Education, Environment and Equality

Panellists:Jay Weatherill, South Australia Premier; Penny Wong, Opposition Leader in the Senate; Simon Birmingham, Minister for Education; and Amanda Vanstone, Former Liberal Senator. -- Jay Weatherill Jay Weatherill is the Premier of South Australia and has led the Labor State Government since a 2011 leadership change from former Premier Mike Rann. A Member of Parliament since 2002, Jay has held a range of senior Cabinet portfolios including Treasury, Education, Environment & Conservation, Aboriginal Affairs and Urban Development. He is South Australia’s forty-fifth Premier. Jay was born in Adelaide’s western suburbs and completed his secondary education at Henley High School before attending the University of Adelaide and attaining degrees in law and economics. He established his own law firm in 1995 and practised until he was elected as the Member for Cheltenham in 2002. Jay was subsequently re-elected in 2006, 2010 and 2014. Previous portfolio responsibilities include Early Childhood Development, Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business & Public Sector Management, Families & Communities, Housing, Ageing, Disability, Administrative Services, Local Government and Gambling. As Leader Jay held additional portfolio responsibilities, including Treasury, from January 2013 until Labor’s victory in the March 2014 election. This victory gave the ALP a record 16 years in government in South Australia. Jay and his wife Melissa have two young daughters, Lucinda and Alice. -- Penny Wong Penny Wong is the Opposition Leader in the Senate and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs. She was elected as a Senator for South Australia in 2002 and served as a member of the Federal Cabinet in both the Gillard and Rudd governments. She was the first Asian-born member of an Australian Cabinet, and the first to be openly in a same-sex relationship. Penny was born in Sabah, Malaysia, to a Malaysian-Chinese father and an Australian mother. She was eight years old when she, her mother and brother moved to Australia and settled in the Adelaide Hills. Penny attended the University of Adelaide, where she became politically active and joined the ALP. After graduating in 1992 with an Arts/Law degree she worked with the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union before being admitted to the Bar in 1993. During the mid-1990s she worked for the NSW Government as an adviser, specialising in forestry policy, then returned to Adelaide to work as a lawyer and union adviser. She also won a position on the ALP’s State executive. Penny won top spot on the South Australian ALP Senate ticket for the 2001 election and entered the shadow ministry in 2005. After the 2007 election she entered Cabinet with the climate change portfolio, and took over from Lindsay Tanner as Finance Minister in 2010. She remained in that portfolio until Labor’s election loss in 2013. She held the shadow Trade portfolio in Opposition but moved to Foreign Affairs in the reshuffle following this year’s election. She lives with her partner, Sophie Allouache, and their young daughters Alexandra and Hannah. -- Simon Birmingham Simon Birmingham is the Minister for Education and served as a Liberal Senator for South Australia since 2007. He became a shadow parliamentary secretary in 2009 and served as parliamentary secretary and assistant minister in the Abbott Government from 2013, before being promoted to Cabinet after Turnbull became Prime Minister in September 2015. Once the youngest member of the Senate, Simon worked in the wine, tourism, and hospitality industries in his home state of South Australia before focusing on water security, environmental management and communications upon his election. He is a strong supporter of improving the lives of children throughout the world and is the Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Association for UNICEF. Educated at government schools in Adelaide, Simon attended Westbourne Park Primary, Angle Vale Primary and Gawler High before going on to study at the University of Adelaide where he completed a Masters of Business Administration. Prior to entering the Senate Simon established particular experience in the wine, tourism and hospitality sectors, industries that are critical to South Australia's prosperity. Simon has focused on issues associated with water security, environmental management and communications since entering the Senate, and in December 2009 was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray-Darling Basin and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Action. Following the 2010 election Simon was re-appointed as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray-Darling Basin and made Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment. When the coalition won government in 2013 Simon was made Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment and then Assistant Minister for Education. He became Education Minister and entered Cabinet in September last year. Simon is married to Courtney, has a daughter Matilda and is an active supporter of the Adelaide Crows. -- Amanda Vanstone Amanda Vanstone was a Liberal Senator for South Australia for 23 years, from 1984 to 2007, and was the only female member of the Howard Cabinet following the 1996 election. She held several prominent portfolios, including the onerous Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs ministry in which she oversaw the Pacific Solution policy to stop the flow of boat arrivals. After leaving Parliament she served as Ambassador to Rome and now presents the Counterpoint program on ABC radio. Amanda was born in Adelaide and studied Arts and Law at the University of Adelaide and before entering politics worked in the legal area, retailing and small business. Throughout her political career Amanda was regarded as a leading member of the moderate faction in the Liberal Party. She was a mentor to younger Liberal moderates, such as fellow South Australian Christopher Pyne. As a Minister in the Howard government Amanda faced several challenges and was at times criticised by those who believed she, and other moderates, had allowed their principles to be overridden by the Government’s conservative agenda. As Minister for Employment and Education Amanda was charged with cancelling a number of Keating administration employment programs for budgetary reasons, and was sent to the outer ministry as Minister for Justice in 1997. In 2001 she returned to Cabinet as Minister for Family and Community Services, and in 2003 was given the Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs portfolio. Apart from administering the Pacific Solution policy she also decided to abolish the contentious Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. Amanda served for three years as Australian Ambassador in Rome, returning to Australia in 2010. Her dog Gus achieved renown in Rome for biting visitors to the Ambassador’s residence. She served on the Abbott Government’s Commission of Audit that reported in the lead-up to the 2014 Budget. Amanda is married Tony Vanstone, a commercial lawyer.