Hon Mark Dreyfus QC, MP

Shadow Attorney General for Australia

The Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP was elected to the House of Representatives as the Member for Isaacs in November 2007 and re-elected in 2010, 2013 and 2016.

In 2010, Mark was appointed as Cabinet Secretary and Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. He worked closely with the Prime Minister on Cabinet matters and with the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency to put a price on carbon, improve our energy efficiency and increase our use of renewable energy.

In February 2013, Mark was appointed as Attorney-General and Minister for Emergency Management. In March 2013, Mark was given additional responsibilities as the Minister for the Public Service and Integrity and Special Minister of State.

In October 2013, Mark was appointed to the positions of Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Minister for the Arts.

Speaking for the first time as Attorney General Mark said "Australia's legal system should provide a framework that allows us to protect and care for all Australians, including our elderly, our sick, our injured, our workers, our new arrivals, our indigenous people, our young and our outspoken writers, artists and journalists."

"The best Attorneys General are those who seek to ensure that Australian laws reflect our national values of fairness and equality of opportunity."

In his first term, Mark chaired the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, and was a member of the House Standing Committee on Climate Change, Water, Environment and the Arts and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

Mark's maiden speech to Parliament reflected on his experience working for and with Indigenous Australians and his passion for the environment. He spoke of his concern about the planning of our urban environments and the critical importance of the quality of policy, laws, and administration in each of these areas.

Mark was previously a Melbourne barrister and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1999. He served as an advisor to the Victorian Attorney-General and Minister for Planning between 1985 and 1987.

An expert in commercial and planning law, Mark was the Legal Editor of the Victorian Planning Reports and was a member of the Victorian Planning and Environmental Law Association. He was one of the top defamation lawyers in Victoria.

Mark also appeared for and advised Federal, State and local governments and appeared in a number of landmark cases in the High Court, including the Stolen Generations litigation.

In July 2016 Mark was re-appointed as the Shadow Attorney-General and appointed as the Shadow Minister for National Security.