Nick Minchin
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Hugh "Nick" Minchin (born 15 April 1953) is a former Australian politician, serving as a Liberal
member of the Australian Senate
representing South Australia from July 1993 to June 2011, and a former cabinet minister in the Howard Government
.
, Canberra, where he gained degrees in law and economics. He was a solicitor before entering politics.
Minchin was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry
1994–96, holding the position of Parliamentary Secretary
to the Leader of the Opposition, John Howard
. He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister John Howard 1996–97, Special Minister of State
and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister 1997–98, and Minister for Industry, Science
and Resources
1998–2001, with a seat in the Cabinet
. He was Minister for Finance and Administration
from November 2001 until the defeat of the Howard government at the 2007 federal election. Until that election he also held the posts of Leader of the Government in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council
.
Minchin was a right faction leader in the Liberal Party, and supported the abolition of Australia's compulsory voting system, on the stated basis that "compulsory voting is a fundamental breach of ... civil liberties". He supported states' rights in Cabinet. As Leader of the Government in the Senate he played a significant role in pursuing and defending its reforms of the Senate committee system
, implemented in 2006 following his government's success in securing a majority of Senate seats at the 2004 election.
in February.
, and argued that the Commonwealth should sell its Telstra shares to buy a portfolio of other income-earning investments rather than spend the profits on national infrastructure.
In March 2006, Minchin received extensive media coverage when he highlighted the dilemma his government faced in the field of industrial relations and aired his views about future policy proposals. Speaking at a conference of the H. R. Nicholls Society
where he told the audience that the coalition "knew its reform to WorkChoices
were not popular but the process of change must continue", and that "there is still a long way to go... awards, the IR commission, all the rest of it...", he went on to say "The fact is the great majority of the Australian people do not support what we are doing on industrial relations. They violently disagree."
A 2009 article in The Australian
drew parallels between his stance on tobacco and his stance as a climate change skeptic
.
is caused by human activity. In the letter, Minchin cites the writings of the Canadian newspaper columnist Lawrence Solomon
, who in turn cites the disputed theories of Danish scientist Henrik Svensmark
. Of the effectiveness and sensibility of ETS bill, Minchin said that it is unsound and an "abomination", and of the motives behind its tabling that "Mr Rudd's
arrogance and vanity in wanting to lead the world in cutting CO2 emissions is really sickening"
Minchin campaigned against an emissions trading scheme (ETS) bill.
On 22 September 2008, the parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party, Malcolm Turnbull
, appointed Minchin as Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. Minchin had been previously Shadow Minister for Defence. However on 26 November 2009, Minchin resigned from the shadow cabinet in protest at Turnbull's position on the government's emissions trading scheme.
When Turnbull was subsequently defeated for the Liberal Party leadership by Tony Abbott
, Turnbull stated on ABC Radio: "As Tony [Abbott] observed on one occasion, 'climate change is crap', or if you consider his mentor, Senator Minchin, the world is not warming, it's cooling and the climate change issue is part of a vast left-wing conspiracy to deindustrialise the world".
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,...
representing South Australia from July 1993 to June 2011, and a former cabinet 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...
.
Early life and education
Minchin was born in Sydney and was educated at the Australian National UniversityAustralian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
, Canberra, where he gained degrees in law and economics. He was a solicitor before entering politics.
Political career
Minchin was a staff member for the Liberal Party's Federal Secretariat 1977–83, Deputy Federal Director of the Liberal Party in 1983, South Australian State Director and Campaign Director of the Liberal Party 1985–93. On 1 July 1993, Minchin was elected to the Australian Senate for South Australia.Minchin was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
1994–96, holding the position of Parliamentary Secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
to the Leader of the Opposition, John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
. He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister John Howard 1996–97, Special Minister of State
Special Minister of State
The Special Minister of State , currently the Special Minister of State for the Public Service and Integrity is a ministerial portfolio in the Australian Government Department of Finance and Deregulation responsible for various parliamentary, electoral, financial and oversight affairs.Other areas...
and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister 1997–98, and Minister for Industry, Science
Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (Australia)
The current Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research is Kim Carr, appointed on 3 December 2007. He administers his portfolio through the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.-List of Ministers for Industry :...
and Resources
Minister for Resources and Energy (Australia)
The Australian Minister for Resources and Energy is Martin Ferguson, appointed on 3 December 2007. The Minister administers his portfolios through the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism.-List of Ministers for Resources:...
1998–2001, with a seat in the Cabinet
Cabinet of Australia
The Cabinet of Australia is the council of senior ministers of the Crown, responsible to parliament. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minister the Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, and serves at the former's pleasure. The strictly private...
. He was Minister for Finance and Administration
Minister for Finance and Administration (Australia)
In the Australian political system, the Minister for Finance and Deregulation supplements the role of the Treasurer, being responsible for areas such as budget policy advice, reviewing governmental programs, tendering and government financial accountability. The portfolio was first created in 1976...
from November 2001 until the defeat of the Howard government at the 2007 federal election. Until that election he also held the posts of Leader of the Government in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council
Vice-President of the Executive Council
The Vice-President of the Federal Executive Council is a position in Australian federal governments, whose holder acts as presiding officer of the Federal Executive Council in the absence of the Governor-General....
.
Minchin was a right faction leader in the Liberal Party, and supported the abolition of Australia's compulsory voting system, on the stated basis that "compulsory voting is a fundamental breach of ... civil liberties". He supported states' rights in Cabinet. As Leader of the Government in the Senate he played a significant role in pursuing and defending its reforms of the Senate committee system
Australian Senate committees
This article is about committees of the Senate. For consideration of bills 'in committee', see Committee of the WholeThe committees of the Australian Senate are committees of Senators, established by the Australian Senate, for purposes determined by that body...
, implemented in 2006 following his government's success in securing a majority of Senate seats at the 2004 election.
Retirement
Minchin announced on 24 March 2010 that he would not be contesting his Senate seat at the next Australian federal election. His term ended on 30 June 2011. He also resigned his Opposition portfolios and addressed the media saying that: "I love politics. This is not an easy decision to make ... when something like that happens and when one of your children, quite frankly, has a near-death experience, it does make you reassess your life and your priorities". His son, Oliver was seriously injured in a boat accident while training with the Australian Defence Force AcademyAustralian Defence Force Academy
The Australian Defence Force Academy is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and tertiary academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force .Tertiary education is provided by the...
in February.
Policy positions
Minchin has been a strong proponent of privatisation and wholesale labour market deregulation. He has defended the full privatisation of TelstraTelstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
, and argued that the Commonwealth should sell its Telstra shares to buy a portfolio of other income-earning investments rather than spend the profits on national infrastructure.
In March 2006, Minchin received extensive media coverage when he highlighted the dilemma his government faced in the field of industrial relations and aired his views about future policy proposals. Speaking at a conference of the H. R. Nicholls Society
H. R. Nicholls Society
The H.R. Nicholls Society is an Australian think tank of the New Right on industrial relations. It was created in March 1986 after John Stone, Peter Costello, Barrie Purvis, and Ray Evans organised a seminar aimed at discussing the Hancock Report and other industrial matters.The Society is named...
where he told the audience that the coalition "knew its reform to WorkChoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
were not popular but the process of change must continue", and that "there is still a long way to go... awards, the IR commission, all the rest of it...", he went on to say "The fact is the great majority of the Australian people do not support what we are doing on industrial relations. They violently disagree."
Tobacco sceptic
In 1995 Minchin submitted a dissenting Senate report on the tobacco industry and the costs of tobacco-related illness that disputed the Committee's statements that it believes cigarettes are addictive and that passive smoking is harmful. Minchin claimed the tobacco industry was over-regulated. He also disagreed with the conclusions about the addictiveness of nicotine and the harmfulness of passive smoking:A 2009 article in The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
drew parallels between his stance on tobacco and his stance as a climate change skeptic
Climate change denial
Climate change denial is a term used to describe organized attempts to downplay, deny or dismiss the scientific consensus on the extent of global warming, its significance, and its connection to human behavior, especially for commercial or ideological reasons...
.
Climate-change view
In a March 2007 letter, Minchin expressed doubts that climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
is caused by human activity. In the letter, Minchin cites the writings of the Canadian newspaper columnist Lawrence Solomon
Lawrence Solomon
Lawrence Solomon is a Canadian writer on the environment and the founder and executive director of Energy Probe, a Canadian non-governmental environmental organization...
, who in turn cites the disputed theories of Danish scientist Henrik Svensmark
Henrik Svensmark
Henrik Svensmark is a physicist at the Danish National Space Center in Copenhagen who studies the effects of cosmic rays on cloud formation. His work presents hypotheses about solar activity as an indirect cause of global warming; his research has suggested a possible link through the interaction...
. Of the effectiveness and sensibility of ETS bill, Minchin said that it is unsound and an "abomination", and of the motives behind its tabling that "Mr Rudd's
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
arrogance and vanity in wanting to lead the world in cutting CO2 emissions is really sickening"
Minchin campaigned against an emissions trading scheme (ETS) bill.
On 22 September 2008, the parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party, 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 Minchin as Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. Minchin had been previously Shadow Minister for Defence. However on 26 November 2009, Minchin resigned from the shadow cabinet in protest at Turnbull's position on the government's emissions trading scheme.
When Turnbull was subsequently defeated for the Liberal Party leadership by 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...
, Turnbull stated on ABC Radio: "As Tony [Abbott] observed on one occasion, 'climate change is crap', or if you consider his mentor, Senator Minchin, the world is not warming, it's cooling and the climate change issue is part of a vast left-wing conspiracy to deindustrialise the world".