Stephen Patrick Hutchins (born 22 April 1956), Australian politician, has been a 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,...

 for the state of New South Wales

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...

 since October 1998, representing the Australian Labor Party

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...

.

Hutchins was born in Sydney. He worked as a forklift driver and waste collector before attending 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...

, where he graduated in arts, and then Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, where he was part of the university's trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 education programme. He was an official with the Transport Workers' Union

Transport Workers' Union

The Transport Workers Union is an Australian trade union representing 85,000 men and women working in aviation, oil, waste management, gas, road transport, passenger vehicles and freight logistics. They are affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions , the International Transport...

 from 1980 and was Federal President of the union from 1993 to 1998. He was a member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions

Australian Council of Trade Unions

The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions.-History:The ACTU was formed in 1927 as the "Australian Council of Trade Unions"...

 Executive from 1996 to 1998.

His first marriage was to NSW State Member for Mulgoa, Diane Beamer. His second marriage was to Natalie Sykes.