Do we like Clare O'Neil?
Our score: 7 out of 10. Nothing harmful in her own words and a voting record that backs LGBTQ+ protections, with some party-line positions on asylum and coal that split people.
Clare O’Neil was born in Melbourne in 1980, went into local government, became a mayor, and won the Labor seat of Hotham at the September 2013 election. She has since climbed through the ranks, and in 2026 she is the Housing Minister. Her own explanation is simple: “I got involved in politics because I care about a fair and equal Australia.”
The messiest chapter is from March 2024, when she was Home Affairs Minister. Sky News reported that the department secretary was seen leaving her office in tears after a robust meeting, and opposition MPs pressed her in Parliament on whether she had verbally abused the secretary. O’Neil didn’t reject the tears report but described a warm working relationship, and the secretary told a Senate hearing: “At no point at that occasion or ever has minister O’Neil verbally abused me.” So it was alleged, it was denied by the person it concerned, and it ends there.
A good chunk of the recent noise about her is fake. AAP FactCheck found that a screenshot claiming SBS reported her calling One Nation voters “unintelligent” was fabricated, and that SBS never published it. Earlier, a viral post using a fictional professor to attack her property holdings was also judged false, with an AI watermark on the graphic. Being the target of made-up smears isn't a mark against her.
The good stuff is where the job is landing. In September 2026 she announced $300 million in grants for crisis and transitional housing, with 500 extra homes promised for people including women and children fleeing family violence. In an ABC interview that day she said women were having to choose between homelessness and a violent household, which is the right thing to be shouting about.
Her critics' best shot is the 1.2 million homes target. In 2025 she softened it to a “national aspiration”, and Treasury advice cited by The Nightly doubted it would be reached, though she insisted the target was “bold” and “ambitious”. In May 2026 she was still defending it at the National Press Club, alongside changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax for new builds. That's a policy fight, not a character flaw.
Put together, you get a mainstream Labor minister with a voting record that fits the family's values on LGBTQ+ people, women and the planet, give or take the coal and asylum calls. The record is thin on personal controversy, and we found no court cases against her. She isn't a headline act, but she's one we'd be comfortable cheering for.