Matt Williams (Australian politician)

Williams was born in Adelaide and educated at Immanuel College, before graduating with degrees in economics from Flinders University and law from the University of Adelaide. After working for the South Australian Government from 1998 to 2000 and the state Agent-General in London from 2000 to 2002, he held a variety of roles in high-profile law and accounting firms.[1][3]

Williams entered federal parliament at the 2013 election where he won the seat of Hindmarsh with a 1.89 percent margin from a 7.97 percent two-party-preferred swing, defeating Australian Labor Party incumbent Steve Georganas. The only South Australian seat to change hands in 2013, Hindmarsh became the most marginal seat in South Australia and the only marginal seat of the incoming federal government in South Australia.

During the 2013 election campaign Williams committed to opposing any changes to the existing evening aircraft flight curfew at Adelaide Airport, centrally-located in the Hindmarsh electorate.[4] However, in December 2013 the Abbott Government changed the curfew to allow Cathay Pacific international passenger flights to land outside the established curfew times.[5]

In 2015 it was reported that Liberal insiders were considering Williams to be the preselected Liberal candidate for the safe state seat of Morphett if he failed to retain Hindmarsh at the 2016 federal election.[6] When the preselection contest took place in April 2017, there was a dead-heat between Williams and Stephen Patterson, followed by a random ballot won by Patterson, who went on to successfully challenge the incumbent Liberal member, Duncan McFetridge.[7]