Andrew McDonald (Australian politician)

Andrew Dominic McDonald (born 1 March 1955) is an Australian doctor and politician. He attended St. Leo's Catholic College in Wahroonga, before studying medicine at the University of Sydney. He worked as a paediatrician at Campbelltown Hospital for 17 years prior to joining the Labor Party. In this period, he was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as a critic of the State Labor government's health policies.^[1]

On 23 January 2007, he was preselected for the New South Wales electoral district of Macquarie Fields by the Australian Labor Party, following the resignation of former sitting MP Steven Chaytor.^[2][3] He was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly on 24 March 2007. Although Labor retained the seat, there was a 12% two-party preferred swing against the party, the highest anti-Labor swing in the state.

During his tenure in Parliament, Imre Salusinszky recommended that he be appointed Health Minister.^[4] He is a member of the Macarthur Boys, described as 'a new powerful force emerging from within the once powerful Right.'.^[5] After the resignation of Morris Iemma, it was speculated that he might resign to return to work as a paediatrician.^[6] However, McDonald re-contested his seat of Macquarie Fields in the New South Wales state election, 2011.

McDonald was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Health on 23 September 2008.^[7] He lost this position upon the defeat of the Keneally government in the New South Wales state election, 2011.

McDonald was re-elected in the New South Wales state election, 2011 for the electoral district of Macquarie Fields, suffering a 9.9% swing towards the Liberal Party of Australia; Macquarie Fields is now the third-most marginal seat held by the Labor Party in New South Wales. He was appointed as Shadow Minister for Health by newly-elected Opposition Leader John Robertson.

References