Birney was born in Sydney but comes from a family long established on the Western Australian goldfields, and has lived in the regional city of Kalgoorlie since childhood.
His father, Jack Birney, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Sydney electorate of Phillip from 1975 until his defeat in 1983.
The younger 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, defeating Labor incumbent Megan Anwyl.
A number of public gaffes, including saying that the Pope had a wife, and taking his girlfriend on a taxpayer funded tour of Europe, reduced his effectiveness as opposition leader.
Both Birney and Evans became their party's leaders following its defeat in the respective state elections only to be dumped a year later in a leadership coup.