David Hawker

On 11 June 2012, he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for "distinguished service to the Parliament of Australia, to public administration and monetary policy reform, and to the community through local government, health and sporting organisations."

Hawker announced in June 2009 that he would retire from parliament at the 2010 federal election.

A 2006 ruling made by Hawker after an incident during a heated exchange in the House brought further motions of dissent from the Opposition, and drew criticism of the Speaker's impartiality from the media.

After a motion regarding share trading was moved by Kelvin Thomson, the Member for Wills, on 25 May 2006, Leader of the House Tony Abbott referred to Thomson indirectly using unparliamentary language by moving the motion "that that snivelling grub be no longer heard". The Deputy Chair at the time, Peter Lindsay, did not make comment against to the withdrawal Abbott made using the words "if I have offended grubs, I withdraw unconditionally". Later, the Speaker assumed the Chair, but it was only after the Opposition attempted to move a dissent motion that Abbott withdrew "unconditionally any imputation or offensive words against the member for Wills".

Hawker served as the 25th Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2007.

On 15 November 2004 Hawker was chosen by the Parliamentary Liberal Party as its candidate for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was formally elected to the position on 16 November without opposition. After the 2007 federal election, Labor member Harry Jenkins succeeded Hawker as Speaker of the House, and took office on 12 February 2008.

As speaker from 2004 to 2007, Hawker was the subject of some controversy.

Some of Hawker's rulings, from motions put by the Australian Labor Party Opposition, were somewhat controversial early in his term, with one session of Question Time on 1 December 2004 resulting in twelve points of order, some continuously raised, to Brendan Nelson's response to a question on school funding raised by Sophie Mirabella, in that it was seen by the Opposition to anticipate debate. This session resulted in a dissent motion regarding the permission of ministers tabling documents at the end of answers, which was negatived. A further dissent motion was raised on 7 December 2004, regarding questions asked relating to public affairs but not directly regarding the subject's portfolio, specifically, the desire of the Opposition to question De-Anne Kelly to her supposed approval of funding of a project not relating to her portfolio of Veterans' Affairs. This dissent motion was also voted down. Likewise, a motion of dissent on 28 November 2005 to a ruling that the Member for Perth resume his seat, having twice ignored an instruction to desist in argument across the chamber, was voted down. (Immediately thereafter, the motion to place further motions on notice was passed without a vote, and the Speaker responded to the Leader of the Opposition's subsequent Point of Order by stating that the motion was a "request".)

After Fraser announced his retirement from politics amid the Coalition's heavy defeat in the 1983 federal election, Hawker won the seat in a May 1983 by-election. Hawker was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry 1990–93, a Deputy Opposition Whip 1989–90 and 1994, and Chief Opposition Whip 1994–96.

He was born in Adelaide, and was educated at Geelong Grammar School and the University of Melbourne, where he entered residence at Trinity College in 1968. A graduate in engineering, Hawker was also a farmer and grazier before entering politics. He comes from a family with a long history of political involvement. He is a cousin of Charles Hawker, who was a member of the House of Representatives from South Australia from 1929 to 1938. His great-grandfather, George Charles Hawker, was Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1860 to 1865.

David Peter Maxwell Hawker AO (born 1 May 1949) is a former Australian politician who served as a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from May 1983 to July 2010, representing the Division of Wannon, Victoria, previously represented by former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.