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Sam Birrell | |
---|---|
Member of the Australian Parliament for Nicholls | |
Assumed office 21 May 2022 | |
Preceded by | Damian Drum |
Personal details | |
Born | Shepparton, Victoria, Australia | 5 April 1975
Political party | National |
Alma mater | University of Melbourne La Trobe University |
Occupation | Agronomist |
Samuel Birrell (born 5 April 1975)[1] is a member of the Australian House of Representatives for the division of Nicholls in northern Victoria and a member of the National Party. In the 2022 Australian federal election, Birrell won a race between a Liberal Party candidate and independent candidate Rob Priestly. [2][3]
Birrell grew up on a property on Victoria's Goulburn River between the towns of Murchison and Toolamba. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a schoolteacher. He attended Shepparton High School for two years then completed his secondary education as a boarder at Assumption College, Kilmore. After leaving high school, Birrell worked on a farm in Ardmona for two years before completing a degree in agricultural science at the University of Melbourne's Dookie campus.[4] He later completed an MBA at La Trobe University's Shepparton campus in 2017.[5]
After graduating university, Birrell worked as an agronomist for a rural supplies business, specialising in pest identification and soil and leaf analysis. He later worked for irrigation supplier Netafim.[4]
Birrell was appointed CEO of the Committee for Greater Shepparton in 2016. He resigned the position in 2021 to run for parliament.[6]
In January 2022, Birrell won Nationals preselection for the seat of Nicholls at the 2022 federal election, following the retirement of incumbent Nationals MP Damian Drum.[7] He retained Nicholls for the Nationals on a substantially reduced primary vote, with significant swings to the Liberal candidate Steve Brooks and independent candidate Rob Priestly.[8]
Birrell supported a Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) for the Goulburn Valley.[9] In 2021 he appeared before a parliamentary inquiry into skilled migration, advocating for "an immediate global recruitment campaign to attract migrants with in-demand skills" to help fill job shortages in regional areas.[10]