The Honourable Lindsay Tanner BA (Hons) LLB (Hons) MA (Melb)
Member of the Australian Parliament for Melbourne
In office 13 March 1993 – 19 July 2010
Preceded by	Gerry Hand
Succeeded by	Adam Bandt
Constituency	Melbourne
11th Minister for Finance and Deregulation
In office 3 December 2007 – 3 September 2010
Preceded by	Nick Minchin
Succeeded by	Wayne Swan(acting) Penny Wong
Personal details
Born	(1956-04-24) 24 April 1956 (age 56) Orbost, Victoria, Australia
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Andrea
Children	Ainsley, Remy. Jemma and James from previous marriage
Residence	Alphington, Victoria
Profession	Solicitor
Religion	Agnostic Anglican[1]
Website	LindsayTanner.com

Lindsay James Tanner (born 24 April 1956) is a former Australian member of the House of Representatives representing the Division of Melbourne, Victoria, for the Australian Labor Party, having first won the seat at the 1993 federal election. He was a member of the Australian Government from 3 December 2007, serving as the Minister for Finance and Deregulation. On 24 June 2010 he announced his intention not to contest the 2010 federal election, at which his seat was won by the Greens. He has written several books and been an outspoken commentator on Australian culture and the direction and role of the Labor Party.

Background[link]

Lindsay Tanner was born in the East Gippsland town of Orbost. He studied at the local state primary school before obtaining a scholarship to Gippsland Grammar School in Sale, where he graduated as dux in 1973. He graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours, and later a Master of Arts in History in 1981. While still at university, he co-wrote a book on environmental politics and worked as a casual layout and design artist.

Tanner began his career as an articled clerk and solicitor at Holding Redlich Lawyers in Melbourne. In 1985, he became an electorate assistant to Labor senator Barney Cooney. He was Assistant State Secretary of the Federated Clerks' Union from 1987, then State Secretary from 1988 until 1993.

He has been married twice, and has one son and three daughters.^[2]

Parliamentary career[link]

In March 1993 Tanner was elected to the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Melbourne, and served one term as a government backbencher during Paul Keating's final term as Prime Minister.

The Liberal Party under John Howard won the March 1996 election, and Keating subsequently retired from politics. A major reshuffle by new leader Kim Beazley resulted in Tanner's promotion to the Shadow Ministry and appointment as Shadow Minister for Transport. He remained a member of the Shadow Ministry, despite numerous changes of leadership, continuously until the election of the Rudd Labor government in November 2007.

In 1998, Tanner was moved to the portfolios of Finance and Consumer Affairs. In 1999, he wrote a book entitled Open Australia, which explored how information technology could be used to enhance social justice and economic equality; and he also wrote a number of articles on targeted, "micro" ways of addressing globalisation and the decline of large-scale manufacturing, in which he suggested there was little substance to the notion put forward by neoclassical economists of a "simulated free market" in East Asian economies that explains their "emergence" (see 1997 Asian Financial Crisis).^[3] Following the 2001 election, he became Shadow Minister for Communications.

Tanner has been a prominent member of Labor's left faction and it was thought that he might contest the Labor leadership in 2002, when former leader Kim Beazley first challenged Simon Crean. In the second leadership spill in December 2003, Tanner supported Beazley,^[4] who lost the party-room ballot to Mark Latham. The following month, Latham appointed Tanner to the new portfolio of Community Relationships, in addition to his existing responsibilities.

After the October 2004 federal election, Tanner was thought to be a candidate for the position of Shadow Treasurer, which had been vacated by Simon Crean. However, once it became clear that Latham did not intend to offer him this position, Tanner announced that he would not stand for a position in the new shadow ministry. He subsequently released a brief statement, stating that he had "no complaint about how Mark Latham has dealt with [him] personally", but adding that he had "serious reservations about the emerging Labor response to our latest election defeat."^[5] In June 2005, Tanner was re-elected to the Opposition frontbench and was appointed Shadow Minister for Finance.

A polling booth in Lindsay Tanner's electorate of Melbourne.

The 2007 election saw Tanner's seat of Melbourne face the Greens on the two-party-preferred vote, the first seat to do so at a federal election. Labor retained the seat on 54.7 percent of the two-party-preferred vote. After the successful election of the federal Labor Party, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd retained Tanner as Minister for Finance and Deregulation.^[6] The role had previously only been known as Minister for Finance and Administration.

On 24 June 2010, during Julia Gillard's first question time as Prime Minister, Tanner announced his intention to not re-contest his seat at the next election, citing that he wanted to spend more time at home with his family and stressing he had already planned to do so before the change in leadership.^[7]

His tenure as Member for Melbourne ceased on 19 July 2010 when the Parliament was dissolved prior to the 2010 federal election. He remained as Minister for Finance throughout the election campaign.^[8]

Post-political career[link]

Tanner has been appointed as a Vice Chancellor's Fellow and Adjunct Professor at Victoria University,^[9] and a special adviser to financial firm Lazard Australia.^[10]

Publications[link]

Tanner has been published extensively in newspapers and journals. His major works are detailed below:

• Russ, Peter; Tanner, Lindsay. (1978) The politics of pollution. Camberwell, VIC: Widescope. ISBN 0-86932-072-6. (186 pages)
• Tanner, Lindsay. (1984) "Working class politics and culture : a case study of Brunswick in the 1920s." Parkville, VIC: University of Melbourne (MA thesis). (PDF copy) (161 pages)
• Tanner, Lindsay. (1996) The last battle. Carlton, VIC: Kokkino Press. ISBN 0-646-28912-8 (216 pages)
• Tanner, Lindsay. (1999) "Engaging with the world" (12th Stan Kelly Memorial Lecture, 30 September 1999). Melbourne: Economic Society of Australia (Victorian Branch). (16 pages)
• Tanner, Lindsay. (1999) Open Australia. Annandale, NSW: Pluto Press. ISBN 1-86403-052-6 (248 pages)
• Tanner, Lindsay. (2003) Crowded lives. North Melbourne, VIC: Pluto Press. ISBN 1-86403-272-3 (124 pages) (Review)
• Tanner, Lindsay. (2003) "Courage and compassion" (Arthur Calwell Memorial Lecture, 19 September 2003). Melbourne. (24 pages)
• Tanner, Lindsay. (2007) "Labor going global" (Chifley Memorial Lecture, 14 March 2007). Melbourne: University of Melbourne. (16 pages)
• Tanner, Lindsay. (2011) "Sideshow: Dumbing Down Democracy" Scribe Publications. ISBN 978-1-921844-06-5 (240 pages)
  • Tanner on the dumbing down of democracy - ABC News interview

See also[link]

• Rudd Ministry
• Gillard Ministry

References[link]

External links[link]

• Personal website
• Fairfax Blog
• Department of Finance and Deregulation profile

• Search or browse Hansard for Lindsay Tanner at OpenAustralia.org

v t e Rudd Cabinet (2007–10) Prime Minister: Kevin Rudd Anthony Albanese • Chris Bowen • Tony Burke • Kim Carr • Stephen Conroy • Simon Crean • Chris Evans • John Faulkner • Martin Ferguson • Joel Fitzgibbon • Peter Garrett • Julia Gillard • Joe Ludwig • Jenny Macklin • Robert McClelland • Nicola Roxon • Stephen Smith • Wayne Swan • Lindsay Tanner • Penny Wong

The Honourable Joe Hockey BA, LLB, MP
Shadow Treasurer
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 February 2009
Leader	Malcolm Turnbull Tony Abbott
Preceded by	Julie Bishop
Manager of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives
In office 6 December 2007 – 16 February 2009
Leader	Brendan Nelson Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Anthony Albanese
Succeeded by	Christopher Pyne
Shadow Minister for Finance, Competition Policy and Deregulation
In office 22 September 2008 – 16 February 2009
Leader	Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Peter Dutton
Succeeded by	Helen Coonan
Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing
In office 6 December 2007 – 22 September 2008
Leader	Brendan Nelson Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Nicola Roxon
Succeeded by	Peter Dutton
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
In office 30 January 2007 – 3 December 2007
Prime Minister	John Howard
Preceded by	Kevin Andrews
Succeeded by	Julia Gillard
Minister for Human Services
In office 26 October 2004 – 30 January 2007
Prime Minister	John Howard
Preceded by	Jocelyn Newman
Succeeded by	Ian Campbell
Member of the Australian Parliament for North Sydney
Incumbent
Assumed office March 1996
Preceded by	E C (Ted) Mack
Personal details
Born	(1965-08-02) 2 August 1965 (age 46) North Sydney, New South Wales
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Spouse(s)	Melissa Babbage[1]
Alma mater	St John's College, University of Sydney
Religion	Roman Catholic

Joseph Benedict "Joe" Hockey (born 2 August 1965), is an Australian politician and member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of North Sydney for the Liberal Party of Australia since 1996.

Hockey was a Minister in the Howard Government and is currently the Shadow Treasurer under Opposition Leader Tony Abbott in the Liberal/National Coalition.

Early life and career[link]

Hockey was born in North Sydney as the youngest of four children. His father, Richard Hockey was born in Bethlehem (then in the British Mandate of Palestine) and migrated to Australia in 1948. Hockey is of Armenian and Palestinian background and the family name was originally Hokeidonian.^[2][3] Hockey attended St Aloysius' College in Milson's Point and the University of Sydney, residing at St John's College, where he graduated with degrees in Arts and Law. While at university he was President of the Student Representative Council.^[4] He was a banking and finance lawyer, and Director of Policy to the Premier of New South Wales, before entering politics.

Political career[link]

Joe Hockey in a press conference on the ground at Telstra Dome, Melbourne.

Hockey was Minister for Financial Services and Regulation 1998–2001 and Minister for Small Business and Tourism 2001–04. With the return of the Howard Government in 2004, Hockey was appointed Minister for Human Services and was elevated to the Cabinet in January 2007, when appointed Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.

Hockey regularly appeared on the Seven Network's morning program Sunrise in the 'Big Guns of Politics' section debating Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd until the arrangement was mutually terminated on 16 April 2007, following controversy over plans to stage a pre-dawn Anzac Day service in Vietnam.^[5][6]

In December 2007, Joe Hockey was made Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing, and Manager of Opposition Business in the House. In September 2008 he became Shadow Minister for Finance, Competition Policy and Deregulation. Hockey became Shadow Treasurer in February 2009 when Julie Bishop stepped down from the portfolio.^[7]

Hockey's popularity among voters grew under the leadership of Malcolm Turnbull, and in October 2009 polls showed him as the preferred liberal leader. However Hockey announced that he had no intentions to challenge for the leadership.^[8]

On 9 November 2009, Hockey gave a speech, In Defence of God, at the Sydney Institute. "Australia has embraced religious diversity. It must always remain so, and as a Member of Parliament I am a custodian of that principle of tolerance. That is why it is disturbing to hear people rail against Muslims and Jews, or Pentecostals and Catholics. Australia must continue, without fear, to embrace diversity of faith provided that those gods are loving, compassionate and just."^[9][10]

On 1 December 2009, Hockey chose to include his candidacy in a party room ballot to determine the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia. The ballot was between Hockey, Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott. Hockey was eliminated in the first round of the ballot, with the eventuating winner being Tony Abbott. Following the change of leadership, Hockey remained Shadow Treasurer.

Hockey told ABC TV's Q&A audience on 7 March 2011 that corporate Australia had fallen behind in female boardroom representation, and if companies failed to meet a reasonable target within a period of time, then "more punitive measures" needed to be taken by parliament.^[11] He later said that, "quotas must be a last resort".^[12]

Personal life[link]

Hockey is married to investment banker Melissa Babbage and has three children, Xavier, Adelaide and Ignatius.^[13] Hockey has ventured the Kokoda Track^[14] and has climbed Mt Kilimanjaro to raise funds for medical equipment.^[15] In February 2010, Hockey appeared on the television program Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation where he was involved in a segment that required him to hold up a tutu and wave a magic wand^[16] which attracted criticism from Treasurer Wayne Swan.^[17] Hockey was the first Australian politician invited on to the show.^[18] He plays rugby union and is a loosehead prop.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joe Hockey

• Official website