Tim Wilson (Lib-Goldstein) – Maiden Speech

Tim Wilson, the former Human Rights Commissioner, has delivered his maiden speech to the House of Representatives as the Liberal member for the Victorian seat of Goldstein.

Wilson

Wilson, 36, is a former employee of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). The Abbott government appointed him Human Rights Commissioner in 2014. He relinquished the position to contest Liberal Party preselection.

Wilson replaces Andrew Robb in the safe seat based around Brighton and Bentleigh in Melbourne’s south-east. He polled 56.33% of the primary vote and 62.68% of the two-party-preferred vote, a swing of 1.65% towards the Liberal Party. [Read more…]


New Members Of The House Of Representatives

When the new House of Representatives meets for the first time on August 30, it will have 39 new members, 26% of the chamber’s 150 members.

The ALP will have 23 new members, the Coalition 15 and the Nick Xenophon Team 1. There are 25 males and 14 females.

The ALP will have 23 new faces, exactly one-third of its 69 MPs. This includes 16 members in seats the ALP won from the Coalition and includes two returning members, Mike Kelly in Eden-Monaro and Steve Georganas in Hindmarsh. The other 7 new members have replaced retiring sitting members.

The Liberal Party will have 11 new members (19.7%), including Julia Banks, the member for Chisholm, who represents the only seat the Coalition took from the ALP in the election. Ted O’Brien regained the seat of Fairfax from the Palmer United Party. Nine other Liberals replace retiring members. [Read more…]


Tim Wilson Wins Liberal Party Preselection For Goldstein

Tim Wilson, the former Human Rights Commissioner and employee of the Institute of Public Affairs, has won Liberal Party preselection for the Victorian seat of Goldstein.

Wilson

Wilson, who turned 36 a week ago, and Denis Dragovic emerged as the two top candidates after the first ballot at the preselection. The other favoured candidate, Georgina Downer, the daughter of former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, was eliminated. [Read more…]


Government Appoints Sophie Mirabella To Submarine Corporation

The federal government has appointed the defeated member for Indi, Sophie Mirabella, to the board of ASC Pty Ltd, formerly known as the Australian Submarine Corporation.

MirabellaThe Minister for Finance, Senator Mathias Cormann, announced the appointment today. Mirabella is one of three appointments to the government-owned body.

On its website, ASC says it “has evolved into Australia’s largest specialised defence shipbuilding organisation, with naval design and engineering resources unparalleled within Australia’s defence industry”.

ASC says it employs “over 2,400 permanent personnel across our three facilities in South Australia and Western Australia”.

Mirabella, 45, was the Liberal member for Indi from 2001 until 2013. She was defeated at this year’s election by an independent candidate, Cathy McGowan, who waged an insurgent grassroots campaign to win the formerly safe Liberal seat by 439 votes. [Read more…]