Alex Hawke
Encyclopedia
Alexander George "Alex" Hawke MP (born 9 July 1977), an Australian politician, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives
representing Mitchell
, in north-western metropolitan Sydney, for the Liberal Party of Australia
since 2007. Hawke is a former national and state
president of the Young Liberals
.
in 1953 as part of the post World War II
migration to Australia from Europe. He attended Hills Grammar School
then Cumberland High School
. Hawke then studied at the University of Sydney
, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts
and a Masters in Government and Public Affairs. At university he joined the Australian Army Reserve
and became a Lieutenant and served for six years with the 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers
.
On 3 September 2005, The Sydney Morning Herald
journalist Mike Carlton
described Hawke as an Anglican. However, in a correction published a week later, Carlton reported that Hawke was not an Anglican and that Hawke attends Hillsong Church,.
Hawke began his employment in the private sector in 1998, becoming assistant-manager for Woolworths in the Hills District. Following graduation, he worked as an electorate officer to Ross Cameron
MP, Member for Parramatta
. In 2001, he commenced work as an adviser to the Senator Helen Coonan
, then Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, advising on taxation, superannuation and insurance matters during the time of the HIH
liquidation
. Hawke has also worked as an adviser to David Clarke
MLC and Ray Williams MP.
, Labor
or the Democrats
." In response to comments that that Liberal Party is a "broad church", Hawke has stated "People say it's a broad church. My response to that is you've got to agree it's a church. It's not a brothel, for instance. If people want to legalise drug-injecting rooms, lower the age of consent, go with all these trendy things, this is not the party that believes in those things. We're not that broad.".
A few months later, Hawke attracted some significant controversy. Former NSW opposition leader John Brogden blamed Hawke for contributing to his downfall by leaking information to the media and political enemies - a claim that Hawke denied. The next day on 30 August 2005, Brogden was admitted to hospital after committing an apparent attempt at suicide in his electoral office. Brogden's claims were strongly denied by Hawke, who stated "I have not spoken to a single journalist, on or off the record, about this matter until now and I was not in attendance at the function where Mr Brogden committed these acts. To ascribe any role to me in this embarrassing episode is false and I reject it totally".
, then deputy chief of the Australian Hotels Association
. Paul Blanch, a grazier from Orange
, received 8 votes. Alan Cadman
, who had been the member for Mitchell since 1974, chose not to contest the preselection, but was later quoted as saying that this was due to "relentless branch-stacking within the electorate." After his preselection, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Hawke's comments that he believes that Australia will move increasingly towards an American model of conservatism
and that "The two greatest forces for good in human history are capitalism
and Christianity
, and when they're blended it's a very powerful duo." Hawke strongly rejected various reports and allegations that he is a "right-wing extremist
", saying he represents the values of his electorate.
In making his maiden speech in the House of Representatives, Hawke described his political beliefs as follows: "My brand of Liberalism is more interested in what we support than what we oppose. I want not just to resist those things that are harmful but to support those things that are good. I derive no satisfaction from opposing the growth of state sponsored welfare if I cannot fan the spark of family, enterprise, self-reliance and human dignity", for which he was praised by Liberal politician Tony Abbott
for "a splendid maiden speech which managed to combine a robust expression of political philosophy and a hymn of praise to his splendid electorate."
Hawke increased his margin at the 2010 federal election, with Gould again running against him, Hawke recorded a swing of 7.9 per cent and won the seat with 67.2 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis.
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
representing Mitchell
Division of Mitchell
The Division of Mitchell is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the north-west suburbs of Sydney, and includes the entire suburbs of Baulkham Hills, Beaumont Hills, Bella Vista, Box Hill, Kellyville, Nelson and Winston Hills...
, in north-western metropolitan Sydney, for the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
since 2007. Hawke is a former national and state
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
president of the Young Liberals
Young Liberals (Australia)
The Young Liberal Movement is the youth division of the Liberal Party of Australia, and membership is open to those between 16 and 30 years of age. Members of Young Liberals have full party-membership, and have the choice of which part they join...
.
Early years and background
Hawke's maternal grandparents migrated from GreeceGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
in 1953 as part of the post World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
migration to Australia from Europe. He attended Hills Grammar School
The Hills Grammar School
The Hills Grammar School is an independent, co-educational, non-sectarian, day school located in Kenthurst, a suburb in the Hills district of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
then Cumberland High School
Cumberland High School (Carlingford)
Cumberland High School is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school located in the north-western metropolitan Western Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia.- History :...
. Hawke then studied at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and a Masters in Government and Public Affairs. At university he joined the Australian Army Reserve
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the...
and became a Lieutenant and served for six years with the 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers
1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers
The 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers is a current Australian Army Reserve Light Cavalry Regiment. The regiment is based at Lancer Barracks in Parramatta, New South Wales. The regiment has recently re-equipped with 4x4 Land Rover patrol vehicles as part of the conversion to a Light Cavalry ...
.
On 3 September 2005, The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
journalist Mike Carlton
Mike Carlton
Mike Carlton is an Australian media commentator and broadcaster. He formerly co-hosted the daily breakfast program on Sydney radio station 2UE with Peter FitzSimons and later Sandy Aloisi. He is a columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald, having been sacked from the position on 29 August 2008, for...
described Hawke as an Anglican. However, in a correction published a week later, Carlton reported that Hawke was not an Anglican and that Hawke attends Hillsong Church,.
Young Liberal Movement and early working career
Hawke joined the Liberal Party in 1995, and was elected Vice-President of the NSW Division of the Young Liberal Movement in 2001, and became President in 2002. He served on the Liberal Party NSW State Executive from 2002–2005, and in 2005 was elected Federal President of the Young Liberal Movement. He remains a member of the Liberal Party campaign Committee, and a Delegate to the Liberal Party State Council.Hawke began his employment in the private sector in 1998, becoming assistant-manager for Woolworths in the Hills District. Following graduation, he worked as an electorate officer to Ross Cameron
Ross Cameron
Ross Alexander Cameron , Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 to October 2004, representing the Division of Parramatta, New South Wales...
MP, Member for Parramatta
Electoral district of Parramatta
Parramatta is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is currently held by Geoff Lee of the Liberal Party of Australia....
. In 2001, he commenced work as an adviser to the Senator Helen Coonan
Helen Coonan
Helen Lloyd Coonan is a former Australian politician, who was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing New South Wales from July 1996 to August 2011.-Early life:...
, then Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, advising on taxation, superannuation and insurance matters during the time of the HIH
HIH Insurance
HIH Insurance was Australia's second largest insurance company. It was placed into provisional liquidation on 15 March 2001. The demise of HIH is considered to be the largest corporate collapse in Australia's history, with liquidators estimating that HIH's losses totalled up to $5.3 billion...
liquidation
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
. Hawke has also worked as an adviser to David Clarke
David Clarke (Australian politician)
David John Clarke, an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council representing the Liberal Party of Australia since 2003. and is considered to have conservative Christian views.-Personal life:...
MLC and Ray Williams MP.
Early political views
Drawing attention to his political ideology, in 2005 Hawke made it known that he believed the Liberal Party to be the home of conservative values, and claimed that "Nobody joins the Liberal Party to be left-wing. If you stand for compulsory student unionism, drug-injecting rooms and lowering the [homosexual] age of consent, you can choose the GreensAustralian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
, Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
or the Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
." In response to comments that that Liberal Party is a "broad church", Hawke has stated "People say it's a broad church. My response to that is you've got to agree it's a church. It's not a brothel, for instance. If people want to legalise drug-injecting rooms, lower the age of consent, go with all these trendy things, this is not the party that believes in those things. We're not that broad.".
A few months later, Hawke attracted some significant controversy. Former NSW opposition leader John Brogden blamed Hawke for contributing to his downfall by leaking information to the media and political enemies - a claim that Hawke denied. The next day on 30 August 2005, Brogden was admitted to hospital after committing an apparent attempt at suicide in his electoral office. Brogden's claims were strongly denied by Hawke, who stated "I have not spoken to a single journalist, on or off the record, about this matter until now and I was not in attendance at the function where Mr Brogden committed these acts. To ascribe any role to me in this embarrassing episode is false and I reject it totally".
Preselection reaction
On 16 June 2007, Hawke gained Liberal Party preselection for the seat of Mitchell by a margin of 81 votes to 20 against David ElliottDavid Elliott (politician)
David Andrew Elliott MP , an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Baulkham Hills for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2011.-Early years and background:...
, then deputy chief of the Australian Hotels Association
Australian Hotels Association
The Australian Hotels Association is an employer advocacy and lobby group representing hoteliers around Australia.The AHA was established in 1839, and is an organisation of employers registered under Commonwealth Industrial Relations law and respective State Laws...
. Paul Blanch, a grazier from Orange
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....
, received 8 votes. Alan Cadman
Alan Cadman
Alan Glyndwr Cadman, AM , Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from 18 May 1974 to 17 October 2007, representing the Division of Mitchell, New South Wales....
, who had been the member for Mitchell since 1974, chose not to contest the preselection, but was later quoted as saying that this was due to "relentless branch-stacking within the electorate." After his preselection, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Hawke's comments that he believes that Australia will move increasingly towards an American model of conservatism
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
and that "The two greatest forces for good in human history are capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
and Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and when they're blended it's a very powerful duo." Hawke strongly rejected various reports and allegations that he is a "right-wing extremist
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
", saying he represents the values of his electorate.
Election to Parliament
Hawke was elected to Parliament as Member for Mitchell on 24 November 2007 with a swing against the Liberals of 7.9 per cent; however Hawke won the seat with 61.6 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis. His main competitor was Labor's Nigel Gould.In making his maiden speech in the House of Representatives, Hawke described his political beliefs as follows: "My brand of Liberalism is more interested in what we support than what we oppose. I want not just to resist those things that are harmful but to support those things that are good. I derive no satisfaction from opposing the growth of state sponsored welfare if I cannot fan the spark of family, enterprise, self-reliance and human dignity", for which he was praised by Liberal politician Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
for "a splendid maiden speech which managed to combine a robust expression of political philosophy and a hymn of praise to his splendid electorate."
Hawke increased his margin at the 2010 federal election, with Gould again running against him, Hawke recorded a swing of 7.9 per cent and won the seat with 67.2 per cent of the vote on a two-party preferred basis.