Mathias Cormann
Mathias Cormann | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Senator for Western Australia | |
| Assumed office 19 June 2007 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 September 1970 Eupen, Belgium |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Liberal Party of Australia |
| Alma mater | Katholieke Universiteit Leuven University of East Anglia |
| Website | www.mathiascormann.com.au |
Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann (born 20 September 1970) is an Australian politician. He is a Liberal Party of Australia Senator for Western Australia, having been chosen by the Parliament of Western Australia on 19 June 2007 to fill the casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Ian Campbell. On 22 September 2008 he was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration.
Born in Eupen, Belgium, Cormann migrated to Perth, Western Australia in 1996. He earned a Belgian law degree from the Flemish Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and it was not until he was 23, when he studied Law at the University of East Anglia in England, that he actually first learnt how to speak English. His degree not recognised in Australia, took a job as a gardener at Presbyterian Ladies' College. He joined the Liberal Party in Western Australia and took on a job as ministerial chief-of-staff, then senior adviser to then-Premier of Western Australia, Richard Court. He then moved to federal politics, working for two years as a senior adviser to then Minister for Justice and Customs Chris Ellison. Between 2003 and 2008 Cormann was the state senior vice-president of the Liberal Party in Western Australia. He was also acting general manager of HBF, a WA-based health insurance company, until resigning in May 2007 to contest a Senate seat.
Cormann's preselection for the coveted third position on the Liberal Senate ticket for the 2007 election was all but assured, at the expense of controversial Senator Ross Lightfoot, who withdrew from the preselection race and resigned from politics when he realised the numbers were against him. On the ABC's Stateline program on 27 April 2007, Lightfoot stated that he considered Cormann (although he stopped short of naming him) an "inappropriate person" to replace him. Lightfoot's main complaint was that there were "more appropriate people" to succeed him "who have served the party longer" and "who have been in the country longer".[1]
When Senator Ian Campbell unexpectedly announced his planned resignation on 4 May 2007, Cormann was quickly preselected by the party to fill the resulting casual vacancy. Campbell formally resigned on 31 May 2007. Cormann was sworn in on 20 June 2007 and will serve the remaining four years of Ian Campbell's term until 2011.[2]
In the Senate, other than his role as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration, Cormann is also the Chair of the Fuel and Energy Select Committee [3]. He has participated in the Senate Inquiries into Labor’s Workplace Relations (Transition to Forward with Fairness) Bill 2008 and the Wheat Export Marketing Bill 2008 [4]. Drawing on his experience in the private health industry Cormann pursued the new Labor Government about the impact of proposed increases in Medicare levy surcharge thresholds on public hospitals.[5]
Cormann is the Organisational Patron of the Western Australian Young Liberals, Federal Patron of the University of Western Australia University Liberal Club and Vice Patron of the ECU University Liberal Club. He is a Gold Friend of the Young Liberal Movement of Western Australia.
Senator Cormann is a keen flyer and has a light aircraft licence and is also a member of the Royal Aero Club.
Senator Cormann is a member of the climate change denial wackaloon faction that is headed by Senator Nick Minchin
References
- ^ Carmody, Rebecca: Controversial Liberal Senator Ross Lightfoot calls it a day, Stateline (Western Australia), 27 April 2007.
- ^ O'Brien, Amanda: Ex-gardener lands Senate spot, The Australian, 7 May 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ Senate Select Committee on Fuel and Energy: Committee membership,
- ^ Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport - Final Report Wheat Export Marketing Bill 2008: Additional comments provided by Liberal Senators,
- ^ AAP: Kids not in Treasury surcharge modelling, The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 June 2008.