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Linda Reynolds

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Senator The Honourable
Linda Reynolds
CSC
Minister for Defence
Incumbent
Assumed office
29 May 2019
Prime MinisterScott Morrison
DeputyMelissa Price
Preceded byChristopher Pyne
Minister for Defence Industry
In office
2 March 2019 – 26 May 2019
Prime MinisterScott Morrison
Preceded bySteven Ciobo
Succeeded byMelissa Price
Assistant Minister for Home Affairs
In office
28 August 2018 – 2 March 2019
Prime MinisterScott Morrison
Preceded byAlex Hawke
Succeeded byJason Wood
Senator for Western Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 July 2014
Personal details
Born
Linda Karen Reynolds

(1965-05-16) 16 May 1965 (age 59)
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
NationalityAustralia
Political partyLiberal Party of Australia
Alma materCurtin University
OccupationPolitician
WebsiteOfficial website
Military service
AllegianceAustralia
Branch/serviceAustralian Army Reserve
Years of service1984–2012
RankBrigadier
Commands5th Combat Service Support Battalion
AwardsConspicuous Service Cross

Linda Karen Reynolds CSC (born 16 May 1965) is an Australian politician and former army officer who has been Minister for Defence in the Morrison Government since May 2019. She has been a Senator for Western Australia since 2014, representing the Liberal Party. She previously served as Assistant Minister for Home Affairs (2018–2019), Minister for Defence Industry (2019) and Minister for Emergency Management and North Queensland Recovery (2019). Prior to entering parliament she was a member of the Australian Army Reserve for nearly 30 years and was the first woman in the reserve to attain the rank of brigadier.

Early life and education

Reynolds was born in Perth on 16 May 1965.[1] She is the daughter of Laith and Jan Reynolds and has two brothers; she has said she was raised with "strong Christian values".[2] Her grandfather Alfred Reynolds served in the Parliament of Western Australia as a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP).[3] Her maternal grandparents were English immigrants.[4]

Reynolds grew up in the suburb of Gooseberry Hill and attended St Brigid's College.[5] During her childhood she lived in Indonesia for a period where her father was a manager for Philips. The family learned to speak Indonesian and her mother took a degree in Indonesian studies.[4][6]

Reynolds holds the degree of Bachelor of Commerce from Curtin University and also holds graduate certificates in training and development (Southern Cross University), defence management (University of Canberra) and strategic studies (Australian Defence College).[1]

Military career

Reynolds enlisted in the Australian Army Reserve in 1984, aged 19.[5] She served variously as an officer cadet, regional logistics officer, training development officer, military instructor at the Army Command and Staff College, commanding officer of the 5th Combat Service Support Battalion, director of the Active Standby Staff Group, project director at the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, strategy development director of Raytheon Australia, director of the Accountability Model Implementation Project, and director of the Army Strategic Reform Program. She was adjutant general of the Army Reserve from 2012 to 2013.[1] She was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in the 2011 Australia Day Honours for "outstanding achievement as the Director of Army Strategic Reform Program coordination".[7] On attaining the rank of brigadier in 2012, Reynolds became the first woman in the Australian Army Reserve to be promoted to a star rank.[8]

Early political involvement

Reynolds at a Senate committee meeting in February 2017

Reynolds joined the Liberal Party in 1987. Prior to her election to parliament, she held various positions in the party's organisational wing. She was a campaign manager for the divisions of Pearce and Hasluck and served as a deputy federal director from 2006 to 2008. She also worked as an electorate officer and ministerial advisor, notably as chief of staff and senior adviser to justice minister Chris Ellison from 2001 to 2003.[1]

Senate (2014–present)

At the 2013 federal election, Reynolds was elected to the Senate from third position on the Liberal Party's ticket in Western Australia. However, her position was placed in doubt when the High Court ordered a fresh half-Senate election after determining that there were missing ballot papers.[9] Reynolds was successful in the re-run and her Senate term commenced on 1 July 2014.[10] She was subsequently re-elected to the Senate at the 2016 and 2019 federal elections, leading the Liberal Party's ticket in the latter. She chaired a number of Senate committees prior to her elevation to the ministry in 2018.[1]

During the 2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, Reynolds reportedly supported the incumbent prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in the first ballot on 21 August before switching her support to Scott Morrison in the second ballot on 24 August. On 23 August, she told the Senate that she was "distressed and disturbed" by the behaviour of some Liberal MPs during the leadership conflict, which had "no place in my party or this chamber".[11]

Government minister

Reynolds in August 2019 with U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Australian foreign minister Marise Payne

In August 2018, Reynolds was promoted to Assistant Minister for Home Affairs in the First Morrison Ministry, serving under Peter Dutton.[1] She was elevated to Cabinet in March 2019 as Minister for Defence Industry, as part of a planned transition to the role of Minister for Defence following Christopher Pyne's decision to retire at the 2019 federal election.[12] She was also appointed to the new role of Minister for Emergency Management and North Queensland Recovery,[13] having previously held responsibility for disaster recovery in her position as assistant home affairs minister.[12] In early 2019 she was a strong opponent of the medevac bill that expanded the medical evacuation of asylum seekers from offshore processing facilities to Australia. In a speech to the Senate, she said that the bill would encourage unauthorised arrivals by boat and that as a result the military would "have to recover the bloated corpses of babies and women mauled by sharks".[14]

Reynolds was elevated to Minister for Defence in May 2019, following the Coalition's victory at the 2019 federal election.[1] She is the second woman to hold the position, after Marise Payne.[14] Her appointment was cautiously welcomed by Neil James, the president of the Australian Defence Association, who noted her lack of ministerial experience.[14]

In May 2020, Reynolds was accused of misleading the Senate by Mark Sullivan, the chair of the Defence Honours and Awards Appeal Tribunal, over her rejection of a posthumous Victoria Cross for Teddy Sheean.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  2. ^ "First speech". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  3. ^ Emerson, Daniel (10 February 2015). "Simpson legend annoyed medic". The West Australian. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b "The Bridge Interviews: Laith Reynolds". The Bridge Magazine. October 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b Spagnolo, Joe (1 March 2014). "Meet Linda Reynolds: The unluckiest person in Australian politics". PerthNow. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  6. ^ Taylor, Ross B. (10 February 2020). "Indonesia: Good friends but still with some reservations". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 4 July 2020. Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds is certainly Indonesia-savvy, having lived here some years ago.
  7. ^ "Reynolds, Linda Karen". It's an Honour. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  8. ^ Grattan, Michelle (2 March 2019). "Linda Reynolds appointed to defence industry and cabinet". The Conversation. The Conversation Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  9. ^ "WA Senate election: counting begins for poll re-run". ABC News. Australia. 6 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Palmer wins, wants WA Senate race declared". news.com.au. 1 November 2013.
  11. ^ Karp, Paul (12 September 2018). "Linda Reynolds says Liberals will deal with bullying complaints 'internally'". The Guardian Australia. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  12. ^ a b Murphy, Katharine (2 March 2019). "Scott Morrison moves Linda Reynolds into cabinet after more high-profile departures". The Guardian Australia. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  13. ^ Belot, Henry (2 March 2019). "Scott Morrison insists he's not distracted by ministerial exodus as Christopher Pyne bows out of politics". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  14. ^ a b c Maley, Paul (21 May 2019). "Morrison Cabinet: Defence favourite's rapid rise in the ranks". The Australian. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Defence tribunal chief accuses Reynolds of misleading Senate". The Weekend Australian. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Defence
2019–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Minister for Defence Industry
2019–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Assistant Minister for Home Affairs
2018–2019 		Succeeded by
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