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Matthew John "Matt" Birney (born 10 June 1969 ), Australian politician, a former leader of the Liberal Party and Leader Of The Opposition in Western Australia from 9 March 2005 until 24 March 2006 . Birney was born in Sydney but comes from a family long established on the Western Australian goldfields, and has lived in Kalgoorlie , a regional city in Western Australia, since childhood. His father, Jack Birney , was a member of the Australian House Of Representatives for a New South Wales seat from 1975 to 1983 . Birney was educated at North Kalgoorlie Primary and Eastern Goldfields Senior High School. He was a small business proprietor and a board member of the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Industry, before being elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the seat of Kalgoorlie in February 2001 . He is the first Liberal ever to win Kalgoorlie . Birney was Shadow Minister for Youth and for the Goldfields-Esperance region in 2001 - 02 , Shadow Minister for Police and Goldfields-Esperance and Communication Services 2002 - 04 and Shadow Minister for Police, Commerce and Communications and Goldfields-Esperance 2004 - 05 . Despite his relative lack of experience, Birney was widely seen as one of the Liberal Party's better performers in Opposition during the 2001 - 05 Parliament. When the Liberals under Colin Barnett were defeated at the 2005 elections by the Australian Labor Party government of Dr Geoffrey Gallop , Barnett resigned and Birney was elected unopposed as party Leader. Since becoming leader, Birney has come under consistent criticism from both inside and outside his party. A number of public gaffes in his first year, including implying that the Pope had a partner and taking his girlfriend on a tax-payer funded tour of Europe , have reduced his effectiveness as Opposition Leader. Within the party he has been criticised for his lack of inclusiveness in policy formation. These problems led former deputy leader, Paul Omodei , to challenge Birney for the leadership. The party-room ballot held on 24 March 2006 was won by Omodei. Omodei has stated he would consider offering Birney a position on the Liberal front bench, but he has ruled out a return to high-profile politics in the near future. EXTERNAL LINKS
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