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Speaker, 29 August 1989 to 22 December 1989; 8 May 1990 to 8 February 1993
Australian Labor Party

Leo Boyce McLeay (b.1945) came from working-class beginnings, with little formal education, to become the 20th Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Born in Marrickville, Sydney, McLeay attended the local Catholic school and, on completing his leaving certificate, began work as a post office telegram boy. He went on to become a telephone technician with the Postmaster-General’s Department.¹

With the encouragement of his father, McLeay joined the ALP when he was just 13. As a young man, he held various party positions and was Assistant General Secretary of the NSW Branch from 1976 to 1979. He was also a Marrickville Council alderman. During this time he attracted the nickname ‘Leaping Leo’, possibly in reference to his political manoeuvring. In 1969, McLeay married Janice Delaney, a high school teacher who was also active in the Labor Party. They had three sons.

McLeay was elected to the seat of Grayndler at a by-election in 1979. In his first speech, he spoke of the challenges facing his predominantly working-class constituents: ‘In some of the suburbs of my electorate slight variations in welfare, employment or economic policies can have a grave effect on the social fabric of the area’.² Although recognised as a right-wing heavyweight of the ALP, he entered Parliament with an awareness of his lack of formal education. This was reinforced by parliamentary colleagues, who gently teased his unrefined manner of speaking.

McLeay served on numerous committees, many of which focused on parliamentary administration. When Joan Child became Speaker in 1986, he was elected as Chairman of Committees. He was elected Speaker in 1989, following Child’s retirement.

As Speaker, he was supportive of procedural reform. In 1991, he oversaw the introduction of the televising of House proceedings. When changes to standing orders were adopted in 1992, he commended the House for improving opportunities for back bench members to participate in parliamentary proceedings.³

McLeay faced strong criticism from the Opposition for his performance in the Chair. In 1992, he became one of the few Speakers to be the subject of a no-confidence motion. On moving the motion, which was ultimately unsuccessful, the Leader of the Opposition condemned him for displaying bias and for allowing lengthy and irrelevant answers during Question Time.

McLeay resigned as Speaker in the leadup to the 1993 election amidst controversy over a compensation payout he had received from the Joint House Department for an accident on a bicycle hired from the Parliament House health centre. Following an electoral redistribution, he was elected as the Member for Watson in 1993 and went on to apply his knowledge and experience in the position of Chief Government Whip.

He retired in 2004, having served the Parliament for 25 years.