1. David Martin Shoebridge was born on 17 September 1971 and is an Australian politician and former barrister.
36 Facts About David Shoebridge
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David Shoebridge is a member of the Australian Greens and was elected to the Senate as the party's lead candidate in New South Wales at the 2022 federal election, to a term beginning on 1 July 2022.
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David Shoebridge previously served in the New South Wales Legislative Council from 2010 to 2022 and on the Woollahra Municipal Council from 2004 to 2012.
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David Shoebridge is one of four children born to Ken and Janet Shoebridge.
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David Shoebridge's parents separated when he was thirteen and in a 2022 interview he stated that his father had been physically and verbally abusive.
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David Shoebridge completed his secondary education at James Ruse Agricultural High School.
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David Shoebridge went on to the University of Sydney, receiving a combined Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws.
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David Shoebridge was admitted as a lawyer in 1998, and was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 2003.
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David Shoebridge started his professional career as an associate to Justice Eric Baker of the Family Court of Australia.
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David Shoebridge worked as a lawyer for 13 years, the majority of this time as a barrister with a focus on personal injury law, employment, discrimination and tort law.
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David Shoebridge was elected to Woollahra Municipal Council in 2004 and reelected in 2008.
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David Shoebridge was an executive of the Local Government Association from 2008 to 2010 and an executive of the Holdsworth Community Centre in Woollahra from 2004 to 2008.
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David Shoebridge was Convenor of the Greens NSW from August 2008 to August 2010.
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David Shoebridge was the Greens candidate for the state seat of Vaucluse in the 2007 state election.
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David Shoebridge became a member of the Legislative Council in September 2010 after Sylvia Hale resigned from the Legislative Council.
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David Shoebridge was elected as a member of the Legislative Council at the 2011 state election after being preselected to the first position on the Greens' ticket.
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On 2 June 2011, David Shoebridge took the record for the longest speech in the NSW Legislative Council - while talking continuously for over five hours and 58 minutes against NSW government legislation that affected public sector wages and conditions.
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In 2012, David Shoebridge advocated against proposed changes to workers' rights - as the NSW government made changes to the workers compensation system.
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David Shoebridge campaigned successfully in July 2013 for the abolition of the Game Council NSW by the NSW government.
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In November 2013, David Shoebridge moved the motion that established a Parliamentary Inquiry into the Bowraville murders.
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David Shoebridge worked closely with community groups such as the Better Planning Network to force the then O'Farrell government to withdraw its planning reforms in November 2013.
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In 2015, the Chinese consulate of Sydney warned members of parliament to not attend David Shoebridge's briefing on human rights abuses in China's organ trade.
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In 2016, David Shoebridge introduced a bill outlawing organ trade in New South Wales.
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In 2014, as part of a broader campaign to curb the use of police drug dogs, David Shoebridge launched Facebook page Sniff Off with individuals reporting drug dog locations at train stations, festivals and other public places in NSW.
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Tom Raue, one of David Shoebridge's staffers, urged Greens' members to join Left Renewal, saying "our founding document explicitly mentions the anarchists and socialists that make up the party".
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On 12 April 2018, David Shoebridge successfully moved the motion in the NSW parliament to force the government to release its business case for the relocation of the Powerhouse Museum from Ultimo.
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In so doing, David Shoebridge secured the support of MPs from Labor and other parties, as well as one Liberal MP.
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On 15 May 2018, David Shoebridge spoke at a pro-Palestinian rally, following the alleged deaths of possibly up to 60 Palestinians during the 2018 Gaza border riots.
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David Shoebridge declared he would not sack the staffer due to the actions being taken outside of work hours, and he was censured by the NSW Upper House for failing to condemn the act.
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In March 2021, David Shoebridge won preselection as the lead candidate on the Green's Senate ticket in New South Wales at the 2022 federal election.
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David Shoebridge resigned from the Legislative Council on 11 April 2022 prior to the close of nominations for the federal election.
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David Shoebridge was elected to a six-year Senate term beginning on 1 July 2022.
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At a Greens party room meeting on 16 June 2022, leader Adam Bandt announced the portfolio allocations, where David Shoebridge was given three portfolios: Justice, Defence and Veteran's Affairs, and Digital Rights.
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In September 2023, David Shoebridge joined a cross-party delegation of Australian MPs to Washington, DC, to lobby the US Department of Justice to abandon its attempts to extradite Australian publisher Julian Assange from the United Kingdom.
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David Shoebridge is a supporter for the legalisation of cannabis nationally in Australia.
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David Shoebridge founded the Greens Bushwalking Club.