Nick Minchin
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Nicholas Hugh Minchin (born 15 April 1953), Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate since July 1993, representing South Australia. He was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and was educated at the Australian National University, where he gained degrees in law and economics. He was a solicitor before entering politics.
Minchin was a staff member for the Liberal Party's Federal Secretariat 1977-83, Deputy Federal Director of the Liberal Party in 1983, South Australian State Director and Campaign Director of the Liberal Party 1985-93.[1]
Minchin was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry 1994-96, holding the position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, John Howard. Since that time he has been a close confidant of Howard's and is one of his most trusted political advisors. Minchin's progress in the ministry has been rapid. He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister John Howard 1996-97, Special Minister of State and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister 1997-98, and Minister for Industry, Science and Resources 1998-2001, with a seat in the Cabinet. He was Minister for Finance and Administration from November 2001 until the defeat of the Howard government at the 2007 Federal Election. Until the 2007 election he also held the posts of Leader of the Government in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council.
Minchin is seen as a leader of the dominant conservative faction of the Liberal Party and supports the abolition of Australia's compulsory voting system, on the stated basis that "compulsory voting is a fundamental breach of ... civil liberties." He also remains one of the few supporters of states' rights in cabinet. As Leader of the Government in the Senate he played a significant role in pursuing and defending its reforms of the Senate committee system, implemented in 2006 following his government's success in securing a majority of Senate seats at the 2004 election.[2]
Known as an economic liberal, Minchin has been a strong proponent of privatisation and wholesale labour market deregulation. He has defended the full privatisation of Telstra, and argued that the Commonwealth should sell its Telstra shares to buy a portfolio of other income-earning investments rather than spend the profits on national infrastructure.[3]
In March 2006, Minchin received extensive media coverage when he highlighted the dilemma his government faced in the field of industrial relations and aired his views about future policy proposals. Speaking at a conference of the HR Nicholls Society in a discussion about another wave of industrial relations reforms following the next election which would include having the award system and Industrial Relations Commission scrapped, Minchin declared: "The fact is the great majority of the Australian people do not support what we are doing on industrial relations. They violently disagree."[4][5]
In a March 2007 letter, Minchin expressed doubts that Climate change is caused by human activity.[6]
On 6 November 2007 Liberal Leader Brendan Nelson appointed Minchin as Shadow Minister for Defence - a portfolio he always wanted in government, but was never granted by former Prime Minister John Howard. [7]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Senator Nick Minchin, Official biography, Senate website, retrieved September 2007
- ^ Senator Nick Minchin, 'Senate majority used responsibly', media release, 26 June 2007, retrieved September 2007.
- ^ John Garnaut, 'Use Telstra sale to fund shares buy-up - Minchin', Sydney Morning Herald, 14 March 2005, retrieved September 2007
- ^ ABC AM, Minchin seeks 'new wave' of IR change, 8 March 2006, retrieved September 2007
- ^ Workers Online, Scoop-idity: How The Truth Was Nicked, 10 march 2006, retrieved September 2007
- ^ Minchin denies climate change man-made, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 March 2007
- ^ Nelson unveiling his new look ministry, 'LiveNews.com.au, 6 November 2007
[edit] References
- Minchin, N. (1996) 'A Denial of Rights, A Detriment to Democracy', The Parliamentarian, 77(3) : 244-248.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gary Johns |
Special Minister of State 1996 – 1998 |
Succeeded by Chris Ellison |
| Preceded by John Moore (industry and science) Warwick Parer (resources) |
Minister for Industry, Science and Resources 1998 – 2001 |
Succeeded by Ian Macfarlane (industry and resources) Peter McGauran (science) |
| Preceded by John Fahey |
Minister for Finance and Administration 2001 – 2007 |
Succeeded by Lindsay Tanner |
| Preceded by David Kemp |
Vice-President of the Executive Council 2004 – 2007 |
Succeeded by John Faulkner |
|
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Minchin, Nicholas Hugh |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Australian politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 15 April 1953 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| DATE OF DEATH | Living |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
