Rob Oakeshott

(Port Macquarie and its predecessor seat, Oxley, had been in the hands of a conservative party without interruption since 1927, and in the hands of the Nationals for all but six years since 1944.) He added that he didn't think the Nationals didn't do "enough due diligence on me" prior to clearing him to stand for Port Macquarie.

He also questioned the relevance of the Nationals in an electorate transformed by demographic change and the growth of tourism.

Robert James Murray Oakeshott (born 14 December 1969) is a retired Australian politician.

Oakeshott graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Government in 1992.

He then worked as an administrative officer at the Road Transport Forum, for the lobbying company Resolutions, as a staffer for future National Party Leader Mark Vaile, and in public relations for the Coalition in Canberra before his own election to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.

However, the Nationals lost almost six percent of their primary vote from 1995, and their two-party majority fell to a marginal four percent.

At his election, he was the youngest member of the NSW Legislative Assembly.

Originally elected as the National Party candidate for the state seat of Port Macquarie in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1996, he left the party to become an Independent in 2002.

He was elected as the National Party member for Port Macquarie at a by-election on 30 November 1996 after the retirement of National Party member Wendy Machin on 28 August, winning 46.71% of the primary vote against John Barrett, a former Liberal Party candidate who stood as an independent after the Liberals, then led by Peter Collins, decided not to run a candidate.

He stood again at the 1999 election, increasing his primary vote to 56.05% and his two-party vote to 66.6%, enough to revert Port Macquarie to its traditional status as a safe National seat.

Under Opposition Leader Kerry Chikarovski, on 19 April 1999 he was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation and the Shadow Minister for Fisheries and Ports.

Following a Shadow Cabinet reshuffle on 1 February 2000, Oakeshott lost Fisheries and Ports and took on the shadow portfolio of Gaming and Racing.

However, he had become increasingly dissatisfied with the National Party, stating that he was the youngest person at most meetings he attended, and found himself in opposition to many of the party's policies.

Almost immediately after his election to the legislature, Oakeshott identified a number of points of disagreement.

He was not at home with the party's strong conservatism on social policy; he recalled being "massively heavied" not to support a Labor bill for a safe injecting room trial.

He was also unnerved by a senior National claiming that "blacks and poofters (homosexuals)" were gaining too much influence in the party; he took particular offence to the former because his wife is of South Seas descent.

He was also pressured to fall into line on the Nationals' staunch opposition to a republic.

He later said that he should have done "more due diligence" on the Nationals' ideology, saying that he would have never joined the party had he known about its conservative bent.

He only did so because he was a budding political consultant and "they're the party around here, I'm a young bloke, I need a job."

He was the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales from 2008, when he won the 2008 Lyne by-election, until his retirement in 2013.

Oakeshott described his views as economically conservative and socially progressive.

Oakeshott began his political career in state politics.

Oakeshott retained the seat until 2008, when he resigned to contest the federal seat of Lyne, which he won with a large margin.

He retained Lyne at the 2010 election, again with a large margin.

The 2010 election resulted in a hung parliament, with the diverse crossbench holding the balance of power.

Oakeshott, Tony Windsor and other crossbenchers agreed to back the incumbent Gillard Labor government to form minority government, providing it with confidence and supply, while retaining the right to vote on conscience in any other matters.

Oakeshott retired at the 2013 election, choosing not to recontest his seat.

Oakeshott contested the Division of Cowper at the 2016 election, challenging National incumbent Luke Hartsuyker.

Cowper had absorbed Port Macquarie after the latest redistribution.

Oakeshott lost the election, but managed to turn the once-safe National seat into a marginal seat.

His father, also named Rob Oakeshott, was a doctor in the area until his death in 2016 and his grandfather Captain John Oakeshott was a prisoner of war and survived the Sandakan Death Marches.

His maternal grandfather was Sir Angus Murray, a President of the Australian Medical Association.

Oakeshott attended Barker College for his secondary schooling, and was a boarder in his later years there.

He then studied a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney.

While there, he was a resident of St. Andrew's College when the Principal, Peter Cameron, was convicted of heresy by the Presbyterian Church of Australia.

Oakeshott describes Cameron as an influence on his thinking:

"As a student he was a pretty interesting fellow but standing on his digs over some of the speeches and some of the sermons he used to give. And in his parting speech to the students, he said, "I hope the great lesson I've taught you as the leader of this college is that you've got to stand up for what you believe in regardless of the consequences.""

On 15 January 2019, Oakeshott announced his candidacy for the seat of Cowper at the 2019 Australian federal election.

The Nationals retained the seat with a small swing towards them.

Oakeshott was born in Lismore.