Cory Bernardi
Encyclopedia
Cory Bernardi is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party
member of the Australian Senate
since 2006, representing the state of South Australia
.
in Kent Town, South Australia
. He then went on to further his rowing career at the Australian Institute of Sport
.
Bernardi represented Australia in the sport of rowing in 1988 and 1989. In doing so at the age of 18, he is the youngest person to have represented Australia in the open heavyweight men's division of rowing. Bernardi, rowing in a Mercantile Rowing Club eight, won the Ladies' Challenge Plate
at the Henley Royal Regatta
in England. He also competed at the World Rowing Championships in Bled
(then in Yugoslavia
, now in Slovenia
), as part of the coxless four and came tenth.
Bernardi suffered a back injury in 1989 which effectively ended his rowing career. He married wife Sinead in 1996; the couple has two sons.
Bernardi was President of the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia
from 1998 to 2000 and was the Party's Federal Vice-President from 2005 until late 2006 when he voluntarily resigned to avoid any potential conflict of interest as a Senator. He is the youngest person to ever hold these positions within the Liberal Party (South Australia and National). Throughout his involvement in the Party, he has held various other executive positions, including on the finance and campaign committees.
from the Senate in March 2006 to become Ambassador to the United Nations, Bernardi was chosen by the Parliament of South Australia
to fill the vacancy. His senate term officially commenced on 4 May 2006. He was elected to a full six year term at the 2007 federal election.
In December 2007, Bernardi was appointed the Federal Coalition's Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Community Services. In September 2008, new Federal Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull
appointed Bernardi the Coalition Spokesman for Disabilities, Carers and the Voluntary Sector.
Bernardi is a member of the conservative faction or right-wing of the Liberal Party.
On 17 February 2007, Bernardi was pre-selected by the State Council of the South Australian Liberal Party to be the number one candidate on the South Australian Liberal Senate ticket for the federal election to be held in late 2007. He was pre-selected ahead of Simon Birmingham
, while Senator Grant Chapman
came in third.
On 19 March 2008, Senator Bernardi, the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families, was named in a story published in The Australian newspaper as having been linked to a scheme that sold financial advice on how divorcees could hide money from their former spouses. In a media statement released shortly after the article was released, Bernardi described the story as "a rehash of a factually incorrect story that first appeared in 2006 before my appointment to the Senate". He further claimed that he had been "made aware that a colleague has been approaching numerous journalists in an attempt to 'push' this matter as a means of personally attacking me". The statement went on to say, "I find it disappointing that there are people who clearly pine to background journalists with half-truths and mischievous suggestions in an attempt to smear others. The people who creep out of their darkened closets to resurrect previously discredited accusations do no service to themselves or the community. Politics is a battle of ideas, not a battle of smears."
On 20 March 2008, Bernardi introduced a motion calling for a Senate inquiry into swearing on television and the effectiveness of the Code of Practice after a television show was broadcast at 8.30pm containing the word "fuck" eighty times in 40 minutes. The Senate supported the motion. In June 2008, Senator Bernardi stated his personal view on onlineopinion.com.au regarding proposed gay reform. He states that "Same-sex relationships are not the same as marital relationships and to treat them the same is to suspend common sense". Writing on the ABC "unleashed" website in July 2008, Bernardi questioned the ethics of granting human rights to great apes while ignoring the rights of the unborn child.
In August 2008, it was reported in the Herald Sun newspaper that the Federal Parliamentary Library had, following a request from Bernardi, identified a loophole in government legislation that allowed some women who aborted their pregnancies to claim the $5000 "baby bonus
". The Government stated that the bonus was not available for aborted pregnancies and committed to following up any occurrences of this.
Senator Bernardi caused a stir in October 2008 with a speech to the Senate protesting against the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws-Superannuation) Bill 2008. The bill, which was supported by the Liberal Party under Malcolm Turnbull's leadership, led to upset within the Party's conservative faction, of which Bernardi is a leader. Turnbull was "unhappy that Party authority was being challenged" by Bernardi. In Bernardi's speech, he complained that we should not "throw open the doors and welcome into the fold those whose relationships are uncharacteristic of the most basic elements of a marital union". Then Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull
rang Bernardi the next morning to "chip him", having felt that the speech was intemperate in tone, went against the party line, and against Turnbull's leadership.
Bernardi was removed from the Shadow Ministry by Turnbull after reportedly making unsubstantiated claims regarding a fellow Liberal MP in his weekly blog
. He recalled an encounter with the Liberal MP at the Royal Adelaide Golf Club
about 14 years ago:
The MP involved was thought to be Christopher Pyne
, who denied the allegations as "preposterous".
Following the election of Tony Abbott at the leader of the federal Liberal Party in late 2009, Senator Bernardi was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Population Policy.
was caused by human activities. Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull
and other Liberal parliamentarians promptly distanced themselves from his views.
. In 2010, he wrote an opinion piece calling for a ban on wearing the burqa
in public.
In 2011, Bernardi referred to the funeral expenses for asylum-seekers controversy, by declaring that it was "wrong" for the government to pay. He also said that "Islam itself is the problem - it's not Muslims", and that multiculturalism had failed. He subsequently clarified his remarks by stating "When I say I'm against Islam, I mean that the fundamentalist Islamic approach of changing laws and values does not have my support."
For these comments he received death threats. Liberal leader Tony Abbott
distanced himself from the comments.
Bernardi has been associated with far right Dutch politician Geert Wilders
who shares anti Islamic views. Bernardi has offered to assist Wilders in a proposed visit to Australia. The opposition treasury spokesman, Joe Hockey
, said in response
'"Neither Cory Bernardi nor the Coalition will be facilitating this visit." Opposition leader Tony Abbott
also rejected suggestions that Senator Bernardi was trying to bring Mr Wilders to Australia saying that "The coalition has nothing to do with the organisation of any trip."
Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen
has criticised Bernardi's anti Islamic views saying that "Mr Bernardi is a serial offender when it comes to matters of inappropriate commentary on other people's religion."
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...
member of the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
since 2006, representing the state of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
.
Early life
Bernardi was born and raised in Adelaide and was educated at Prince Alfred CollegePrince Alfred College
Prince Alfred College is an independent, day and boarding school for boys, located on Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town, near the centre of Adelaide, South Australia...
in Kent Town, South Australia
Kent Town, South Australia
Kent Town is an inner urban suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters.-History:The suburb was named after Dr Benjamin Archer Kent, who established a farm and flour mill on which the suburb now stands.....
. He then went on to further his rowing career at the Australian Institute of Sport
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...
.
Bernardi represented Australia in the sport of rowing in 1988 and 1989. In doing so at the age of 18, he is the youngest person to have represented Australia in the open heavyweight men's division of rowing. Bernardi, rowing in a Mercantile Rowing Club eight, won the Ladies' Challenge Plate
Ladies' Challenge Plate
The Ladies' Challenge Plate is one of the events at Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. Crews of men's eight-oared boats below the standard of the Grand Challenge Cup can enter, although international standard heavyweight crews are not permitted to row in the...
at the Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
in England. He also competed at the World Rowing Championships in Bled
Bled
Bled is a municipality in northwestern Slovenia in the region of Upper Carniola. The area, within the Julian Alps, is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
(then in Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, now in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
), as part of the coxless four and came tenth.
Bernardi suffered a back injury in 1989 which effectively ended his rowing career. He married wife Sinead in 1996; the couple has two sons.
Career
During the early 1990s, Bernardi owned and operated several hotels around Adelaide. In 1996, he left his small business interests to pursue a career in investment portfolio management and venture capital.Bernardi was President of the South Australian Division of 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...
from 1998 to 2000 and was the Party's Federal Vice-President from 2005 until late 2006 when he voluntarily resigned to avoid any potential conflict of interest as a Senator. He is the youngest person to ever hold these positions within the Liberal Party (South Australia and National). Throughout his involvement in the Party, he has held various other executive positions, including on the finance and campaign committees.
Political career
Following the resignation of Robert HillRobert Hill (Australian politician)
Robert Murray Hill is Chancellor of the University of Adelaide and a former Australian politician. He also currently heads the Australian Carbon Trust.-Early life and family:...
from the Senate in March 2006 to become Ambassador to the United Nations, Bernardi was chosen by the Parliament of South Australia
Parliament of South Australia
The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government....
to fill the vacancy. His senate term officially commenced on 4 May 2006. He was elected to a full six year term at the 2007 federal election.
In December 2007, Bernardi was appointed the Federal Coalition's Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Community Services. In September 2008, new Federal Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
appointed Bernardi the Coalition Spokesman for Disabilities, Carers and the Voluntary Sector.
Bernardi is a member of the conservative faction or right-wing of the Liberal Party.
On 17 February 2007, Bernardi was pre-selected by the State Council of the South Australian Liberal Party to be the number one candidate on the South Australian Liberal Senate ticket for the federal election to be held in late 2007. He was pre-selected ahead of Simon Birmingham
Simon Birmingham
Simon John Birmingham is an Australian politician and Liberal Party member of the Australian Senate since 2007, representing South Australia.-Early life and career:...
, while Senator Grant Chapman
Grant Chapman
Hedley Grant Pearson Chapman is an Australian politician.Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Chapman was educated at the University of Adelaide and worked as a marketing executive in the oil industry and a self-employed management consultant prior to gaining Liberal Party pre-selection for the...
came in third.
On 19 March 2008, Senator Bernardi, the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families, was named in a story published in The Australian newspaper as having been linked to a scheme that sold financial advice on how divorcees could hide money from their former spouses. In a media statement released shortly after the article was released, Bernardi described the story as "a rehash of a factually incorrect story that first appeared in 2006 before my appointment to the Senate". He further claimed that he had been "made aware that a colleague has been approaching numerous journalists in an attempt to 'push' this matter as a means of personally attacking me". The statement went on to say, "I find it disappointing that there are people who clearly pine to background journalists with half-truths and mischievous suggestions in an attempt to smear others. The people who creep out of their darkened closets to resurrect previously discredited accusations do no service to themselves or the community. Politics is a battle of ideas, not a battle of smears."
On 20 March 2008, Bernardi introduced a motion calling for a Senate inquiry into swearing on television and the effectiveness of the Code of Practice after a television show was broadcast at 8.30pm containing the word "fuck" eighty times in 40 minutes. The Senate supported the motion. In June 2008, Senator Bernardi stated his personal view on onlineopinion.com.au regarding proposed gay reform. He states that "Same-sex relationships are not the same as marital relationships and to treat them the same is to suspend common sense". Writing on the ABC "unleashed" website in July 2008, Bernardi questioned the ethics of granting human rights to great apes while ignoring the rights of the unborn child.
In August 2008, it was reported in the Herald Sun newspaper that the Federal Parliamentary Library had, following a request from Bernardi, identified a loophole in government legislation that allowed some women who aborted their pregnancies to claim the $5000 "baby bonus
Baby Bonus
The Baby Bonus is a government payment to parents of a newborn baby or adopted child to assist with the costs of childrearing.- Australia :The government of Andrew Fisher introduced a baby bonus of £5 per child in late 1912. The bonus was available irrespective of marital status and could also be...
". The Government stated that the bonus was not available for aborted pregnancies and committed to following up any occurrences of this.
Senator Bernardi caused a stir in October 2008 with a speech to the Senate protesting against the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws-Superannuation) Bill 2008. The bill, which was supported by the Liberal Party under Malcolm Turnbull's leadership, led to upset within the Party's conservative faction, of which Bernardi is a leader. Turnbull was "unhappy that Party authority was being challenged" by Bernardi. In Bernardi's speech, he complained that we should not "throw open the doors and welcome into the fold those whose relationships are uncharacteristic of the most basic elements of a marital union". Then Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
rang Bernardi the next morning to "chip him", having felt that the speech was intemperate in tone, went against the party line, and against Turnbull's leadership.
Bernardi was removed from the Shadow Ministry by Turnbull after reportedly making unsubstantiated claims regarding a fellow Liberal MP in his weekly blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
. He recalled an encounter with the Liberal MP at the Royal Adelaide Golf Club
Royal Adelaide Golf Club
The Royal Adelaide Golf Club is a private golf club in Adelaide, South Australia. It is widely acknowledged as ranking with the best in Australia, and has a world ranking that fluctuates around 50....
about 14 years ago:
In response to my question of why he joined the Liberal Party, the MP blithely responded "I live in a Liberal seat so I had to be a member of the Liberal Party to get into Parliament. If I lived in a Labor seat I would have joined the Labor Party". Frankly I was aghast at this response. Where was the conviction, the beliefs, the values that I believe should motivate our political leaders? Several follow up questions disclosed that the only motivation for his own political involvement was for him to become Prime Minister.
The MP involved was thought to be Christopher Pyne
Christopher Pyne
Christopher Maurice Pyne, MP , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since 13 March 1993, representing the Division of Sturt, South Australia.-Early years:...
, who denied the allegations as "preposterous".
Following the election of Tony Abbott at the leader of the federal Liberal Party in late 2009, Senator Bernardi was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Population Policy.
Global warming
On 21 April 2007 Bernardi published an essay questioning whether global warmingGlobal warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
was caused by human activities. Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
and other Liberal parliamentarians promptly distanced themselves from his views.
Islam
Berndari is an outspoken critic of IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. In 2010, he wrote an opinion piece calling for a ban on wearing the burqa
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
in public.
In 2011, Bernardi referred to the funeral expenses for asylum-seekers controversy, by declaring that it was "wrong" for the government to pay. He also said that "Islam itself is the problem - it's not Muslims", and that multiculturalism had failed. He subsequently clarified his remarks by stating "When I say I'm against Islam, I mean that the fundamentalist Islamic approach of changing laws and values does not have my support."
For these comments he received death threats. Liberal leader 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...
distanced himself from the comments.
Bernardi has been associated with far right Dutch politician Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders is a Dutch right-wing politician and leader of the Party for Freedom , the third-largest political party in the Netherlands. He is the Parliamentary group leader of his party in the Dutch House of Representatives...
who shares anti Islamic views. Bernardi has offered to assist Wilders in a proposed visit to Australia. The opposition treasury spokesman, Joe Hockey
Joe Hockey
Joseph Benedict "Joe" Hockey , is an Australian politician and member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of North Sydney for the Liberal Party of Australia since 1996....
, said in response
'"Neither Cory Bernardi nor the Coalition will be facilitating this visit." Opposition leader 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...
also rejected suggestions that Senator Bernardi was trying to bring Mr Wilders to Australia saying that "The coalition has nothing to do with the organisation of any trip."
Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen
Chris Bowen
Christopher Eyles "Chris" Bowen , an Australian federal politician, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives, initially elected to represent the seat of Prospect in western Sydney for the Australian Labor Party at the 2004 federal election...
has criticised Bernardi's anti Islamic views saying that "Mr Bernardi is a serial offender when it comes to matters of inappropriate commentary on other people's religion."