Christopher Pyne | |
---|---|
Minister for Defence | |
In office 28 August 2018 –26 May 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Scott Morrison |
Preceded by | Marise Payne |
Succeeded by | Linda Reynolds |
Minister for Defence Industry | |
In office 19 July 2016 –27 August 2018 | |
Prime Minister | Malcolm Turnbull Scott Morrison |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Steven Ciobo |
Leader of the House | |
In office 18 September 2013 –26 May 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Tony Abbott Malcolm Turnbull Scott Morrison |
Deputy | Darren Chester |
Preceded by | Anthony Albanese |
Succeeded by | Christian Porter |
Minister for Industry,Innovation and Science | |
In office 21 September 2015 –19 July 2016 | |
Prime Minister | Malcolm Turnbull |
Preceded by | Ian Macfarlane |
Succeeded by | Greg Hunt |
Minister for Education and Training | |
In office 18 September 2013 –21 September 2015 | |
Prime Minister | Tony Abbott Malcolm Turnbull |
Preceded by | Bill Shorten |
Succeeded by | Simon Birmingham |
Manager of Opposition Business | |
In office 16 February 2009 –18 September 2013 | |
Deputy | Luke Hartsuyker |
Leader | Malcolm Turnbull Tony Abbott |
Preceded by | Joe Hockey |
Succeeded by | Tony Burke |
Minister for Ageing | |
In office 21 March 2007 –3 December 2007 | |
Prime Minister | John Howard |
Preceded by | Santo Santoro |
Succeeded by | Justine Elliot |
Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing | |
In office 30 January 2007 –21 March 2007 | |
Prime Minister | John Howard |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Fiona Nash |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Sturt | |
In office 13 March 1993 –11 April 2019 | |
Preceded by | Ian Wilson |
Succeeded by | James Stevens |
Personal details | |
Born | Christopher Maurice Pyne 13 August 1967 Adelaide,South Australia |
Political party | Liberal |
Spouse | Carolyn Pyne |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | University of Adelaide University of South Australia |
Profession | Lawyer,politician and author |
Website | Official website |
Christopher Maurice Pyne (born 13 August 1967) is a retired Australian politician. As a member of the Liberal Party,he held several ministerial positions in the Howard,Abbott,Turnbull and Morrison governments,and served as a member of parliament (MP) for the division of Sturt from 1993 until his retirement in 2019.
Pyne was elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the 1993 federal election,winning the seat of Sturt in South Australia. In 2007,Pyne was given the portfolios of Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing and Minister for Ageing while serving in the Howard government,which he held until the Liberal-National Coalition's loss at the 2007 election. While in opposition,Pyne was appointed Manager of Opposition Business in the House. After the Coalition's victory at the 2013 election,Pyne entered the Cabinet of Australia and became Leader of the House and Minister for Education. Upon the election of the Turnbull government at the 2015 Liberal leadership ballot,he remained Leader of the House and became Minister for Industry,Innovation and Science. With the reelection of the government in 2016,he became the Minister for Defence Industry. Upon the installment of the First Morrison ministry in August 2018,he became the Minister for Defence.
Pyne retired from politics at the 2019 Australian federal election. [1] [2] [3] In June 2019,he was appointed as an industry professor at the University of South Australia. [4] In the same month Pyne started a new defence industry consulting job,prompting a Senate investigation into a potential breach of Ministerial Standards. [5]
The fifth and youngest child of ophthalmic surgeon,Remington Pyne and his wife Margaret, [6] Pyne was born in Adelaide,South Australia in 1967. He was educated at Saint Ignatius' College and the University of Adelaide,where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws and was President of Adelaide University Liberal Club from 1987 to 1988. [7] [8] [9]
Pyne attained a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of South Australia in 1991. [10] In 2022,he was granted an Honorary Doctorate in the School of the Professions from his alma mater,the University of Adelaide. [11]
Pyne was a research assistant to Senator Amanda Vanstone and later became President of the South Australian Young Liberals from 1988 to 1990. He was pre-selected as the Liberal candidate for the safe Labor seat of Ross Smith at the 1989 state election but was defeated by the sitting member and Premier of South Australia,John Bannon. [12] He earned a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice at the University of South Australia and began practising as a solicitor in 1991.
At the 1993 election,aged 25,Pyne was elected to the South Australian Division of Sturt in the House of Representatives. He had earlier defeated Sturt incumbent Ian Wilson in a Liberal pre-selection ballot for the seat. Wilson had held the seat for all but one term since the 1966 election. Between them,he and his father,Keith,had held the seat for all but four years since its creation in 1949. Wilson was 35 years Pyne's senior;indeed,he had won his first election a year before Pyne was born. [13]
Election in Sturt | 1993 | 1996 | 1998 | 2001 | 2004 | 2007 | 2010 | 2013 | 2016 |
First preference % | 39.4 | 54.1 | 47.8 | 50.7 | 51.7 | 47.2 | 48.1 | 54.4 | 44.4 |
Two-party-preferred % | 55.7 | 60.0 | 57.3 | 58.2 | 56.8 | 50.9 | 53.4 | 60.1 | 55.9 |
Pyne is a republican [14] and established himself as a member of the moderate,"small-l liberal" faction of the Liberal Party,supporting then Deputy Leader Peter Costello. Pyne remains a close ally of state Liberal Vickie Chapman. [15]
In 1994,after serving as a backbencher for a period,Pyne was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Minister for Social Security. He retained this position after John Howard was elected as leader,and up to the 1996 election. [8]
After the 1996 Coalition victory Pyne sat as a backbencher. Pyne chaired the Australia Israel Parliamentary group from 1996 to 2004. [12] In 2003,he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Family and Community Services,where he remained until 2004,when named Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing. [8] As Parliamentary Secretary,he defended the government's "War on drugs" and established his strong support of illicit drug prohibition,as opposed to harm minimisation. [16] He launched the youth mental health initiative Headspace. [17]
Pyne served as a Parliamentary Secretary until 30 January 2007 when he was appointed Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing. He held this portfolio until 21 March,when he was elevated to the outer ministry as Minister for Ageing,succeeding resigning Minister,Senator Santo Santoro. [13]
Pyne came close to losing Sturt at the 2007 election to Labor candidate Mia Handshin,after suffering a 5.9 percent two-party swing to finish with a 0.9 percent two-party margin (856 votes),which made Sturt the most marginal seat in South Australia. Following the election in which the John Howard-led Coalition government was defeated by the Kevin Rudd-led Labor opposition,Pyne put himself forward as a candidate for Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party at the 2007 Liberal leadership ballot. Julie Bishop prevailed with 44 votes,ahead of Andrew Robb who won 25 votes,while Pyne came third with 18 votes. [18] Following the election of Brendan Nelson as party leader,Pyne was appointed Shadow Minister for Justice and Border Protection. [19]
Following Malcolm Turnbull's ascension at the 2008 Liberal leadership ballot,Pyne was elevated to Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Education,Apprenticeships and Training. [20] After Bishop stepped down from the portfolio of Shadow Treasurer,Joe Hockey took up the portfolio,with Pyne replacing Hockey as Manager of Opposition Business in the House on 16 February 2009.
Pyne was reappointed as Manager of Opposition Business in the House and Shadow Minister for Education,Apprenticeships and Training by Tony Abbott after he deposed Turnbull at the 2009 Liberal leadership ballot. [21] Pyne was re-elected at the 2010 election,receiving a 2.5 percent two-party swing to finish with a marginal 53.4 percent two-party vote, [22] which made neighbouring Boothby the most marginal seat in South Australia. Pyne was re-appointed as Manager of Opposition Business in the House and Shadow Minister for Education,Apprenticeships and Training. [23]
Pyne was re-elected to Sturt at the 2013 election,receiving a 6.5 percent two-party swing to finish with a 60.1 percent two-party vote,making Sturt a safe Liberal seat on paper. Pyne was elevated to the Cabinet of Australia on 18 September 2013 as Leader of the House and Minister for Education in the Abbott government. [24] In December 2014,his portfolio was renamed to Minister for Education and Training. [25]
As Minister for Education and Training,Pyne enacted changes to the education system to provide minimum standards for teachers, [26] promoted independent public schooling, [27] expanded phonics teaching, [28] and created a new national curriculum. [29] Pyne also attempted to reform the university sector to introduce market principles but was rejected by the Senate. [30]
In May 2014,Pyne suggested that HECS debts should be reclaimed from the estates of deceased students. [31]
Despite much speculation Pyne would be appointed as Defence Minister, [32] he remained Leader of the House and was appointed as Minister for Industry,Innovation and Science in the Turnbull government following Malcolm Turnbull's re-ascension at the 2015 Liberal leadership ballot. As Minister for Industry,Innovation and Science,Pyne was credited with creating and implementing the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA). [33]
With the reelection of the Government in 2016,Pyne became the Minister for Defence Industry in the Second Turnbull Ministry. [34] As Minister for Defence Industry,Pyne was given responsibility for implementing the largest modernisation of the Australian Defence Force since the Second World War,increasing the Australian Government's investment in defence capability to almost $200 billion. [35] [36]
Between February 2016 and March 2019,Pyne co-hosted weekly television program Pyne &Marles on Sky News Live with Labor MP Richard Marles. [37]
Pyne retained Sturt at the 2016 election for the Liberals with a 55.9 percent two-party vote from a 4.2 percent two-party swing,reducing the seat from a safe to marginal status.
Pyne has stated he has always been in favour of same-sex marriage. [38] In November,the Australian Federal Police investigated claims that his Twitter account was compromised after the account had been found to have liked a pornographic image depicting a gay sexual act. [39]
Following the change of Prime Minister on 24 August 2018,Pyne was promoted to Minister for Defence. [40]
On 2 March 2019 Pyne announced that he would not recontest the seat of Sturt at the next federal election;and would retire from politics. [1] [2] [3] The House of Representatives was dissolved on 11 April 2019.
Pyne was listed on the South Australian lobbyist register on 26 July 2019 as a co-owner of GC Advisory Pty Ltd,which he co-owns with Adam Howard. The firm's many clients include Duxton Capital,Hickinbotham Group,Polites Group,RacingSA,the City of Burnside and Thomson Geer Lawyers. [41]
In 2021,Pyne was interviewed [42] by Christopher Lim and Kendall O'Donnell,contributors for The Bruges Group,on CANZUK,Australia's COVID policy,the UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement,and Australia's role in the Indo-Pacific. Pyne praised Prime Minister Scott Morrison's leadership and COVID policy,as well as the Foreign Relations Act (2020). Pyne was praised for "accurately depicting the Australian perspective on the Indo-Pacific and Australia's national security interests". Kendall O'Donnell's performance was praised for his "steadfast questioning and pertinent points made around national security issues",and Lim's questions were described as "demonstrating incredible awareness of Australia's domestic debate and constitutional issues."
Since retiring from Parliament in April 2019,Pyne has chaired the strategic advisory and public affairs firm,Pyne and Partners operating offices in Sydney,Canberra and Adelaide. [43] He also chairs Vision2020 Australia, [44] the national peak eye health body and the Australia United Arab Emirates Business Council. [45]
Since late 2020,Pyne has taken on roles in the Australian defence industry. He is chairman of the advisory board of Australia's largest Australian owned small arms and munitions company Nioa, [46] and chairman of the advisory board of the Australian Missile Corporation. [47] He also sits on the board of ASX Listed,Xtek Ltd,a Canberra-based body armour and unmanned Vehicle manufacturer and supplier globally. [48]
Apart from not for profit,Vision2020Australia, [49] Pyne is the Chairman of the SA Governors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, [50] and an Ambassador of the Adelaide Football Club. [51]
Pyne and his wife Carolyn have four children. He currently resides in Adelaide. [8]
Robert Charles Baldwin is a former Australian politician who was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for Paterson in New South Wales from March 1996 to October 1998 and again from November 2001 until May 2016,representing the Liberal Party. Baldwin has served in the Abbott Ministry as a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry from September 2013 to December 2014;and as a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment from December 2014 to September 2015.
Steven Michele Ciobo is a retired Australian politician who represented the Division of Moncrieff in the House of Representatives from the 2001 federal election until his retirement at the 2019 election. He was a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland,and sat with the Liberal Party in federal parliament. On 1 March 2019 Ciobo announced his decision to retire from politics at the 2019 federal election.
Andrew John Southcott is an Australian politician and medical practitioner. He was the Liberal member for the House of Representatives seat of Boothby from the 1996 election until he stood down at the 2016 election.
Nicholas Hugh Minchin is an Australian former politician and former Australian Consul-General in New York,USA. He previously served as a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing South Australia from July 1993 to June 2011,and a former cabinet minister in the Howard government.
The Division of Mayo is an Australian electoral division located to the east and south of Adelaide,South Australia. Created in the state redistribution of 3 September 1984,the division is named after Helen Mayo,a social activist and the first woman elected to an Australian University Council. The 9,315 km²rural seat covers an area from the Barossa Valley in the north to Cape Jervis in the south. Taking in the Adelaide Hills,Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island regions,its largest population centre is Mount Barker. Its other population centres are Aldgate,Bridgewater,Littlehampton,McLaren Vale,Nairne,Stirling,Strathalbyn and Victor Harbor,and its smaller localities include American River,Ashbourne,Balhannah,Brukunga,Carrickalinga,Charleston,Cherry Gardens,Clarendon,Crafers,Cudlee Creek,Currency Creek,Delamere,Echunga,Forreston,Goolwa,Gumeracha,Hahndorf,Houghton,Inglewood,Kersbrook,Kingscote,Langhorne Creek,Lobethal,Macclesfield,McLaren Flat,Meadows,Middleton,Milang,Mount Compass,Mount Pleasant,Mount Torrens,Mylor,Myponga,Normanville,Norton Summit,Oakbank,Penneshaw,Piccadilly,Port Elliot,Second Valley,Springton,Summertown,Uraidla,Willunga,Woodchester,Woodside,Yankalilla,and parts of Birdwood,Old Noarlunga and Upper Sturt.
The Division of Sturt is an Australian electoral division in South Australia. It was proclaimed at the South Australian redistribution of 11 May 1949. Sturt was named for Captain Charles Sturt,nineteenth century explorer. Following the loss of Boothby in 2022,it is currently the only seat in Adelaide held by the Liberal Party.
Marise Ann Payne is an Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1997 until 2023,representing the Liberal Party. She held senior ministerial office in Coalition governments between 2013 and 2022,including as Minister for Defence (2015–2018) and Minister for Foreign Affairs (2018–2022).
Ian Bonython Cameron Wilson AM was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and represented the Division of Sturt in federal parliament. He held ministerial office in the Fraser government from 1981 to 1983.
Vickie Ann Chapman is a former Australian politician,representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Bragg for the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia between the 2002 election and May 2022. Chapman served as the Deputy Premier of South Australia and Attorney-General between 19 March 2018 and 22 November 2021 in the Marshall government. She was the first woman to hold either post.
Cory Bernardi is an Australian conservative political commentator and former politician. He was a Senator for South Australia from 2006 to 2020,and was the leader of the Australian Conservatives,a minor political party he founded in 2017 but disbanded in 2019. He is a former member of the Liberal Party of Australia,having represented the party in the Senate from 2006 to 2017. He is the author of The Conservative Revolution.
Simon John Birmingham is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for South Australia since 2007. A member of the Liberal Party,he served in the Morrison government as Minister for Finance from 2020 to 2022 and as Minister for Trade,Tourism and Investment from 2018 to 2020. He previously served as Minister for Education and Training in the Turnbull government from 2015 to 2018,and as a parliamentary secretary and assistant minister in the Abbott government.
A spill of the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia took place on 29 November 2007,following the defeat of the Howard government at the federal election five days earlier. The resulting ballot was an open race as outgoing Prime Minister John Howard had lost his own seat at the election,and his preferred successor Peter Costello refused to stand.
Mark Christopher Butler is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the House of Representatives since 2007. He was a minister in the Gillard and Rudd governments and also served as national president of the ALP from 2015 to 2018.
Jamie Edward Briggs is an Australian former politician,who represented the House of Representatives seat of Mayo for the Liberal Party of Australia from the 2008 Mayo by-election to the 2 July 2016 federal election. Briggs was promoted from a shadow parliamentary secretary role to the outer ministry upon the 2013 election of the Abbott government. He remained in the outer ministry,though with a change in portfolio in the Turnbull government;however,he quit the ministry and moved to the backbench in late 2015 following inappropriate conduct during an official overseas trip. Briggs lost his seat in the 2016 federal election to Nick Xenophon Team candidate Rebekha Sharkie.
John Anthony William Gardner is an Australian politician representing the seat of Morialta in the South Australian House of Assembly for the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia since the 2010 election. Gardner served as the Minister for Education in the Marshall Ministry between March 2018 and March 2022.
Steven Spence Marshall is an former Australian politician who served as the 46th premier of South Australia between 2018 and 2022. He was a member of the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia in the South Australian House of Assembly from 2010 until 2024,representing the electorate of Dunstan.
Melissa Lee Price is an Australian politician who served as Minister for Defence Industry from 2019 to 2022 and as Minister for Science and Technology from 2021 to 2022 in the Morrison government. She has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2013,representing the Division of Durack in Western Australia. A member of the Liberal Party,she previously served as Minister for the Environment (2018–2019) and Assistant Minister for the Environment (2017–2018).
Centre Alliance,formerly known as the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT),is a centrist political party in Australia based in the state of South Australia. It currently has one representative in the Parliament,Rebekha Sharkie in the House of Representatives.
The first Morrison ministry was the 71st ministry of the Government of Australia. It was led by Prime Minister,Scott Morrison. The Morrison ministry succeeded the second Turnbull ministry,which dissolved on 24 August 2018 following the Liberal Party leadership spills.
James William Stevens is the Liberal Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Division of Sturt in South Australia. He was elected in the 2019 Australian federal election,replacing the retiring Liberal member,Christopher Pyne. Stevens previously served as the Chief of Staff to Steven Marshall,the former Premier of South Australia,and prior to that as the General Manager of Michell Australia.