Michael O'Brien (born 1949) is the Labor member for Napier in the South Australian House of Assembly. He was first elected in 2002, replacing Annette Hurley. He is the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, Forests, Energy and the Northern Suburbs.
O'Brien was elevated to Cabinet on 2 March 2009 with Tom Koutsantonis following the resignations of Rory McEwen and Carmel Zollo.[1]
O'Brien has previously held the portfolios of Employment, Training and Further Education; Road Safety; and Science and Information Economy.
Before entering parliament, O'Brien was a national manager with Elders IXL and held senior executive positions with the Royal Automobile Association (RAA) and University of Adelaide. He and his wife owned a Bakers Delight franchise for 11 years.[2]
O'Brien has Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees and was formerly parliamentary secretary to the Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann.
In mid 2007 O'Brien was appointed chair of the State Planning Review. O'Brien was also convenor of the Premier's Food Council, chair of the Riverland Futures Taskforce and co-chair of the SA Business Development Council. In the first Rann Government, O'Brien was parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Transport.
At the South Australian state election, 2010 O'Brien sustained a swing against him of 8.1%, decreasing his margin to 15.8%.
As Minister for Regional Development he launched the $20 million Riverland Sustainable Futures Fund in September 2010. O'Brien said the Government aimed to achieve about $500 million of investment in the Riverland over the next 20 years.[3]
As Minister for Forests, O'Brien faced hostility in the South East of the state when he advanced the government's plans to forward sell harvest rights.[4]
In November 2010, O'Brien clashed in parliament with then Treasurer Kevin Foley, who accused him of creating "unnecessary anxiety" over the planned forward sale.[5]
In February 2011, O'Brien angered South Australian Outback residents and business owners when he announced higher electricity tariffs of up to 125%.[6]
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