Joseph Benedict "Joe" Hockey is a former Australian politician who was the Member
of Parliament for North Sydney from 1996 until 2015. He was the Treasurer of
Australia in the Abbott Government from 18 September 2013 until September 2015
when he resigned from Cabinet, having refused an alternative offer from the
incoming Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull. He previously served as the
Minister for Human Services and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
in the Howard Government. Hockey's parliamentary resignation
triggered a 2015 North Sydney by-election where he was succeeded by
Trent Zimmerman who had previously worked for Hockey as a staffer. He was
announced on 8 December 2015 to become the next Ambassador of Australia to the
United States when Kim Beazley's term ends in early 2016.
Early life and career Hockey was born in North Sydney to a
Bethlehem-born Armenian-Palestinian father, Richard, and an Australian
mother, Beverley. He has three elder siblings. His father's original surname,
Hokeidonian, was anglicised to "Hockey" in 1948 after arriving in Australia.
Hockey attended St Aloysius' College, Milson's Point and the University of
Sydney, residing at St John's College, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and a
Bachelor of Laws. While at university he was President of the University of
Sydney Students' Representative Council, and assisted in inviting Pope John Paul
II to visit the University of Sydney during the 1986 Australian papal visit.
In 1987, Hockey protested at Bob Hawke's introduction of university fees.
Hockey's term as SRC president, besides the protests, included the renovation of
the club's headquarters, a cutback on the expenses of Honi Soit, the closure
of the SRC Women's Room, but the opening of a free legal advice service. Towards
the end of his term as SRC President, Labor's Deputy Prime Minister Lionel
Bowen phoned Hockey and invited him to join the ALP. Hockey researched the
philosophies of John Stuart Mill and decided to join the Liberal party. Upon
graduating, Hockey worked as a banking and finance lawyer at Corrs Chambers
Westgarth and subsequently as the Director of Policy to the Premier of New
South Wales, before entering politics. Political career
Hockey worked as a policy advisor to Premier John Fahey before the New South
Wales state election, 1995. Hockey became the president of the NSW Young
Liberals and had a position in Nick Greiner's state government, reforming
the financial and business structure of the state.
= Howard Government = Hockey was preselected as a Liberal
Party of Australia candidate for the 1996 election in the Division of North
Sydney when aged just 29. He faced little preselection competition for a
candidacy that required him to defeat North Sydney incumbent independent Ted
Mack. Had Mack's intention to retire at the 1996 election been known earlier,
Hockey would have faced a more rigorous preselection contest for the normally
safe Liberal seat. When contesting the 1996 election,
Hockey bought a bus which he painted in the colours of the North Sydney Bears,
which had the effect of positioning Hockey as an Independent and showed
Hockey's local ties. Hockey would park the bus everywhere in his electorate to
raise awareness. Robert Orrell, Hockey's campaign manager in 1995, states that
Hockey presented himself as a Liberal in "John Howard" areas like Lane Cove, but
as an Independent in North Sydney and McMahons Point. Hockey's parents and
business connections were also key to his success - his parents were
well-liked locals who knew the area well, and his business connections
allowed him to give umbrellas and other souvenirs to supporters and volunteers.
A key issue in the 1996 election was the issue of aircraft noise: Laurie
Brereton, the ALP transport minister, had closed east-west runways and opened
north-south runways at Sydney airport, diverting aircraft noise from Labor
seats to Liberal seats. Hockey was elected to the Australian
Parliament in 1996. He was appointed the chair of the Sydney Airport Community
Forum. During this time, Hockey formed a friendship with Anthony Albanese, and
Albanese took Hockey to his electorate to see the inequalities of the airport
routing. Following this, Hockey worked to address inconsistencies in the
airport noise amelioration program. Hockey, Chris Gallus and Susan Jeanes
founded the short-lived John Stuart Mill Society to combat the conservative Lyons
Forum. Hockey made his maiden speech in September 1996, highlighting modern
liberalism, composed of recognition of the rights of the individual,
parliamentary democracy, and committing to improve society through reform.
Hockey highlighted his father's heritage, and highlighted barriers
against women achieving success. In the lead-up to the 1998 election, which
Hockey characterised as "the GST election", despite being the minister in
charge of the GST, Hockey stopped campaigning shortly before the election
because he felt that talking about the GST was losing him votes. He was awarded
the Minister for Financial Services and Regulation portfolio from 1998–2001 and
Minister for Small Business and Tourism. In January 2000, Hockey had done an
interview with the John Laws program about the GST, confirming the ACCC's
position of businesses being able to round up or down the price of goods and
services when needed. This caused controversy, and The Daily Telegraph
printed a story that declared that voters could be charged more than the
10% GST promised. When HIH Insurance went bankrupt in
March 2001, Joe Hockey was the minister responsible for the Australian
Prudential Regulation Authority, which oversaw HIH. Although Hockey's office
had sought written assurances from HIH that everything was fine, the public
felt that Hockey was to blame. Upon learning that the estimated damages were
between $4-$8 billion, Hockey took this to the Cabinet and sought a bail out.
Peter Costello advised that APRA should sort out HIH. After the collapse of HIH
Insurance, Hockey became concerned about NRMA Insurance, and called Australian
Securities and Investments Commission, the ACCC, APRA and the Australian
Taxation Office and instructed them to investigate NRMA Insurance thoroughly.
As part of his work as Tourism Minister, Hockey produced a White Paper analysing
the tourism industry. With the return of the Howard Government
in 2004, he was appointed Minister for Human Services and was elevated to the
Cabinet in January 2007, when appointed Minister for Employment and Workplace
Relations. In 2004 as Human Services Minister,
Hockey proposed an "Access Card" and spent $3 million advertising the card
before submitting the legislation to parliament.
Hockey regularly appeared on the Seven Network's morning program Sunrise in the
"Big Guns of Politics" section debating the Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd,
drawing 20,000-30,000 additional viewers who would tune in specifically for that
segment, until the arrangement was mutually terminated on 16 April 2007
following controversy over plans to stage a pre-dawn Anzac Day service in
Vietnam. Hockey credits this show for introducing him to an audience who had
no interest in politics. = Opposition =
In December 2007, 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. He became
Shadow Treasurer in February 2009 when Julie Bishop stepped down from the
portfolio. Prior to his appointment as Shadow
Treasurer there had been a move to get Hockey to transfer to New South Wales
State politics to replace Barry O'Farrell as state Liberal leader and
lead the New South Wales Coalition to victory at the 2011 state election which
would make Hockey the Premier of New South Wales. Hockey, however, denied any
interest to move into New South Wales state politics.
The push to get Hockey into New South Wales state politics came to an end when
he was promoted to Shadow Treasurer as that placed him within striking distance
of becoming federal leader. 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
intention to challenge for the leadership.
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."
A Newspoll released on 30 November 2009 placed Hockey at 33%, Turnbull at 30%
and Abbott at 19%, when voters were asked who would be the "best person to
lead" the Liberal Party. Speculation flourished that Hockey would challenge
Turnbull for the leadership of the Liberal party, and Hockey consulted
senior party dignitaries such as Howard and Costello about whether he should
run. Hockey faced a dilemma. A moderate in
the Liberal Party, Hockey had been a consistent supporter of the ETS. Running
against Turnbull would mean taking the leadership with the support of the
party's right wing and climate change sceptics.
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 eventual winner being
Abbott. Following the change of leadership, Hockey remained Shadow
Treasurer. He 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. He later said that "quotas must be a last resort".
Hockey gave a speech to the Grattan Institute on 11 March 2010 called "In
Defence of Liberty". The speech defended anti-terrorism laws and rejected a
hypothetical bill of rights, while criticising increased police powers.
Hockey gave a speech to the EIDOS Institute on 14 April 2010 called "In
Defence of Enterprise". Hockey gave a speech to the Sydney
Institute on 9 March 2011 called "In Defence of Opportunity".
Hockey gave a speech to the University of New England on 27 July 2011 called
"In Defence of Youth". This series of speeches were seen as
Hockey's bid for the Liberal leadership. Biographer Madonna King points out
"Australia’s Future Engagement in the Asian Century" and "The Future of Free
Markets, Global Trade and Commerce" as other key speeches from this three-year
period of Joe Hockey trying to show what he stood for.
On 17 April 2012, Hockey gave a speech at the Institute of Economic Affairs in
London. He warned Australians that the time to become self-sufficient was at
hand and that the government could not afford to give "universal payments" to
Australians. The speech was controversial in Australia, sparking
discussion on the ABC Lateline program and an article in The Australian. The
speech was said to change the public's perception of Hockey from "avuncular" to
"hard-head". and foreshadowing Hockey's first budget.
On 26 April 2012, Hockey gave a speech, "The Future of Australian Diversity", at
the Islamic Council of Victoria. "To judge Islam based on the actions of
extremists and terrorists would be no different than judging Christianity on
the actions of those who have over the centuries committed atrocities in the
name of Christianity." = Abbott Government =
In 2014, the "end of the age of entitlement" was used to justify the
government refusing financial assistance to Holden in South Australia and SPC
Ardmona in Victoria and explaining why they could not participate in Barnaby
Joyce's proposal for a bail out of farmers. Hockey's approach has been
described by sociology lecturer Verity Archer as being like Nixon's, "using
claims of a budget emergency" to cut welfare.
In April 2014, Hockey faced criticism for saying "the poorest people either
don't have cars, or actually don't drive very far" when seeking an increase in
the fuel excise tax. In May 2014, Fairfax media published a
story stating that donors to the North Sydney Forum were able to have "VIP"
meetings with Hockey, under the title "Treasurer for Sale".
Hockey delivered the 2014 budget on 13 May 2014. The austere budget faced
widespread criticism and was overwhelmingly rejected by the
Australian public as reflected in all opinion polls after its release. Michael
Pascoe, writing for the Sydney Morning Herald, regards Hockey as being saddled
with policies that were fiscally irresponsible, but designed to win
support, giving as an example the scrapping of the price on carbon. Hockey
was considered by his colleagues to have made a poor case for the economic
reforms in the 2014 budget. The Guardian writes that criticism of the budget as
"unfair" harmed Hockey's public image. After the February 2015 Liberal party
leadership spill motion, there were calls for Hockey to be replaced as
Treasurer. In the leadup to the 2015 budget, Abbott
stated that no matter how the budget was received, Hockey would continue as
Treasurer. Hockey delivered the 2015 budget. This was considered a vast
contrast to the 2014 budget. In June 2015, Hockey was criticised over
his response to housing affordability issues, where he advised first home
buyers to "get a good job that pays good money".
In August 2015, Peter FitzSimons, chair of the Australian Republican Movement,
announced that Joe Hockey would help lead a parliamentary friendship group
aimed at a referendum on an Australian republic before 2020. This led to
criticism of Hockey by members of the Coalition, who regarded the renewed push
for a republic to be a distraction from the government's priorities. Later in
August, a leak stated that two cabinet ministers were urging Abbott to reassign
Hockey as treasurer. Following the successful 2015 Liberal
leadership spill, there was growing speculation that the new Prime Minister,
Malcolm Turnbull, would not reappoint him as Treasurer in his new government.
Although Turnbull offered Hockey a different role in his government, Hockey
declined and on 20 September 2015 announced his intention to leave
Parliament. Hockey gave his final speech to parliament on 21 October 2015.
= Parliamentary resignation and US Ambassador role =
Hockey resigned from parliament on 23 October 2015 which triggered the 2015
North Sydney by-election which was won by Trent Zimmerman. It was announced on
8 December 2015 that Hockey would become the next Ambassador of Australia to the
United States when Kim Beazley's term ends in early 2016.
Personal life Hockey met Melissa Babbage, his future
wife, in 1991 at a Young Liberals state convention. In 1994, Hockey married
Babbage, an investment banker, later head of foreign exchange and global
finance at Deutsche Bank. The couple has three children and they live in Hunters
Hill, New South Wales. Upon the birth of his youngest child, Hockey became the
first federal Minister to take paternity leave. He has walked the Kokoda Track
and has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for medical equipment.
Hockey and his wife own a 200 hectare cattle farm in Malanda, near Cairns,
Queensland. In 2012 he lost more than 20 kg following gastric sleeve surgery.
In 2014 Hockey launched defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media over
an article published in its newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and
The Canberra Times, titled Treasurer for sale, which he said falsely implied that
he accepted bribes paid to influence his decisions and that he corruptly sold
privileged access to a select group of Liberal Party donors. A trial was held
to determine whether the allegations were defensible in March 2015 in the NSW
Supreme Court before Justice Richard White, where Hockey argued that false
allegations of the nature contained in the article, and the conduct of Fairfax
during the proceedings, evidenced a malicious intent to smear his otherwise
good reputation and consequently would justify the award of aggravated damages.
In June 2015, the judge partially ruled in favour of Hockey, ruling that where
the headline had been seen without the article, it was defamatory, and awarded
Hockey $200,000 in damages. Fairfax was ordered to pay 15% of Hockey's court
costs. See also
Abbott Government Howard Government
WorkChoices – part of Hockey's portfolio as Workplace Relations Minister.
North Sydney by-election, 2015 References
External links Official website
Profile at TheyVoteForYou.org.au Profile at Parliament of Australia
official website