Michael O'Brien
Deputy Lord Mayoral candidate
Michael O'Brien is politically independent. He is a committed advocate for small business, the cultural economy, the economic value of heritage preservation and the necessity of a genuine stakeholder 'voice' in Council decision-making. Mike believes in 'a fair go' and that Melbourne will prosper if these elements in the economy are properly respected.
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Michael has tertiary qualifications in Science and Management. He is an infantry Vietnam veteran and retired as a Major General in the Australian Defence Force. He had managed large numbers of complex and expensive hardware and software acquisition projects in both land and sea environments. His logistic experience included the command of Army’s logistic effort, involving multi-$m budgets and thousands of uniformed and non-uniformed staff, during the operational deployment to East Timor. He has ample experience to exercise the leadership and management skills required of the Deputy Lord Mayor.
On retirement from full-time duty, Michael led the Australian effort to recover and identify the lost soldiers of Fromelles. He has chaired a stock exchange listed company and a significant non-bank financial institution. He ran an iconic Melbourne antiquarian retail and on-line bookstore for 17 years and helped establish Melbourne's world-renowned Rare Book Week, enhancing Melbourne’s status as a UNESCO City of Literature. Currently, Michael is President of the Royal United Services Institute of Victoria, works voluntarily with its Library and writes local history. He also lectures on cruise ships around the world on cultural and historical topics.
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Michael abhors the current gerrymandered voting arrangement for the City of Melbourne and strongly believes that Councillors should never accept donations from developers or gambling lobbyists. He values Melbourne’s unique cultural and built heritage as one of its great economic assets. He is a Life Member of the National Trust.
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Michael is President of the Royal United Service Institute of Victoria, the Book Collectors Society of Australia (Victorian Branch), Rare Books Melbourne, The AIF Malaya Nursing Scholarship Trust and The Seventh Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment Association (as well as being its Historian).