Julie Bishop
Encyclopedia
Julie Isabel Bishop is an Australian politician and the current Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia. She holds this title as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party of Australia
. She is the party's first female Deputy Leader and the third woman in Australian history to hold the title of Deputy Leader of the Opposition. She is currently the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Shadow Minister for Trade.
She has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives
since 1998, representing the seat of Curtin
in Western Australia. She was a minister in the Howard government
until the defeat of the Liberal/National Coalition
at the election held on 24 November 2007. On 27 November 2007 she announced she was running for the position of Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. She won the ballot on 29 November 2007 and became the party's first female Deputy Leader.
Bishop was born in Lobethal
, South Australia, and was educated at the St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School
, the University of Adelaide
and Harvard Business School
. She graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Laws
in 1978, and subsequently practised as a barrister and solicitor at the Adelaide
law firm Mangan, Ey & Bishop, where she was a partner. In 1983 Bishop married property developer Neil Gillion, however they divorced five years later. Bishop has not remarried since. She relocated to Perth
after getting married where she practised as a commercial litigation solicitor at Robinson Cox (now Clayton Utz
). She became a partner of Clayton Utz in 1985, and managing partner of the Perth office in 1994. In 1996 she attended Harvard Business School in Boston
and completed the Advanced Management Program for Senior Managers.
Bishop was Chair of the Town Planning Appeal Tribunal of Western Australia, a Senate Member of Murdoch University
, a director of the Special Broadcasting Service
(SBS) and a director and fellow of the Australian Institute of Management
. She has also served on the Council of Governors of the Lions Ear and Hearing Institute.
, Western Australia in 1998, and went on to win the seat for the Liberal Party
at the Federal Election later that year against the sitting member and former Liberal turned independent, Allan Rocher
, who had held the seat since 1981.
Following the Liberals' February 2001 State election loss by Richard Court
to Geoff Gallop
, Bishop was mooted as a possible contender for the leader of the state opposition
. Initially Court had announced that he would stay on as opposition leader, but had secretly negotiated a deal under which she would leave the Federal Parliament and factional opponent Colin Barnett
would move to Canberra. The deal soon collapsed however with Court resigning and Bishop declaring that the arrangement wasn't bizarre, but "... innovative, different." Barnett took over the position.
in 2003. She was later promoted to Minister for Education, Science and Training
and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues
in the cabinet reshuffle on 24 January 2006 and served in those positions until the defeat of the Coalition government at the federal election held on 24 November 2007.
Bishop's education policies centred on the development of national education standards as well as performance-based pay for teachers. On 13 April 2007, the Australian State Governments expressed opposition to Bishop's policies, notably those relating to performance pay. In the 2007 Budget, the Federal Government announced a $5b "endowment fund" for higher education, with an express goal of providing world-class tertiary institutions in Australia.
Some of Bishop's comments, such as "the states have ideologically hijacked school syllabi and are wasting $180 million in unnecessary duplication" have been criticised by teachers. An advance media kit for a recent speech claimed parts of the present curriculum came "straight from Chairman Mao
", however the reference was dropped from her speech.
under Brendan Nelson
on 29 November 2007. In a ballot of Liberal party room members, Bishop prevailed with 44 votes, one more than the combined total of her two competitors: Andrew Robb
(25 votes) and Christopher Pyne
(18 votes).
On 22 September, Bishop was offered the role of Shadow Treasurer by Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull
, making her the first woman to hold the portfolio of any major party at the federal level. On 16 February 2009, she resigned from the position of Shadow Treasurer, due to dissatisfaction within Liberal ranks over her performance. The shadow treasury portfolio was taken over by Joe Hockey
, while Bishop moved to Foreign Affairs, whilst maintaining her position of Deputy Leader. On 1 December 2009, Tony Abbott
was elected leader. Bishop retained the deputy role.
In 2010 Bishop defended the suspected forgery of Australian passports by Mossad
, saying that many countries practiced the forging of passports for intelligence operations, including Australia. The government attacked Bishop over the statements, saying she had "broken a long-standing convention" in not speculating about intelligence practices. She later clarified her statement, saying "I have no knowledge of any Australian authority forging any passports of any nation."
Bishop retained the role of Deputy Leader without challenge following the Coalition's narrow loss in the 2010 Federal Election, and retained the portfolios of Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Shadow Minister for Trade.
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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...
. She is the party's first female Deputy Leader and the third woman in Australian history to hold the title of Deputy Leader of the Opposition. She is currently the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Shadow Minister for Trade.
She has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives
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....
since 1998, representing the seat of Curtin
Division of Curtin
The Division of Curtin is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. The division was created in 1949 and is named for John Curtin, who was Prime Minister of Australia 1941-45. It is located in the wealthy beachside suburbs of Perth, including Claremont, Cottesloe, Mosman Park,...
in Western Australia. She was a minister in the Howard government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
until the defeat of the Liberal/National Coalition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
at the election held on 24 November 2007. On 27 November 2007 she announced she was running for the position of Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. She won the ballot on 29 November 2007 and became the party's first female Deputy Leader.
Biography
Lobethal, South Australia
Lobethal is a town in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area, and is nestled on the banks of a creek between the hills and up the sides of the valley. It was once the centre of the Adelaide Hills wool processing industry, which...
, South Australia, and was educated at the St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School
St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School
St Peter's Girls' School, , is an independent girls' school located in Adelaide, South Australia...
, the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
and Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
. She graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
in 1978, and subsequently practised as a barrister and solicitor at the Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
law firm Mangan, Ey & Bishop, where she was a partner. In 1983 Bishop married property developer Neil Gillion, however they divorced five years later. Bishop has not remarried since. She relocated to Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
after getting married where she practised as a commercial litigation solicitor at Robinson Cox (now Clayton Utz
Clayton Utz
Clayton Utz is a leading commercial law firm in Australia. It is considered one of the Big Six commercial law firms.-Legal services:The firm provides legal services in banking and finance, capital markets and securities, competition, compliance, construction and projects, corporate / M&A,...
). She became a partner of Clayton Utz in 1985, and managing partner of the Perth office in 1994. In 1996 she attended Harvard Business School in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and completed the Advanced Management Program for Senior Managers.
Bishop was Chair of the Town Planning Appeal Tribunal of Western Australia, a Senate Member of Murdoch University
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975...
, a director of the Special Broadcasting Service
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
(SBS) and a director and fellow of the Australian Institute of Management
Australian Institute of Management
The Australian Institute of Management is Australia's largest professional body for managers. The sole purpose of AIM is to promote the advancement of education and learning in the field of management and leadership for commerce, industry and government. It is not for profit entity with branches...
. She has also served on the Council of Governors of the Lions Ear and Hearing Institute.
Member of Parliament
Bishop won pre-selection for the seat of CurtinDivision of Curtin
The Division of Curtin is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. The division was created in 1949 and is named for John Curtin, who was Prime Minister of Australia 1941-45. It is located in the wealthy beachside suburbs of Perth, including Claremont, Cottesloe, Mosman Park,...
, Western Australia in 1998, and went on to win the seat for the Liberal Party
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...
at the Federal Election later that year against the sitting member and former Liberal turned independent, Allan Rocher
Allan Rocher
Allan Rocher , Australian politician, is a former Liberal Party of Australia Senator for Western Australia from 1978 to 1981 and member of the Australian House of Representatives Division of Curtin from 1981 to 1998. Up until 1996 he represented the Liberal Party of Australia.Rocher was born in...
, who had held the seat since 1981.
Following the Liberals' February 2001 State election loss by Richard Court
Richard Court
Richard Fairfax Court AC , was a Western Australian politician, representing the seat of Nedlands in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the Liberal Party of Australia from 1982 to 2001. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001.Court was born into an old political...
to Geoff Gallop
Geoff Gallop
Geoffrey Ian Gallop, AC is an Australian academic and former politician. He was the Premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. He currently resides in Sydney.-Early life and education:...
, Bishop was mooted as a possible contender for the leader of the state opposition
Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia)
The Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia is the leader of the largest minority political party or coalition of parties in the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia. By convention, he or she is generally a member of the Legislative Assembly...
. Initially Court had announced that he would stay on as opposition leader, but had secretly negotiated a deal under which she would leave the Federal Parliament and factional opponent Colin Barnett
Colin Barnett
Colin James Barnett , Australian politician, is the leader of the Western Australian Liberal Party, the 29th and current Premier of Western Australia since the 2008 election and served as the Treasurer of Western Australia in 2010. He was sworn into office by Governor Ken Michael on 23 September 2008...
would move to Canberra. The deal soon collapsed however with Court resigning and Bishop declaring that the arrangement wasn't bizarre, but "... innovative, different." Barnett took over the position.
Minister in the Howard Government
Bishop was appointed Minister for AgeingMinister for Ageing (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Mental Health and Ageing is Mark Butler, who was appointed on 14 September 2010, following the Labor Party's win at the 2010 election...
in 2003. She was later promoted to Minister for Education, Science and Training
Minister for Education, Science and Training (Australia)
The Australian Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth has responsibilities which include the following areas:*Education policy and programs including schools, vocational, higher education and Indigenous education, but excluding migrant adult education*Education and training...
and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues
Minister for the Status of Women (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Status of Women is Kate Ellis, who was appointed on 14 September 2010. The ministry is administered through the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs....
in the cabinet reshuffle on 24 January 2006 and served in those positions until the defeat of the Coalition government at the federal election held on 24 November 2007.
Bishop's education policies centred on the development of national education standards as well as performance-based pay for teachers. On 13 April 2007, the Australian State Governments expressed opposition to Bishop's policies, notably those relating to performance pay. In the 2007 Budget, the Federal Government announced a $5b "endowment fund" for higher education, with an express goal of providing world-class tertiary institutions in Australia.
Some of Bishop's comments, such as "the states have ideologically hijacked school syllabi and are wasting $180 million in unnecessary duplication" have been criticised by teachers. An advance media kit for a recent speech claimed parts of the present curriculum came "straight from Chairman Mao
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
", however the reference was dropped from her speech.
Shadow Ministry and Deputy Liberal Leader
Following the Coalition's loss at the 2007 election, Bishop was elected deputy leader of the Liberal PartyLiberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2007
An election for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 29 November 2007. At the same time an election for the deputy leadership of the party was held, as under Liberal Party rules, all leadership positions are declared vacant after a general election, no matter what the...
under Brendan Nelson
Brendan Nelson
Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
on 29 November 2007. In a ballot of Liberal party room members, Bishop prevailed with 44 votes, one more than the combined total of her two competitors: Andrew Robb
Andrew Robb
Andrew John Robb AO , Australian politician and former federal Director of the Liberal Party of Australia, was elected to the House of Representatives as member for the Division of Goldstein, Victoria for the Liberal Party of Australia at the 2004 federal election.Robb, one of nine children, was...
(25 votes) and 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:...
(18 votes).
On 22 September, Bishop was offered the role of Shadow Treasurer by Opposition 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...
, making her the first woman to hold the portfolio of any major party at the federal level. On 16 February 2009, she resigned from the position of Shadow Treasurer, due to dissatisfaction within Liberal ranks over her performance. The shadow treasury portfolio was taken over by 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....
, while Bishop moved to Foreign Affairs, whilst maintaining her position of Deputy Leader. On 1 December 2009, 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...
was elected leader. Bishop retained the deputy role.
In 2010 Bishop defended the suspected forgery of Australian passports by Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
, saying that many countries practiced the forging of passports for intelligence operations, including Australia. The government attacked Bishop over the statements, saying she had "broken a long-standing convention" in not speculating about intelligence practices. She later clarified her statement, saying "I have no knowledge of any Australian authority forging any passports of any nation."
Bishop retained the role of Deputy Leader without challenge following the Coalition's narrow loss in the 2010 Federal Election, and retained the portfolios of Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Shadow Minister for Trade.
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