Chris Bowen
Chris Bowen | |
---|---|
![]() Bowen in 2022 | |
Minister for Climate Change and Energy | |
Assumed office 1 June 2022 | |
Prime Minister | Anthony Albanese |
Preceded by | Angus Taylor |
Leader of the Opposition | |
Acting | |
In office 18 September 2013 – 13 October 2013 | |
Prime Minister | Tony Abbott |
Deputy | Anthony Albanese |
Preceded by | Tony Abbott |
Succeeded by | Bill Shorten |
Treasurer of Australia | |
In office 27 June 2013 – 18 September 2013 | |
Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd |
Preceded by | Wayne Swan |
Succeeded by | Joe Hockey |
Minister for Small Business | |
In office 4 February 2013 – 22 March 2013 | |
Prime Minister | Julia Gillard |
Preceded by | Brendan O'Connor |
Succeeded by | Gary Gray |
Minister for Immigration and Citizenship | |
In office 14 September 2010 – 4 February 2013 | |
Prime Minister | Julia Gillard |
Preceded by | Chris Evans |
Succeeded by | Brendan O'Connor |
Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law | |
In office 9 June 2009 – 14 September 2010 | |
Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard |
Preceded by | Nick Sherry |
Succeeded by | Bill Shorten |
Assistant Treasurer of Australia | |
In office 3 December 2007 – 8 June 2009 | |
Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd |
Preceded by | Peter Dutton |
Succeeded by | Nick Sherry |
Member of theAustralian ParliamentforMcMahon | |
Assumed office 21 August 2010 | |
Preceded by | New seat |
Member of theAustralian ParliamentforProspect | |
In office 9 October 2004 – 21 August 2010 | |
Preceded by | Janice Crosio |
Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
Mayor of Fairfield | |
In office September 1998 – September 1999 | |
Preceded by | Anwar Khoshaba |
Succeeded by | Anwar Khoshaba |
Councillor of theCity of Fairfield | |
In office 1995–2004 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Christopher Eyles Guy Bowen 17 January 1973 Sydney,New South Wales,Australia |
Political party | Labor |
Spouse |
Rebecca Mifsud
(m.2003) |
Children | 2 |
Education | St Johns Park High School |
Alma mater | University of Sydney(BEc) |
Profession | Politician |
Website | www |
Christopher Eyles Guy Bowen(born 17 January 1973) is an Australian politician who has beenMinister for Climate Change and Energyin theAlbanese governmentsince June 2022.[1]He is a member of theAustralian Labor Party(ALP) and was first elected to parliament at the2004 federal election.He held ministerial office in theRuddandGillard governmentsfrom 2007 to 2013.
Bowen served on theFairfield City Councilfrom 1995 to 2004, including a term as mayor. He was elected to theHouse of Representativesin the 2004 election, winning the seat ofProspect;he later transferred to the seat ofMcMahonat the2010 federal election,after his former seat was abolished. Bowen was added toKevin Rudd's shadow ministry in 2006, and following the ALP's victory at the2007 electionserved variously asAssistant Treasurer,Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs,Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law,andHuman Services.AfterJulia Gillardreplaced Rudd as prime minister in June 2010, Bowen was made theMinister Immigration and Citizenship,and also served as the Minister forTertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research,Small Businessfor a brief time in 2013.
In June 2013, Rudd replaced Gillard as prime minister in the finalleadership contestbetween the two, and he assigned Bowen the role ofTreasurer.He held this position for less than three months, as the ALP was defeated at the2013 election.Bowen served briefly as the interim leader of the ALP and actingleader of the opposition.[2]He was the shadow treasurer underBill Shortenfrom 2013 to 2019. After the2019 election,he becamea candidateto succeed Shorten as party leader but eventually withdrew in favour ofAnthony Albanese.
After the ALP's victory in the2022 election,Bowen was appointed Minister for Climate Change and Energy. He is regarded as a senior figure in theLabor Rightfaction.[3][4]
Early years and background
[edit]Bowen was born inSydneyto Christine and Ross Bowen. His father worked for theNational Roads and Motorists' Association,while his mother, who was born in the United Kingdom, was a childcare worker.[5][6]Bowen grew up in the suburb ofSmithfield.He began his education at Smithfield Public School, and later attendedSt Johns Park High Schoolbefore going on to theUniversity of Sydney,where he graduated with aBachelor of Economicsin 1994. One of his tutors was the future Greek finance ministerYanis Varoufakis.[7]
Political career
[edit]Bowen was elected toFairfield City Councilin 1995 and was Mayor of Fairfield in 1998 and 1999. He was elected president of theWestern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils(WSROC) in 1999 and served as president until 2001.
In 2004, Bowen was elected to the House of Representatives replacingJanice Crosioafter she retired after 25 years in both state and federal politics. In 2006, Bowen was appointed to the Labor front bench as Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Revenue and Competition Policy.
Government minister (2007–13)
[edit]In December 2007 Prime MinisterKevin Ruddappointed him Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs. In June 2009 Bowen was promoted to cabinet as Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law and Minister for Human Services.
In April 2010 Bowen announced significant reforms to the financial services sector including banning of commissions for financial planners giving advice on retail investment products including superannuation, managed investments and margin loans; instituting a statutory fiduciary duty so that financial advisers must act in the best interests of their clients, and increasing the powers of the corporate regulator; theAustralian Securities and Investments Commission.[8]The reforms were partially a response to the high-profile collapse ofStorm Financial,Westpoint and Opes Prime and the resultant losses for retail investors, but also reflected global concerns with financial governance following the GlobalFinancial crisis of 2007–2010.[9]The reforms are due to be fully implemented on 1 July 2013.
In September 2010, Bowen was appointed Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, succeeding SenatorChris Evans.[10]On 2 February 2013, Bowen replaced Evans as Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research. Evans was also Minister for Small Business.[11]
Chris Bowen resigned his ministerial portfolios on 22 March 2013 after he supportedan unsuccessful attemptto reinstall Kevin Rudd as prime minister.
Following theJune 2013 leadership spill,Bowen was reinstated as a Cabinet Minister and given the portfolio of Treasurer. He was sworn in on 27 June 2013. He was also given responsibility for financial services and superannuation, including carriage of theMySuperand other Simple Super reforms previously held byBill Shorten.
Opposition (2013–22)
[edit]Bowen was appointed Interim Leader of the Labor Party on 13 September 2013 following the resignation of Kevin Rudd in the wake of the party's defeat in the2013 federal election.He pledged not to stand in theOctober 2013 leadership spillwhich was contested byAnthony AlbaneseandBill Shorten.[12]Shorten was elected as leader.[13][14]Bowen was later appointed Shadow Treasurer by Bill Shorten.
After Labor's loss in the2019 federal election,Shorten announced his pending resignation as leader of the party. Bowen was considered a frontrunner to succeed him. On 21 May, Bowen announced his candidacy inthe leadership ballot,[15]but withdrew the following day.[16]He was subsequently replaced as Shadow Treasurer byJim Chalmers,but remained on the frontbench as Shadow Minister for Health.[17]
As Shadow Treasurer after his stint as Treasurer, he was shadow to his three immediate successors as Treasurer, Joe Hockey, Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg.
Government minister (2022–)
[edit]Following the2022 federal election,Bowen was appointedMinister for Climate Change and Energyin theAlbanese ministry.
Bowen faced criticism in early 2024 for taking a private jet to a ministerial announcement about clean energy, while the Prime Minister also flew there in another private jet. It was reported that the flights were taken on advice from the RAAF.[18]
Political positions
[edit]Bowen supports same-sex marriage.[19]Notably in 2017, his Division of McMahon had the 3rd highest percentage of "No" responses in theAustralian Marriage Law Postal Survey,with 64.9% of the electorate's respondents to the survey responding "No".[20]
In April 2020, Bowen supported thenForeign MinisterMarise Payne's call for an independent global inquiry into the origins of theCOVID-19 pandemicincluding China's handling of the initial outbreak inWuhan.[21]
Personal life
[edit]Bowen is married to Rebecca Mifsud, who as of 2016[update]worked forToll Groupas an industrial relations executive.[22]They met at the 2000 ALP National Conference, where Mifsud was a delegate for theElectrical Trades Union.The couple have two children together and reside inSmithfield,Bowen's childhood suburb.[7]
Bowen's mother lost two baby boys when the family was still living in the United Kingdom - in 1959 and in 1960. Bowen revealed this story in order to raise awareness to the lasting negative effects ofstillbirthson families.[23]
Bowen possesses a Diploma of Modern Language (Bahasa Indonesia) from theUniversity of New England.[24]
Bowen supports theGreater Western Sydney Giantsin theAustralian Football League.[25]
See also
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- Hearts and Minds: A Blueprint for Modern Labor(2013)[26]
- The Money Men: Australia's Twelve Most Notable Treasurers(2015)[27]
- On Charlatans(2021)[28]
References
[edit]- ^Mazengarb, Michael (31 May 2022)."Chris Bowen confirmed as new energy and climate minister, McAllister as assistant".RenewEconomy.Retrieved31 May2022.
- ^"Chris Bowen named interim Labor leader".13 September 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 14 April 2020.Retrieved13 September2013.
- ^"Bowen backs out of Labor leadership race, leaving spot open to Shorten and Albanese".ABC News.9 September 2015.Retrieved12 May2015.
- ^"Albanese 'one slip away' from ousting as vultures circle".The Australian.News Corp.Retrieved31 October2021.
- ^"Labor's Chris Bowen: Paul Keating protégé and would-be treasurer".The Australian Financial Review.20 February 2018.Retrieved30 April2018.
- ^Citizenship Register – 45th Parliament
- ^ab"Chris Bowen: The man most likely".The Sydney Morning Herald.10 June 2016.Retrieved30 April2018.
- ^Chris Bowen."Overhaul of Financial Advice [26/04/2010]".Ministers.treasury.gov.au.Retrieved1 July2013.
- ^"PM – Changes to financial planning laws will inject billions into the economy 26/04/2010".Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 May 2013.Retrieved1 July2013.
- ^[1]Archived22 September 2010 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Changes to the Ministry | Prime Minister of Australia".Archived fromthe originalon 5 February 2013.Retrieved6 February2013.
- ^"Chris Bowen named interim Labor leader".13 September 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 14 April 2020.Retrieved13 September2013.
- ^Harrison, Dan."Bill Shorten elected Labor leader".The Sydney Morning Herald.Retrieved13 October2013.
- ^Griffiths, Emma (13 October 2013)."Bill Shorten elected Labor leader over Anthony Albanese after month-long campaign".ABC News.Australia.Retrieved15 October2013.
- ^"Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen to run for Labor leader".Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 May 2019.Retrieved21 May2019.
- ^"Chris Bowen pulls out of Labor leadership battle after party's election defeat".ABC News.22 May 2019.Retrieved22 May2019.
- ^"Labor leader Anthony Albanese announces frontbench in wake of federal election 2019".2 June 2019.Retrieved2 June2019.
- ^"PM and ministers took two jets for clean energy announcement on RAAF advice, says Chris Bowen".The Guardian.1 April 2024.Retrieved28 May2024.
- ^Gothe-Snape, Jackson (14 September 2017)."SSM: Electorates with lowest support for same-sex marriage may be ignored by MPs despite postal survey".ABC News.Archived fromthe originalon 4 September 2018.Retrieved19 April2020.
- ^"Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey 2017 Response Final".Australian Bureau of Statistics.15 November 2017. Archived fromthe originalon 21 December 2019.
- ^Worthington, Brett (19 April 2020)."Marise Payne calls for global inquiry into China's handling of the coronavirus outbreak".ABC News.Archived fromthe originalon 19 April 2020.Retrieved19 April2020.
- ^"MPs quick to declare interests".The Australian.8 September 2016.Retrieved30 April2018.
- ^"???".The Courier-Mail.Retrieved8 August2019.
- ^Coorey, Phillip (24 October 2019)."Albanese is targeting jobs, not unions".Australian Financial Review.Retrieved24 October2019.
- ^"Each AFL Teams Biggest Political Fan".
- ^"Hearts & Minds, Chris Bowen".16 July 2013.
- ^"The Money Men, Chris Bowen".3 August 2015.
- ^"On Charlatans by Chris Bowen - Books".hachette.au.Retrieved23 March2021.
External links
[edit]- 1973 births
- Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia
- Labor Right politicians
- Leaders of the Opposition (Australia)
- Gillard government
- Living people
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Prospect
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives for McMahon
- Members of the Cabinet of Australia
- Politicians from Sydney
- Rudd government
- Treasurers of Australia
- University of Sydney alumni
- Writers from Sydney
- 21st-century Australian politicians
- Mayors of Fairfield, New South Wales
- Albanese government