Steve Fielding
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Steven Fielding (born 17 October 1960), Australian politician, is parliamentary leader of the Family First Party.
Fielding was born in Melbourne and educated at Melbourne University, where he graduated in engineering, and at Monash University, where he gained an MBA. He worked as an engineer and business executive before entering politics. He was a member of the Knox City Council in 2003-04. Fielding is a member of the CityLife Church, which is part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Fellowship (as are many other members of the Family First Party). [1]
Fielding was elected to represent Victoria in the Senate at the 2004 federal election. He is the first representative of Family First to be elected to the Federal Parliament.
Since he polled less than 2% of the popular vote, Fielding's election was not expected. Like many Senators he gained quota under the Senate's proportional representation system by receiving preferences from other parties (see Australian electoral system). The Australian Democrats and the Australian Labor Party agreed to swap preferences with Family First. But Fielding benefited from the larger-than-expected surplus of Liberal preferences, and stayed in the count long enough to receive Democrat and Labor preferences, defeating the Australian Greens' candidate David Risstrom for the last Senate place in Victoria. (For more detail see this explanation of the count by Antony Green).
While Family First is generally regarded as a conservative party, Fielding has said that he will not be an automatic supporter of government legislation in the Senate, where the Howard government has a majority of one. On some issues which he sees as affecting the well-being of families, such as industrial relations, he has indicated disagreement with government policies.
With some backbenchers being willing to cross the floor, Fielding's vote has been important on some of the government's more controverial legislation. His vote ensured the passage of Voluntary student unionism, the overturning of civil unions legislation in the Australian Capital Territory, and changes to media ownership laws. Conversely, his intention to vote "no" ensured the defeat of the government's proposed tightening of asylum seeker laws.
His support for Voluntary student unionism made his office the target of anti-VSU activists, who responded to the decision by vandalising the walls with pro-union graffiti.
Fielding and his wife Susan have three children, James, Campbell and Gabrielle.
[edit] See also
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Current members of the Australian Senate
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Fielding, Steven |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Australian politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 17 October 1960 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Melbourne, Australia |
| DATE OF DEATH | living |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
