Michael Sukkar

The Honourable Michael Sukkar MP
File:Michael Sukkar MP profile picture.jpg
Assistant Minister to the Treasurer
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 January 2017
Prime Minister	Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Alex Hawke
Member of the Australian Parliament for Deakin
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 September 2013
Preceded by	Mike Symon
Personal details
Born	(1981-09-11) 11 September 1981 Melbourne, Australia
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Anna Duthie
Alma mater	Deakin University University of Melbourne
Profession	Politician Lawyer
Website	Official website

Michael Sven Sukkar (born 11 September 1981) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the House of Representatives since September 2013, representing the Division of Deakin in Victoria for the Liberal Party. He has served as the Assistant Minister to the Treasurer since 24 January 2017.

Early life and education

Michael Sukkar was born in Ringwood, Victoria. His father was a Lebanese migrant; his mother's father was a Norwegian migrant. They were small business owners. Sukkar grew up in Ringwood and attended primary school at Sacred Heart in Croydon and then secondary school at Aquinas College in Ringwood. He went on to complete a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce at Deakin University and later a Master of Laws at the University of Melbourne.

Preparliamentary Career

Prior to entering the Parliament, Sukkar spent seven years working as a lawyer with the firm, Ashurst Australia (then known as Blake Dawson Waldron) where he was a Senior Associate. In this role, he advised many of Australia's most successful individuals and largest corporate groups. Before this role, he worked as a Senior Consultant with accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers where he specialised in taxation.

Parliamentary career

The seat of Deakin was held by the Liberal Party from 1984-2007 but was lost by Phil Barresi to Labor's Mike Symon in 2007. In 2012, Sukkar was endorsed as the Liberal Party for the seat of Deakin. He won Deakin, then the second most marginal seat in Australia, at the 2013 election with a swing to the Liberal Party of 3.8%.

In his maiden speech, Sukkar declared "strength in our local community is not achieved through government mandate, regulation or handouts, but from the principles of looking after your neighbour and doing unto others as you would have them do unto you."

At the 2016 federal election, Sukkar increased his margin by 2.5% and had the Liberal Party's best result in Victoria. "The Labor Party poured a fortune into their campaign to win Deakin back but, owing to his consistent hard work for the community, Michael Sukkar achieved a positive swing of [2.5] per cent," Michael Kroger, State President of the Victorian Liberal Party said.

On 24 January 2017, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appointed Sukkar to the Ministry as Assistant Minister to the Treasurer. Sukkar has previously served on a number of parliamentary committees, including being the Chairman of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

Sukkar was also given responsibility for addressing housing affordability. On the 19 January 2017, Sukkar was quoted in The Australian newspaper saying “The realistic aspiration to buy a home has been integral to the social and economic success of Australians and the government wants to ensure that that is a realistic opportunity for all Australians into the future". Sukkar has also been working on improving public and social housing. “We believe it’s crucial that every dollar of spending on affordable housing programs increases the number and availability of public and social housing stock,” Sukkar said.