Dating, Diplomacy & Disputes

Panellists: Josh Frydenberg, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister; Ed Husic, Labor MP; Dee Madigan, Author and advertising director; Virisila Buadromo, Fijian women's advocate; and James Allan, Professor of Law, University of Queensland. -- Josh Frydenberg Josh Frydenberg was elected as the Member for Kooyong, in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, in the 2010 election. He is the seventh person since Federation to hold this seat that was previously held by such Liberal blue-bloods as Sir Robert Menzies and Andrew Peacock. Widely regarded as a future key player for the Liberal Party, Josh was promoted to the position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister after Tony Abbott’s election victory. He is a former senior adviser to Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Prime Minister John Howard. Josh attended Bialik College in Hawthorn and completed his secondary schooling at Mt Scopus College in Burwood. He has Law and Economics honours degrees from Monash University, and completed his articles of clerkship at Mallesons Stephen Jacques. He went on to graduate with a Masters in International Relations from Oxford University and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Josh is a keen tennis player and represented Australia at the World University Games in England in 1991 and the United States in 1993. He currently sits on the Board of the Kids Tennis Foundation which provides coaching to disadvantaged kids. Josh and his wife, Amie, live in Hawthorn. -- Ed Husic Ed Husic is the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to Shadow Treasurer and Federal Member for Chifley. Born in 1970 and raised in Western Sydney, Ed received his education through Blacktown South Public School and Mitchell High School. Later, he was among the first wave of students to graduate from the University of Western Sydney, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts (Applied Communications). A member of the Australian Labor Party for 25 years, Ed was first elected to the Australian Parliament in 2010. During his first term, Ed became deeply engaged in technology and digital economy issues, spearheading a push against IT price discrimination as a member of the House of Representatives Infrastructure and Communications Committee. He was later elected Deputy Chair of the Joint Select Committee on the National Broadband Network. In July 2013, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Parliamentary Secretary for Broadband. Following the 2013 Federal Election, Ed was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen. He is also the Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives Economics Committee. He has held numerous roles within the public and private sectors including National President of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union. Before this he was employed with Integral Energy (now Endeavour Energy), a major national energy retailer and NSW based electricity distributor. He’s also served as a board member of the Australia Post Superannuation Scheme. Ed is married to Bridget and they have a son, Sam. During early mornings of sitting weeks, you may find him creaking out a few shots on the parliamentary basketball courts. -- Audience: ...