George Brandis Information
George Henry Brandis, SC (born 22 June 1957), Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing Queensland since May 2000.
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Education & Early Career
He was born in Sydney, but was raised in Brisbane, Queensland, where he now resides. He attended Villanova College and then the University of Queensland where he received a Bachelors degrees in Law and Arts (Politics), both with first class honours. Following his graduation he served as Associate to Justice Sheahan of the Queensland Supreme Court. He was then elected a Commonwealth Scholar[1] and obtained a Bachelor in Civil Law from Magdalen College, University of Oxford, winning the Sir Rupert Cross Prize for Evidence.
Early in his career he was a Senior Tutor in jurisprudence at the University of Queensland.
Legal career
He was called to the Queensland Bar in 1985 and quickly developed a large commercial practice with a particular emphasis on trade practices law. He appeared as junior counsel in the High Court of Australia in the important equity case Warman v Dwyer.[2] He was also the junior barrister for the plaintiff in the long running Multigroup litigation[3] in the Federal Court of Australia.
Brandis was appointed a Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of Queensland in November 2006.
He has co-edited two books on liberalism and published academic articles on various legal topics, one of which was cited by the High Court of Australia in the landmark defamation case ABC v O'Neill.[4]
While at the Bar He was a board member of UNICEF Australia for 10 years. He has also been an Associate of the Australian Institute for Ethics and the Professions.[5]
Parliamentary career
He was first chosen by the Parliament of Queensland to fill a casual vacancy following the resignation of Senator Warwick Parer. He was subsequently elected to a further six-year term in 2004 election.
In his period as a senator, he has served as Chairman of the Economics Committee and featured prominently as the Chairman of the Senate's highly publicised Children Overboard Inquiry. In the wake of this inquiry, Brandis gained widespread attention when it was reported that he called Prime Minister John Howard "a lying rodent",[6] a report he denied.
He has also made a number of public speeches, perhaps the most controversial of which was in 2003 when he described the Australian Greens as representing Ecofascism.[7]
Brandis also attacked the Greens in the Australian Senate where he stated "I intend to continue to call to the attention of the Australian people the extremely alarming, frightening similarities between the methods employed by contemporary green politics and the methods and the values of the Nazis".[8] Prime Minister John Howard later distanced himself from Brandis's claim that the Greens use Nazi-style fanaticism in Australian politics.[9]
On 23 October 2006, Brandis made headlines when he wanted Good Shepherd Catholic College in Mount Isa to ban from its school library the book "100 Greatest Tyrants" by British author Andrew Langley, which places Sir Robert Menzies, the longest serving Australian Prime Minister, in such company as Mao Zedong, Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein and Augusto Pinochet. The book claims that Menzies was a tyrant (an abuser of political power) and that Menzies' most tyrannical act was when he wanted to ban the Communist Party of Australia. The school principal Mr Durie said "Obviously it's twaddle to suggest Menzies was a tyrant in the same class as Attila the Hun and that crowd", but refused to withdraw the book as it would be a resource for the generation of debate.[10]
During his time in Parliament and before, Senator Brandis has been a strong supporter of the Young LNP and was a former President of the Young Liberal Movement's QLD Division.
Ministerial career
On 23 January 2007, Brandis was appointed Minister for the Arts and Sport, replacing Senator Rod Kemp. He lost his ministerial position on the defeat of the Howard Government in the 2007 election.
On 6 December 2007 the new Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party, Brendan Nelson, appointed Brandis Shadow Attorney-General, a position he continued to hold under the leadership of Malcolm Turnbull.
On 2 June 2008 Brandis, in his capacity as Shadow Attorney-General, referred the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws – Superannuation) Bill 2008 to a Senate committee for review. The aim of the Bill was to remove entrenched discriminatory legislation against Australia's gay and lesbian citizens, in this case relating to superannuation.[11] The Bill was welcomed by the Australian Human Rights Commissioner who said:[12] "Most people expect that their superannuation entitlements will be inherited by their partner, children or other dependants, but Commonwealth employees in same-sex relationships have never had this right," ... "This Bill, if passed, will ensure that right from 1 July."
Brandis made it clear that the Opposition believed discrimination of this type should be removed and vocally supported the Bill against the more conservative elements of his own Party,[13] however he insisted on a comprehensive review of the proposed legislation prior to its enactment. The Bill was passed into law, with the support of the Opposition, and received Royal Assent on 9 December 2008.[14]
He has been outspoken in his opposition to a Bill of Rights.[15]
In January 2010, Brandis made media headlines with his comments regarding a controversial debate between Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard and federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on the topic of advice given to children regarding abstinence. Brandis suggested that as Ms Gillard did not have children, she did not have the understanding to comment on the issue of pre-marital sex.[16]
Senator Brandis was re-elected in the 2010 election and appointed Shadow Attorney-General, Shadow Minister for the Arts and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate in the Abbott Shadow Ministry.[17]
Notes
- ^ Swain, Harriet (12 June 2008). "Scholarship funding cuts have appalled academics and students alike". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/student/postgraduate/postgraduate-study/scholarship-funding-cuts-have-appalled-academics-and-students-alike-844777.html. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "Warman International Ltd v Dwyer [1995] HCA 18; (1995) 182 CLR 544; (1995) 128 ALR 201; (1995) 69 ALJR 362 (23 March 1995)". Austlii.edu.au. http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/HCA/1995/18.html. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ "Multigroup Distribution Services Pty Ltd v TNT Australia Pty Ltd [2001] FCA 226 (12 March 2001)". Austlii.edu.au. http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/FCA/2001/226.html. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ "Australian Broadcasting Corporation v O'Neill [2006] HCA 46; 80 ALJR 1672; 229 ALR 457 (28 September 2006)". Austlii.edu.au. http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/HCA/2006/46.html. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ "Australian Institute of Ethics and the Professions". Uq.edu.au. http://www.uq.edu.au/aiep/staff.html. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ Seccombe, Mike (2 September 2004). "... but rats, Lib MP really did call Howard a rodent". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/01/1093939000766.html. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- ^ "Brandis defends Greens-Nazis comments". Lateline (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 31 October 2003. http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2003/s980044.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- ^ Kingston, Margo (29 October 2003). "Nazi Greens an enemy of democracy, government decrees". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/29/1067233222840.html. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- ^ "PM revokes backbencher's comments". Lateline (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 31 October 2003. http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2003/s978148.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- ^ Christiansen, Melanie (29 October 2003). "Call for book ban". The Courier Mail. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,20631770-5003424,00.html. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
- ^ "Sydney Morning Herald". Smh.com.au. 2008-06-02. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/threat-to-stall-samesex-reforms/2008/06/01/1212258652642.html. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ "Australian Human Rights Commission". Hreoc.gov.au. 2008-05-28. http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/media/media_releases/2008/63_08.html. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ Harrison, Dan (26 September 2008). "New Libs' stance as senator supports same-sex reforms". The Age (Melbourne). http://www.theage.com.au/national/new-libs-stance-as-senator-supports-samesex-reforms-20080925-4o4n.html.
- ^ "Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws—General Law Reform) Act 2008". Comlaw.gov.au. http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/Act1.nsf/0/05E450CC650CC645CA25751F0076E7DE?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ Atkins, Dennis (10 December 2008). "George Brandis in battle for bill of rights". The Courier-Mail. http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24782526-5016424,00.html.
- ^ "Brandis lashes out at childless Gillard". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 January 2010. http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/brandis-lashes-out-at-childless-gillard-20100127-mwkd.html. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
- ^ "Department of the Parliamentary Library - Shadow Ministry". Aph.gov.au. http://www.aph.gov.au/Library/parl/43/Shadow/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Rod Kemp | Minister for the Arts and Sport 2007 | Succeeded by Peter Garrett (arts) Kate Ellis (sport) |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Brandis, George |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Australian politician |
| Date of birth | 22 June 1957 |
| Place of birth | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Date of death | Living |
| Place of death | |
Categories:
- 1957 births
- Living people
- Liberal Party of Australia politicians
- Australian monarchists
- Members of the Australian Senate
- Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland
- Australian barristers
- Australian Senior Counsel
- People educated at Villanova College
- Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford
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