David Fawcett

David Julian Fawcett (born 23 October 1963, Narrabri, New South Wales) is an Australian politician and member of the Australian Senate. He was elected to the House of Representatives as member for the division of Wakefield in South Australia for the Liberal Party of Australia at the 2004 federal election. Despite an extensive campaign in 2007 he was unseated by a significant margin. At the 2010 federal election he was elected as a Liberal senator for South Australia.^[1][2]

Before politics

Fawcett spent part of his childhood in Thailand where his father worked as an agricultural scientist.

Fawcett was an officer with the Australian Army from 1982 to 2004. He was educated at Royal Military College, Duntroon and the University of New South Wales, where he graduated in science.

He trained as a pilot and became a helicopter pilot for 1st Aviation Regiment. He was involved in operations across Australia and Papua New Guinea.

The next phase of his career was as a flying instructor, learning this role at the RAF Central Flying School in England. He served at the Australian School of Army Aviation and became Senior Flying Instructor for Utility and Reconnaissance Helicopters.

In 1993 he returned to the UK, studying at the Empire Test Pilots' School to become a test pilot. He was posted to Royal Australian Air Force Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU) at Edinburgh, South Australia as an Army helicopter test pilot. He held a number of positions in ARDU and the Defence Acquisition Organisation, culminating in his final appointment as Commanding Officer, responsible for flight test programs for all of the Australian Defence Force aircraft. He reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before leaving the ADF to enter politics.

Personal life

Fawcett is married with two children. His family roots are in Kapunda, South Australia and completed high school at Prince Alfred College^[3] in Adelaide before joining the army. He has been involved in leadership positions at Clovercrest Baptist Church in Modbury North, Adelaide and Tyndale Christian School in Salisbury East, Adelaide.^{[citation needed]} He has been a contributing member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the Australian Flight Test Society.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

References

• "Mr David Fawcett MP". Commonwealth of Australia. 23 February 2007. Archived from the original on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-24. 
• "David Fawcett MP". David Fawcett. Retrieved 2007-02-24.