In addition, she was appointed to serve on the Consumer Affairs, Industry and Employment, Industrial Relations, Small Business, Multicultural Affairs and Women's Affairs Policy Committees.

A Member and Deputy Chair of the Victorian Parliament's Joint all-party Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee (SARC), which examines, reviews and reports on all Victorian legislation, she gained invaluable insight into issues across every State Government portfolio. She also served as Chair of the Redundant Legislation Committee and Deputy Chair of the Regulation Review Committee, which examines the impact of proposed regulatory regimes and makes recommendations to Parliament to allow or disallow their implementation.

She held the seat until 2002, when she attempted to transfer to the Legislative Assembly seat of Narre Warren North following a redistribution of Waverley Province.

After parliament[]

She was the endorsed Liberal candidate in the seat of Mulgrave in 2018, standing against Daniel Andrews, however was unsuccessful, blaming ‘ leadership turmoil in the Coalition Federal Government’.^[2]

Davenport is company director of lobbying and advocacy company Regs and Corporate Advisory Pty Ltd, trading as Government and Corporate Advisory Network^[3] (was Phoenix Public Affairs) which she founded in 2004, specialising in peak bodies, NFP, building and industry sectors.

Davenport was appointed as a Member of the Building Appeals Board at the Victorian Building Authority and in 2013 the Minister for Planning appointed her Chair of the Building Advisory Council (BAC), comprising the heads of building and construction peak bodies, the VBA and CAV, a role she held until its abolition in 2019. She has served on the Ministerial Roundtable Industry Skills Consultative Committee, Critical Incident Protocol Working Group (DJCS) and Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) Industry Leaders Consultative Group and Building Confidence Report Steering Committee. From 2010 she has served on the Victorian Swimming Pool and Spa Safety Committee which successfully lobbied for registration of pools and inspections of safety barriers.

She was transitional CEO of Strata Community Australia (Victoria), a client from 2006 to 2010, from September 2019 until May 2020.

Since leaving the Victorian Parliament, Davenport has continued to serve the community and is involved in many charitable and service organisations. She serves on the Monash Children's Hospital Capital Fundraising Committee and was appointed to the Inaugural Monash Children's Hospital Foundation by Monash Health. She is a committee member of Dandelion Wishes Foundation.^[4]

She is an Ambassador for Carlton Football Club, a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Women on Boards.

Personal life[]

Her husband Marcus Davenport is a Partner and National Board Director at Clayton Utz Lawyers.^[5] They married on New Year's Eve, 2000.^[6]

References[]