Kevin Andrews | |
---|---|
Father of the House | |
In office 10 May 2016 –11 April 2022 | |
Preceded by | Philip Ruddock |
Succeeded by | Bob Katter |
Minister for Defence | |
In office 23 December 2014 –21 September 2015 | |
Prime Minister | Tony Abbott Malcolm Turnbull |
Preceded by | David Johnston |
Succeeded by | Marise Payne |
Minister for Social Services | |
In office 18 September 2013 –23 December 2014 | |
Prime Minister | Tony Abbott |
Preceded by | Jenny Macklin |
Succeeded by | Scott Morrison |
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship | |
In office 30 January 2007 –3 December 2007 | |
Prime Minister | John Howard |
Preceded by | Amanda Vanstone |
Succeeded by | Chris Evans |
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations | |
In office 7 October 2003 –30 January 2007 | |
Prime Minister | John Howard |
Preceded by | Tony Abbott |
Succeeded by | Joe Hockey |
Minister for Ageing | |
In office 26 November 2001 –7 October 2003 | |
Prime Minister | John Howard |
Preceded by | Bronwyn Bishop |
Succeeded by | Julie Bishop |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Menzies | |
In office 11 May 1991 –11 April 2022 | |
Preceded by | Neil Brown |
Succeeded by | Keith Wolahan |
Personal details | |
Born | Kevin James Andrews 9 November 1955 Sale,Victoria,Australia |
Political party | Liberal |
Spouse | Margaret Ryan |
Children | 5 |
Alma mater | University of Melbourne Monash University |
Website | Official website |
Kevin James Andrews (born 9 November 1955) is an Australian former politician and member of the Liberal Party of Australia. He was the Member of House of Representatives for the seat of Menzies from a by-election in 1991 until the 2022 Australian federal election. Andrews is a conservative and a Catholic. [1]
Previously,Andrews served in the Howard government as the Minister for Ageing,Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations,and then the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship until the 2007 election,at which his party lost government.
Following the 2009 Liberal leadership ballot,Andrews served in the Shadow Cabinet of Tony Abbott as shadow minister for Families,Housing and Human Services until the 2013 election where his party won government. [2] In the Abbott government,Andrews served in the cabinet as Minister for Social Services and later Minister for Defence. [3] At the September 2015 Liberal leadership ballot,Andrews unsuccessfully contested for the Liberal deputy leadership against Julie Bishop,while supporting Tony Abbott against Malcolm Turnbull as Liberal leader. Upon the ascension of the Turnbull government Andrews was dropped from the new Ministry and moved to the backbench. [4]
With the retirement of Philip Ruddock at the 2016 federal election,Andrews became the Father of the House. [5] Although Warren Snowdon was first elected in 1987,Andrews was the longest continuously serving member,because Snowdon was out of the House between 1996 and 1998. Andrews was one of three parliamentary survivors of the Hawke government,the others being Snowdon and Russell Broadbent. From 2019 until his retirement in 2022,Andrews was the "Father of the Parliament",the currently longest,continuously serving member of the Australian Parliament.
On 31 January 2021,Andrews lost the Liberal Party's endorsement in a preselection challenge to barrister Keith Wolahan (181 votes to 111). [6] [7]
Andrews was born on 9 November 1955 in Sale,Victoria,the son of Roy Gebhardt Andrews and Sheila Rosina O'Connor. [2] He was educated at the Rosedale Primary School,St Patrick's College,Sale,and the University of Melbourne,where he resided at Newman College and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1979 and a Bachelor of Arts in 1980. [2] At university,he was President of the Newman College Students' Club and the National Association of Australian University Colleges. He later completed a Master of Laws degree at Monash University in 1986. [2]
Andrews was a racing commentator in the 1970s and 80s,calling various sporting events including athletics,cycling and motor sports,and writing for a number of publications,including Australian Auto Action. He was also secretary of the Melbourne University Athletics Club,and a director of the Victorian Amateur Athletics Association. At Melbourne University,he trained with the legendary coach,Franz Stampfl.
After graduation,he worked for the Law Institute of Victoria from 1980 to 1983,as a research solicitor and co-ordinator of Continuing Legal Education. [2] From 1983 to 1985,he served as associate to Sir James Gobbo,Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria,and subsequently the Governor of Victoria. He practised as a barrister from 1985 until his election to Parliament in 1991. [8]
While practising law he specialised in health law and bioethics and was involved with the St Vincent's Bioethics Centre,the Mercy Hospital for Women,the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Lincoln School of Health Sciences. [9] He was also a board member of Caritas Christi Hospice. [9]
Andrews was elected to the House of Representatives for the Liberal Party at the 1991 Menzies by-election in Victoria. Andrews has never lived in his electorate but in the neighbouring Jagajaga. [10]
Andrews was a member of the Lyons Forum,a socially conservative Christian group within the Coalition that was disbanded in the mid-1990s. Andrews served as the Forum Secretary and is credited with suggesting the name for the group. [11] [12]
Andrews was shadow minister for schools but was removed from the position when Alexander Downer replaced John Hewson as Liberal leader in May 1994. [13]
As a backbencher,Andrews chaired the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. He presented a private member's bill,the Euthanasia Laws Bill 1996 ,which was passed in 1997 and overrode the Northern Territory's legislation,the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 ,that legalised euthanasia in the Territory.
Andrews called for an end to trials of the RU-486 drug,and voted against a bill in 2006 that took away the Health Minister's power to veto applications to allow the drug to be used. [14]
In taking a stance against stem cell research in 2002,he stated that it was the "first time" that "human beings can be treated as a commodity". [15] He also took a stance against stem cell research during a debate in 2006,which resulted in the overturning of a previous ban on the research. [16]
After the Coalition's third victory in 2001,Andrews was brought into the outer ministry as Minister for Ageing,a portfolio in which he served from 26 November 2001 to 7 October 2003. [2] He was subsequently appointed to Cabinet as the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and was responsible for introducing the Howard government's major changes to industrial relations law in 2005,commonly known as WorkChoices,which introduced a national system of workplace relations in Australia. In a reshuffle in early 2007,Andrews was made Minister for Immigration and Citizenship,a position which he held until the swearing-in of the First Rudd Ministry on 3 December 2007,following the defeat of the Howard government in the 2007 election.
During 2008 and 2009,he served as Chairman of the Coalition's Policy Review Committee,reviewing and developing the Opposition's policies,until he was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet (to the position of Shadow Minister for Families,Housing and Human Services) in December 2009 by the newly elected Opposition Leader,Tony Abbott. He was also appointed Deputy Chairman of the Coalition Policy Development Committee.
In November 2009,Andrews declared his candidacy against Malcolm Turnbull in a vote for a leadership spill,in opposition to Turnbull's support for the government's emissions trading scheme. He had declared himself a climate change sceptic,saying that "the jury is still out" on human contributions to global warming. [17] However,the partyroom voted down a leadership spill 41 votes to 35 and Andrews' challenge consequently did not eventuate. [18] After continued leadership speculation,a second party room meeting was held,at which point the leadership was declared vacant. Tony Abbott,Joe Hockey,and Malcolm Turnbull all stood for the leadership,and Tony Abbott was ultimately successful. Following his election as Leader,Abbott promoted Andrews to the Shadow Cabinet as Minister for Families,Housing and Human Services.
At the 2010 federal election,Andrews was re-elected to the seat of Menzies with a 2.7-point swing against the Labor Party. [19] He was subsequently re-elected in 2013,2016 and 2019,becoming the "Father of the Parliament".
Andrews chaired the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme,the Human Rights Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs,Defence and Trade,the Joint Select Committee on Australia's Family Law System,the Coalition Policy Committee on Foreign Affairs,Defence and Trade,and the Australia–China Parliamentary Friendship Group. He was also co-chair of the informal Parliamentary Friends of Hong Kong.
In the Abbott government,Andrews served as Minister for Social Services from September 2013 to December 2014. He was then Minister for Defence from December 2014 to September 2015. [20]
On 14 September 2015,after Deputy Leader Julie Bishop announced she would support Malcolm Turnbull in challenge against Prime Minister Tony Abbott for the leadership of the Liberal Party,Andrews announced he supported Abbott and would stand for the deputy leadership against Bishop. Bishop retained the position of Deputy Liberal Leader with 70 votes to Andrews' 30. [4]
As Minister for Immigration and Citizenship,Andrews attracted controversy after he revoked on character grounds the visa of Dr Muhamed Haneef,who had been granted bail on charges of aiding terrorists. [21] [22] This was criticised as a move to keep Haneef in detention;upon posting bail,Haneef would have been transferred from Brisbane's Wolston Correctional Centre to Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre. [23] Andrews defended his actions as being in accordance with the Migration Act and Haneef's lawyers challenged his interpretation of the Act in the Federal Court. [23] [24]
Following the Director of Public Prosecutions dropping all charges against Haneef,Andrews refused calls to reinstate Haneef's visa,stating that his personal evidence was still valid. [21] [25] Andrews' refusal resulted in calls for a public inquiry into the incident by then Queensland Premier Peter Beattie. [26] [27] [28]
Andrews' justification of his decision,that he had a reasonable suspicion that Haneef had associated with suspected terrorists and therefore failed the test of good character that a person must pass to keep a visa,was rejected in the Federal Court,and the revocation of Haneef's visa was overturned. [29] However,in November,e-mails released under the Freedom of Information Act appeared to indicate that Andrews' office had a plan to revoke the visa before the case went to court,in the case that bail was granted. [30]
On 23 December 2008,a government-ordered inquiry report was released. Mr Clarke,the head of the judicial inquiry,determined Mr Andrews did not act with an improper motive.PM - Haneef calls for apology after Clarke Inquiry
Following Andrews' criticism of irregularities discovered in the CV of an Indian doctor working on the Gold Coast, [31] various media organisations carried reports disputing Andrews' claim on parliamentary and ministerial websites to have co-authored three books,having contributed only a chapter to each. [32] Andrews argued in his own defence that
In October 2007,Andrews' decision to cut Australia's refugee intake from African nations was described by some critics as racist and a use of the race card to appeal to "racist" voters [33] before the 2007 Australian federal election. [34] Andrews defended the decision,saying:"Some groups don't seem to be settling and adjusting into the Australian way of life as quickly as we would hope." [35]
The Queensland Labor Premier,Anna Bligh,described Andrews' criticism of Sudanese as "disturbing". She said:"It has been a long time since I have heard such a pure form of racism out of the mouth of any Australian politician." [33] Labor politician Tony Burke described Andrews' decision as "incompetent". [36] However,Andrews' actions were applauded by then former One Nation politician,Pauline Hanson. [33] In addition members of the Australian community viewed Andrews as responsible for creating a racial tension leading to anti-African sentiment in the community and racially based attacks on Sudanese migrants in Australia. [37] [38] [39] Andrews stated in 2011 he did not regret raising the issue. [40]
In February 2016,Andrews used $1,855 in taxpayer funds as part of approved "study allowance" to attend the US National "prayer breakfast" in Washington DC,a bipartisan annual event which is addressed by the President of the United States,address the Heritage Foundation,a right-wing think tank,about Australia's security policy,and have a series of policy discussion meetings in Washington DC and in the process missed the first week of Parliament, [41] which had been approved by the party Whip.
In November 2017,Andrews advocated for "Jewish bakers" to have the legal right to refuse to bake cakes for Islamic weddings and the other way around. [42]
Andrews is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party. [43]
Andrews has been associated with,or given speeches to,many organisations over the years. His most significant non-Parliamentary speeches are published in the volume One People One Destiny.
Andrews was an adviser to the board of Life Decisions International (LDI),an anti-abortion group. He has described his role with LDI as an "honorary patronage". [44]
In 2007,the Sydney Morning Herald reported that,on his entry in the Parliamentary Register of Pecuniary Interests,Andrews did not declare his wife's patronage of the board of advisors of Life Decisions International. [45]
On 9 April 2003,Andrews made a speech to the Endeavour Forum, [46] a conservative Christian group founded to counter the feminist movement which opposes abortion,equal opportunity and affirmative action. [47]
Andrews has given several speeches over the years at the Family Council of Victoria,[ citation needed ] an organisation opposed to homosexuality, [48] sex-education,and anti-homophobia policies in public schools,which it claims is "pro-homosexual indoctrination" of students. [49] He is a vocal public opponent of same-sex marriage and publicly stated he would vote against any bill,regardless of the results of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey. [50] He abstained from voting for the bill to legalise same-sex marriage in the Australian Parliament.
Andrews supports immigration as a way to slow population ageing in Australia. [51]
During an address to the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia,he said that "The level of net overseas migration is important as net inflows of migrants to Australia reduce the rate of population ageing because migrants are younger on average than the resident population. Just under 70% of the migrant intake are in the 15–44 age cohort,compared to 43% of the Australian population as a whole. Just 10% of the migrant intake are 45 or over,compared with 38% of the Australian population." [51]
In 2011,as a Liberal Shadow Cabinet frontbencher,Andrews published a critique of the Greens' policy agenda in Quadrant Magazine in which he wrote that the Australian Greens' "objective involves a radical transformation of the culture that underpins Western civilisation" and that their agenda would threaten the "Judeo-Christian/Enlightenment synthesis that upholds the individual" as well as "the economic system that has resulted in the creation of wealth and prosperity for the most people in human history." [52]
Andrews supported the move to make Australia a republic at the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998. [53]
Andrews was an adjunct lecturer in politics and in marriage education at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Melbourne. [9]
He has long advocated the critical importance of Australia's reliance on natural resources. He is credited with suggesting the title of the Coalition's then pro-national resources interest group,the Monash Forum.
He has served on many bodies in addition to serving in the Parliament since 1991,including the Marriage Education Programme Inc,the Australian Association of Marriage Education,the Newman College council,the Institute for Social NeuroScience,and the council of the National Archives.
Andrews is a keen cyclist,participating in many charitable rides,including the annual Pollie Pedal event,and competing in Masters racing. His youngest son,Ben,rode as a professional cyclist in Australia,on the Asian circuit,and in the kermesse series in Europe. Andrews' most recent book,Great Rivalries,is the story of cycling and the history of Italy from 1860 to 1960.
He has published a policy journal,Australian Polity,since 2008.
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Wentworth from 2004 to 2018.
Anthony John Abbott is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Warringah from 1994 to 2019.
Julie Isabel Bishop is an Australian former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2007 to 2018. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Curtin from 1998 to 2019. She has been the chancellor of the Australian National University since January 2020.
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.
Warren Errol Truss is a former Australian politician who served as the 16th deputy prime minister of Australia and the minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott government and the Turnbull government. Truss served as the federal leader of the National Party of Australia between 2007 and 11 February 2016 when he announced his decision to retire and not contest the 2016 federal election. He was the member of the House of Representatives for Wide Bay from the 1990 election until his retirement in May 2016. Following the merger of the Queensland branches of the Nationals and Liberals,Truss was re-elected in 2010 for the Liberal National Party.
Anthony Stephen Burke is an Australian politician serving as Leader of the House,Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for the Arts. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP),and has served as member of parliament (MP) for Watson since 2004. He held cabinet positions in the governments of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard from 2007 to 2013.
William Richard Shorten is an Australian politician and former trade unionist serving as the current Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. Previously,Shorten was leader of the opposition and leader of the Labor Party (ALP) from 2013 to 2019. A member of parliament (MP) for the division of Maribyrnong since 2007,Shorten also held several ministerial portfolios in the Gillard and Rudd governments from 2010 to 2013.
Christopher Maurice Pyne 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.
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.
Darren Jeffrey Chester is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the House of Representatives for Gippsland in Victoria,representing the Nationals since 2008. Chester had served as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and the Minister for Defence Personnel between March 2018 and July 2021 in the Turnbull and Morrison governments. He was also Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC until May 2019.
Kelly Megan O'Dwyer is a former Australian politician. She served in the House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019,representing the Liberal Party,and held senior ministerial office from 2015 to 2019.
A leadership spill for the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 1 December 2009. The incumbent leader Malcolm Turnbull was defeated by Tony Abbott on the second ballot;Joe Hockey also stood as a candidate. Abbott thus replaced Turnbull as Leader of the Opposition,and would lead the party to the 2010 federal election.
Daniel Thomas Tehan is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Liberal Party and has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2010 election,representing the Victorian seat of Wannon. He held ministerial office in the Coalition governments under Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison,serving as Minister for Defence Materiel (2016),Defence Personnel (2016–2017),Veterans' Affairs (2016–2017),Social Services (2017–2018),Education (2018–2020),and Trade,Tourism and Investment. He was a public servant and political adviser before entering parliament.
Alan Tudge is an Australian former politician. He was a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives between 2010 and 2023. He was a cabinet minister in the Morrison government from 2019 to 2022.
Karen Lesley Andrews is an Australian politician who served in the Morrison government as Minister for Industry,Science and Technology from 2018 to 2021 and as Minister for Home Affairs from 2021 to 2022. She is a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland and has represented the Queensland seat of McPherson since the 2010 federal election. Andrews sits as a Liberal and previously served as an assistant minister in the Abbott and Turnbull governments. Before entering politics she was a mechanical engineer and industrial relations consultant.
Philip Maxwell Ruddock is an Australian politician and former Mayor of Hornsby Shire Council. He is a Vice Chair of the Global Panel Foundation Australasia.
The Abbott government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 28th Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The government was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition. The Leader of The Nationals,Warren Truss,served as Deputy Prime Minister. Following the 2013 Australian federal election held on 7 September,the Coalition defeated the second Rudd government,ending six years of Labor government. The Abbott government was sworn into office on 18 September 2013. Less than two years later on 14 September 2015,Malcolm Turnbull defeated Abbott in a leadership ballot,54 votes to 44 and the Turnbull government became the executive government of Australia.
A motion seeking a leadership spill of the federal parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and Prime Minister was proposed by Malcolm Turnbull,who requested the ballot on 14 September 2015. The incumbent Prime Minister,Tony Abbott,announced that a meeting of Liberal members of the House and Senate would take place at 9:15 pm AEST on 14 September 2015 for the purpose of a spill motion. During the meeting a vote was held for the leadership and deputy leadership. Turnbull defeated Abbott,54 votes to 44,becoming the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and Prime Minister-nominee. Julie Bishop retained her position of deputy leader defeating Kevin Andrews 70 votes to 30.
The Turnbull government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 29th prime minister of Australia,Malcolm Turnbull,from 2015 to 2018. It succeeded the Abbott government,which brought the Coalition to power at the 2013 Australian federal election. The government consisted of members of Australia's Liberal-Nationals Coalition. Turnbull took office by challenging his leader,Tony Abbott,in an internal leadership ballot. Warren Truss,the leader of the Nationals,served as deputy prime minister until he retired in 2016 and was replaced by Barnaby Joyce. Joyce resigned in February 2018 and the Nationals' new leader Michael McCormack became deputy prime minister. The Turnbull government concluded with Turnbull's resignation ahead of internal leadership ballot which saw him succeeded as prime minister by Scott Morrison and the Morrison government.
Leadership spills of the federal parliamentary leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia were held on 21 and 24 August 2018 and were called by the incumbent leader of the party,Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
After months of pressure, David Johnston has been dumped as Defence Minister and replaced by Kevin Andrews, whom the Prime Minister said was a "safe pair of hands".
I'm saying that as someone who actually supported a Republic at the convention in 1998.