Sophie Mirabella
Encyclopedia
Sophie Mirabella (born 27 October 1968) is an Australia
n federal politician. She has been a Liberal
member of the Australian House of Representatives
since 2001, representing the Division of Indi
, Victoria
. Mirabella is presently the Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.
, Victoria
, educated at St Catherine's School, Toorak
and was previously a solicitor
and articled clerk
from 1995 to 1997 at Riordans. From 1998 until her election to Parliament, she worked as a barrister.
In 1995 as a young lawyer at the age of 27, she began a live-in relationship with a man forty years her senior, former dean of law at Melbourne University, Colin Howard. The relationship ended in 2001, however they remained close until his death in 2011.
She later married Lieutenant-Colonel Greg Mirabella, a former Army Reserve Officer still working in the defence industry, in June 2006.
, and was an elected member of the 1998 Constitutional Convention
.
Prior to her preselection as the Liberal candidate to succeed Lou Lieberman
as the member for Indi, Mirabella spent some time working as a barrister in Wangaratta, despite being based on Melbourne.
Mirabella received a well above-average 5.6% swing to her in the 2004 federal election, giving her 66.3% of the two-party preferred vote and making Indi one of the safest Liberal seats in the country.
In 2005, she attracted public attention as a key member of an informal "ginger group
" of Liberal backbenchers. She chaired this group with Victorian Senator Mitch Fifield
. The group argued for "tax reform" (in essence, tax cuts paid for by reductions in government spending), sparking public debate on the topic.
On the prominent issue of asylum seekers, she attacked fellow Liberal backbenchers Petro Georgiou
and Judi Moylan
, labelling them "political terrorists" for defying government policy on mandatory detention and threatening to hijack the government's agenda by voting down the proposals in Parliament. She was rebuffed soon after, as Prime Minister
John Howard
agreed to meet some of their concerns and recommendations. In August 2005 she called for Muslim women to be required to remove their head dress when posing for photo identification.
Mirabella has been an advocate of voluntary student unionism
(VSU) since her Liberal student days and has strongly supported the legislation which prohibited universities from forcing their students to join student unions and pay "services fees" to them.
Mirabella was re-elected in the 2010 election and is Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science.
Malcolm Fraser
, after a speech he gave at Melbourne University on "the Bush Administration (reversing) 60 years of progress in establishing a law-based international system", claiming errors and "either intellectual sloppiness or deliberate dishonesty", and that he tacitly supports Islamic fundamentalism, should have no influence on foreign policy, and that his stance on the war on terror
has left him open to caricature as a "frothing-at-the-mouth leftie".
MPs not present when a motion was passed unanimously apologising to the stolen generations of indigenous children between federation and the 1970s. She explained her decision by asserting that there had never been a formal policy in Victoria of removing children from their families and that there is no evidence for any "truly stolen" children, despite the fact that the first laws passed giving authorities the right to take children from their parents were passed and used in Victoria.
to Muammar Gaddafi
, claiming that both were delusional. Gillard had recently announced a plan to proceed with a carbon tax despite earlier promises to the contrary. The Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott
refused to condemn Mirabella, instead terming the comparison colourful and not language he would use.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n federal politician. She has been a Liberal
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 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 2001, representing the Division of Indi
Division of Indi
The Division of Indi is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. It is located in north-eastern Victoria. Its northern border is formed by the Murray River...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. Mirabella is presently the Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.
Personal life
She was born in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, educated at St Catherine's School, Toorak
St Catherine's School, Toorak
St Catherine's School is an independent, non-denominational, Christian day and boarding school for girls, located in Toorak, an inner south-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
and was previously a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
and articled clerk
Articled clerk
An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...
from 1995 to 1997 at Riordans. From 1998 until her election to Parliament, she worked as a barrister.
In 1995 as a young lawyer at the age of 27, she began a live-in relationship with a man forty years her senior, former dean of law at Melbourne University, Colin Howard. The relationship ended in 2001, however they remained close until his death in 2011.
She later married Lieutenant-Colonel Greg Mirabella, a former Army Reserve Officer still working in the defence industry, in June 2006.
Political career
She has been a member of the Liberal Party since 1987. She was president of the Melbourne University Liberal Club, vice-president of the Australian Liberal Students Federation, a delegate to the Liberal Party State Council of Victoria and is also a member of numerous Policy Assembly Committees. She became well-known during the debate on Australia becoming a republic as a prominent advocate for retaining the constitutional monarchyConstitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
, and was an elected member of the 1998 Constitutional Convention
Constitutional Convention (Australia)
In Australian history, the term Constitutional Convention refers to four distinct gatherings.-1891 convention:The 1891 Constitutional Convention was held in Sydney in March 1891 to consider a draft Constitution for the proposed federation of the British colonies in Australia and New Zealand. There...
.
Prior to her preselection as the Liberal candidate to succeed Lou Lieberman
Lou Lieberman
Louis Stuart "Lou" Lieberman is an Australian politician and was a member of both the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the Australian House of Representatives....
as the member for Indi, Mirabella spent some time working as a barrister in Wangaratta, despite being based on Melbourne.
Mirabella received a well above-average 5.6% swing to her in the 2004 federal election, giving her 66.3% of the two-party preferred vote and making Indi one of the safest Liberal seats in the country.
In 2005, she attracted public attention as a key member of an informal "ginger group
Ginger group
A ginger group is a formal or informal group within, for example, a political party seeking to inspire the rest with its own enthusiasm and activity....
" of Liberal backbenchers. She chaired this group with Victorian Senator Mitch Fifield
Mitch Fifield
Mitchell Peter "Mitch" Fifield , Australian politician, is member of the Australian Senate since March 2004, representing the state of Victoria for the Liberal Party.-Early years:...
. The group argued for "tax reform" (in essence, tax cuts paid for by reductions in government spending), sparking public debate on the topic.
On the prominent issue of asylum seekers, she attacked fellow Liberal backbenchers Petro Georgiou
Petro Georgiou
Petro Georgiou , Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from November 1994 to July 2010, representing the Division of Kooyong, Victoria.-Early life:...
and Judi Moylan
Judi Moylan
Judith Eleanor "Judi" Moylan , an Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993, representing the Division of Pearce, Western Australia....
, labelling them "political terrorists" for defying government policy on mandatory detention and threatening to hijack the government's agenda by voting down the proposals in Parliament. She was rebuffed soon after, as Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
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....
agreed to meet some of their concerns and recommendations. In August 2005 she called for Muslim women to be required to remove their head dress when posing for photo identification.
Mirabella has been an advocate of voluntary student unionism
Voluntary student unionism
Voluntary student unionism is a policy, notable in Australia, under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations is voluntary....
(VSU) since her Liberal student days and has strongly supported the legislation which prohibited universities from forcing their students to join student unions and pay "services fees" to them.
Mirabella was re-elected in the 2010 election and is Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science.
Criticism of former Liberal Party leader
In January 2008, Mirabella launched an attack on former Liberal Party Prime MinisterPrime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
, after a speech he gave at Melbourne University on "the Bush Administration (reversing) 60 years of progress in establishing a law-based international system", claiming errors and "either intellectual sloppiness or deliberate dishonesty", and that he tacitly supports Islamic fundamentalism, should have no influence on foreign policy, and that his stance on the war on terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
has left him open to caricature as a "frothing-at-the-mouth leftie".
Statements about the Stolen Generation
On 13 February 2008, Mirabella was one of five Liberal Party of AustraliaLiberal 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...
MPs not present when a motion was passed unanimously apologising to the stolen generations of indigenous children between federation and the 1970s. She explained her decision by asserting that there had never been a formal policy in Victoria of removing children from their families and that there is no evidence for any "truly stolen" children, despite the fact that the first laws passed giving authorities the right to take children from their parents were passed and used in Victoria.
Gillard-Gaddafi Comparison
On 2 March 2011, Mirabella compared the Prime Minister, Julia GillardJulia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
to Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
, claiming that both were delusional. Gillard had recently announced a plan to proceed with a carbon tax despite earlier promises to the contrary. The Leader of the Opposition, 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...
refused to condemn Mirabella, instead terming the comparison colourful and not language he would use.