Nick Minchin
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Nicholas Hugh Minchin (born 15 April 1953), Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate since July 1993, representing South Australia. He was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and was educated at the Australian National University, where he gained degrees in law and economics. He was a solicitor before entering politics.
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.
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. Since that time he has been a close confidant of Howard's and is one of his most trusted political advisors. Minchin's progress in the ministry has been rapid. 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 1998-01, with a seat in the Cabinet. He has been Minister for Finance and Administration since November 2001, and currently also holds the posts of Leader of the Government in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council.
Minchin is seen as a leader of the dominant conservative faction of the Liberal Party and supports the abolition of Australia's compulsory voting system, on the stated basis that "compulsory voting is a fundamental breach of ... civil liberties." He also remains one of the few supporters of the state's rights in cabinet.
Known as an economic rationalist, Minchin has been a strong proponent of privatisation and wholesale labour market deregulation. He has defended the full privatisation of Telstra, 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. [1]
[edit] References
- Minchin, N. (1996) 'A Denial of Rights, A Detriment to Democracy', The Parliamentarian, 77(3) : 244-248.
| Current Cabinet of Australia |  |
|---|---|
| Abbott | Andrews | Bishop | Brough | Campbell | Coonan | Costello | Downer | Howard | Macfarlane | McGauran | Minchin | Nelson | Ruddock | Truss | Vaile | Vanstone | |
|
Current members of the Australian Senate
|
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Minchin, Nicholas Hugh |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Australian politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 15 April 1953 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| DATE OF DEATH | living |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
