Arbib rose within the New South Wales Labor Party,and was eventually elected as State Secretary in 2004,before being elected to the Senate at the 2007 election. Arbib was frequently described in the media as a "power-broker" within the Parliamentary Labor Party.[1] In 2009,he was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister for Employment Participation.
Arbib was born in the Sydney suburb of Chippendale. His father,Eric Arbib,was of Libyan heritage and spoke Italian,moving to Australia in the 1960s and becoming a property developer. His mother,Lola,was born in Sydney. She raised Mark and his brother Scott[2] after the death of their father when they were young.[3] He has a Master of Arts in political science and economic history from the University of New South Wales.[4]
Arbib is an avid runner,having completed a number of Ironman triathlons and marathons. His personal best times are 11.09 for the Melbourne Ironman and 2.58.51 for the Sydney Marathon.
Early career
While studying,Arbib worked part-time at a Sizzler restaurant in Bondi Junction. When there were moves to remove penalty rates,he negotiated on behalf of the part-time workers and signed up members to the Liquor Trades Union.[6] Later he worked variously as a metal trades assistant,beach inspector and restaurant cook,but became increasingly involved in the trade union movement. In 1989 he had a bit part in the Australian soap opera Home and Away.[7]
He joined the Australian Labor Party in 1992 and was elected as President of NSW Young Labor in 1995. He served as Assistant General Secretary from 1999 and was the ALP State Organiser between 1996 and 1999.[4]
Career as General Secretary
Arbib was elected General Secretary of the Australian Labor Party (NSW Branch) in June 2004.[4] In 2005,he was elevated to the role of national convener of the party's right wing.[8]
In 2007,Arbib was Campaign Director for Morris Iemma's successful 2007 state election campaign.[4] Following the 2007 Election victory for the Labor Party,he was credited by former premier Bob Carr as "one of the best campaigners in the business."[9] However,the opposition has criticised his role in procuring political donations for the Labor party from business groups.[10]
In January 2008,The Sydney Morning Herald quoted an organisation which makes political donations to the Labor Party as saying that Mark Arbib made an art form out of extracting political donations from businesses. Said the donor:"There's no doubt Arbib wrote the book in terms of both political donations ... and their importance ... It's fine to take the higher ground and say 'we won't make donations' ... but if you don't you have got zero chance of getting (to see them)." Arbib denied the allegations.[11] Arbib was named in the ABC television program Four Corners in relation to political donations to the NSW Labor Party.[12]
Arbib was preselected for the number one position of Labor's New South Wales Senate ticket and won a seat at the 2007 federal election.[13]
Federal politics
From 1 July 2008 to 30 March 2009,Arbib served on the Senate Committees for Foreign Affairs,Defence and Trade,Corporations and Financial Services,and Education,Employment and Workplace Relations. He was also the co-convenor of a bipartisan parliamentary group:Parliamentarians Against Child Abuse and Neglect (PACAN) and is an Ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.[citation needed]
Arbib was a member of the ALP National Executive (from 2004) and a member of the ALP National Executive Committee (from 2007). In February 2009,he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Government Service Delivery.[14][15]
In the June 2009 reshuffle,he was promoted to Employment Participation Minister and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Government Service Delivery.[16]
On 24 June 2010,Arbib used his power as leader of the NSW right faction to shore up numbers to depose Kevin Rudd,then in his first term as prime minister,in favour of Julia Gillard.[17] In August 2010 Arbib stood down from the ALP National Executive to concentrate on his portfolio duties. In November 2010 Arbib was the first Federal Labor Party front bencher to support same-sex marriage.[18] He spoke in favour of marriage equality at Labor's National Conference in December 2011 and has called on the Liberal Party to allow its members a conscience vote.[citation needed]
As Minister for Sport,Arbib championed a National Policy on Match Fixing in Sport which included nationally consistent criminal legislation. Arbib argued match-fixing was a threat to the integrity of sport and called for jail time for those found guilty of engaging in serious match-fixing and for the formation of an international WADA-type body to combat match-fixing internationally.[19] During his time as Minister for Sport,Arbib was also a Member of the World Anti-Doping Authority Foundation Board.[citation needed]
The United States diplomatic cables leaks revealed that Mark Arbib was in regular contact with staff at the US embassy in Canberra[20] and provided them with inside information and commentary on the workings of the government and the Labor Party.[21][22][23] Arbib strongly denied having a special relationship with the United States and was highly critical of Fairfax's reporting of the cables which he claims contained a number of serious factual errors. [24]
In the December 2011 reshuffle,Arbib was appointed as Assistant Treasurer,Minister for Small Business and Manager of Government Business in the Senate.[25]
On 27 February 2012,hours after the ALP leadership ballot,Arbib announced his resignation from the Cabinet from 2 March,and his intention to also resign from the Senate.[26] He cited wanting to spend more time with his family than being a Minister and Senator can allow. He also hoped his resigning would help the Labor Party to heal.[27] His resignation from the Senate was submitted on 5 March. The following day on 6 March 2012,Arbib was replaced as a Senator by former Premier of New South WalesBob Carr,who on 13 March became the Foreign Minister following the resignation of Kevin Rudd from that position.
Arbib also represented Consolidated Press Holdings on the board of the South Sydney Rabbitohs,[29] and was a board member of the Packer Family Foundation which,in July 2014,announced a $200 million national philanthropic fund in partnership with the Crown Resorts Foundation.[30]
Following his role as Federal Minister for Sport,Arbib has gone on to serve in a number of roles with major sporting organisations. In April 2012 Australian Rugby Union (ARU) announced Arbib would conduct a major review into ARU's corporate governance. The review followed the decision of other major sports,including the Australian Rugby League Commission,Cricket Australia and Football Federation Australia,to review their governance structures.
The recommendations contained in Strengthening the Governance of Australian Rugby[31] (the Arbib Review),were endorsed in full by the Board of ARU in October 2012. On 10 December 2012,ARU's State and Territory Member Unions voted in favour of a new constitution adopting Arbib's recommendations. The changes from the Arbib Review established an Independent Board of Directors and reformed the Membership of ARU to better reflect the Rugby Union community across Australia,both amateur and professional.
In May 2012 it was also announced that Arbib would join the board of Sydney FC,one of the A League's most successful football clubs.[32]
Arbib stepped down from Sydney FC in April 2016 to take up a new role as President of Athletics Australia after having been unanimously appointed to the position by his fellow directors.[33] In his role as president,Arbib is looking to increase the reach and exposure of Athletics,including by making the sport more attractive to broadcasters.[34] Arbib is also a board member of the professional Rugby League Team the South Sydney Rabbitohs,winners of the 2014 Premiership.[29]
Arbib is an active supporter of a number of philanthropies. In particular,he is an Ambassador for the Indigenous Marathon Project[35] and for Australia's leading Indigenous non-profit education organisation,the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.[5]
Simon Findlay Crean was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 2001 to 2003. He represented the seat of Hotham in the House of Representatives from 1990 to 2013 and was a cabinet minister in the Hawke,Keating,Rudd and Gillard governments.
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June 2013 to September 2013. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Rudd has been the 23rd and current ambassador of Australia to the United States since 2023.
Julia Eileen Gillard is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP),having previously served as the 13th deputy prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010,under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. She is the first and only woman to hold either office in Australian history.
Brendan Patrick O'Connor is an Australian politician who has served as Minister for Skills and Training since 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the House of Representatives since 2001. He held ministerial office in the governments of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard from 2007 to 2013,including as a member of cabinet from 2012 to 2013. He was a member of the shadow cabinet from 2013 to 2022.
Wayne Maxwell Swan is an Australian politician serving as the 25th and current National President of the Labor Party since 2018,previously serving as the 14th deputy prime minister of Australia and the deputy leader of the Labor Party from 2010 to 2013,and the treasurer of Australia from 2007 to 2013.
Kim John Carr is an Australian former politician who served as a Senator for Victoria between 1993 and 2022. Representing the Labor Party,he was a minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments.
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John Philip Faulkner is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1989 to 2015. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Keating,Rudd and Gillard governments.
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Faceless men is a term from Australian politics. The term is generally used to refer to men and women who exert political influence and are not elected representatives to state,territory or federal legislative bodies,yet are elected representatives to bodies that determine political party policies. However,the political tactic of elected representatives canvassing party members for support on policies varies widely amongst Australian political parties.
Jason Dean Clare is an Australian politician serving as Minister for Education since 1 June 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has represented the Division of Blaxland in Western Sydney since 2007.
The first Rudd ministry (Labor) was the 64th ministry of the Government of Australia. It was led by the country's 26th Prime Minister,Kevin Rudd. The first Rudd ministry succeeded the Fourth Howard Ministry,which dissolved on 3 December 2007 following the federal election that took place on 24 November which saw Labor defeat John Howard's Liberal–National Coalition. The ministry was replaced by the First Gillard Ministry on 24 June 2010 following the resignation of Rudd as Prime Minister after a successful leadership challenge by Julia Gillard.
In Australian politics,leadership spill is a colloquialism referring to a declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant and open for contest. A spill may involve all or some of the leadership positions. Where a rival to the existing leader calls for a spill it may also be called a leadership challenge. When successful,it is often said that the former leader has been "rolled". In Australian English the colloquial use of the word "spill" seems to have begun in the mid-1940s with the contest to replace Prime Minister John Curtin after his death on 5 July 1945.
The first Rudd government was the executive Government of Australia formed by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The Rudd government commenced on 3 December 2007,when Rudd was sworn in along with his ministry. This took place just nine days after the defeat of the Howard government,which was a Coalition of members of the Liberal and National parties,at the 2007 federal election. The Rudd government concluded on 24 June 2010 when Rudd,under pressure from an impending leadership caucus ballot,stepped down from the leadership of the ALP and was succeeded by his deputy,Julia Gillard. Rudd was re-elected leader of the Labor Party in 2013 and served a second term as prime minister.
A leadership spill occurred in the Australian Labor Party on 24 June 2010. Kevin Rudd,the prime minister of Australia,was challenged by Julia Gillard,the deputy prime minister of Australia,for the leadership of the Australian Labor Party. Gillard won the election unopposed after Rudd declined to contest,choosing instead to resign. Gillard was duly sworn in as prime minister by Quentin Bryce,the Governor-General,on 24 June 2010 at Government House,becoming Australia's first female prime minister.
The Gillard government was the Government of Australia led by the 27th prime minister of Australia,Julia Gillard,of the Australian Labor Party. The Gillard government succeeded the first Rudd government by way of the Labor Party leadership spill,and began on 24 June 2010,with Gillard sworn in as prime minister by the governor-general of Australia,Quentin Bryce. The Gillard government ended when Kevin Rudd won back the leadership of the Australian Labor Party on 26 June 2013 and commenced the second Rudd government.
The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party of Australia and Coalition partner the National Party of Australia,led by Warren Truss,defeated the incumbent centre-left Labor Party government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in a landslide. It was also the third time in history that a party won 90 or more seats at an Australian election. Labor had been in government for six years since being elected in the 2007 election. This election marked the end of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Labor government and the start of the 9 year long Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Liberal-National Coalition government. Abbott was sworn in by the Governor-General,Quentin Bryce,as Australia's new Prime Minister on 18 September 2013,along with the Abbott Ministry. The 44th Parliament of Australia opened on 12 November 2013,with the members of the House of Representatives and territory senators sworn in. The state senators were sworn in by the next Governor-General Peter Cosgrove on 7 July 2014,with their six-year terms commencing on 1 July.
A leadership spill of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) was held on 4 December 2006. Opposition Leader Kim Beazley was challenged by Shadow Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd,while Deputy Opposition Leader Jenny Macklin was challenged by Shadow Health Minister Julia Gillard in a joint-ticket. Rudd defeated Beazley,after which Macklin resigned,leaving Gillard to become Deputy Leader unopposed.
The Second Gillard ministry (Labor) was the 66th ministry of the Australian Government,led by Prime Minister Julia Gillard. It succeeded the first Gillard ministry upon its swearing in by Governor-General Quentin Bryce on 14 September 2010 after the 2010 election.
A leadership spill in the Australian Labor Party,the party of government in the Parliament of Australia,was held on 27 February 2012 at 10 am AEDT,followed by a ballot. The Prime Minister,Julia Gillard,announced the spill at a press conference on 23 February 2012,following the resignation of the Minister for Foreign Affairs,Kevin Rudd,from his cabinet position after months of speculation that he intended to challenge Gillard for the leadership. Rudd announced his intention to seek the leadership at a press conference on 24 February.
↑ "Changes to the Ministry" (Press release). Press Office of the Prime Minister of Australia. 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
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