McNamara was elected to the Queensland Parliament in 2001 as the Labor Member for Hervey Bay. Prior to entering politics he was a partner in a law firm and a director of one of Queensland’s two state owned electricity distribution and retail companies. He has degrees in Arts (majoring in economics) and Laws from the University of Queensland and is currently enrolled in a Masters of Business (majoring in public sector management) at the Queensland University of Technology.
In September 2006 he became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Main Roads, and in September 2007 became the Queensland Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation.
McNamara gave speeches to Parliament on the topic of peak oil in March 2006, May 2005, March 2005 and February 2005.
More recently he's also spoken in Parliament on the issues of nuclear energy, climate change and the aviation industry, and clean coal technology.
