Alan Tudge (born 24 February 1971) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
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and has been a member of the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
since the
2010 federal election. He was a
cabinet minister in the
Morrison government
The Morrison government was the federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison government commenced on 24 August 2018, when it was sworn ...
from 2019 to 2022.
Tudge grew up in
Pakenham, Victoria
Pakenham is a suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District and the most populous city of the Shire of Cardinia. Pakenham recorded a population of 54,118 at the 2021 census.
Pakenham has beco ...
. Before entering politics he was a management consultant with the
Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three largest management consulting firms by re ...
and deputy director of the
Cape York Institute (2006–2009). He was elected to federal parliament in 2010, representing the Victorian seat of
Aston. Tudge became a
parliamentary secretary after the
2013 election. He was a government minister from 2016 to 2022 under
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Turnbull grad ...
and
Scott Morrison
Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for th ...
, serving as
Minister for Human Services (2016–2017),
Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (2017–2018),
Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure (2018–2020), and
Education and Youth (2020–2022). He took leave from the ministry in 2021 following allegations of bullying from a former staffer with whom he had an extramarital affair. After the
Coalition's defeat at the
2022 election, he was appointed to
Peter Dutton
Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician who has been leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the House of Representatives sinc ...
's shadow cabinet.
Early life
Tudge was born on 24 February 1971 in
Pakenham, Victoria
Pakenham is a suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District and the most populous city of the Shire of Cardinia. Pakenham recorded a population of 54,118 at the 2021 census.
Pakenham has beco ...
.
His parents were veterinarians who met at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
in Scotland and arrived in Australia as
Ten Pound Poms
Ten Pound Poms (or Ten Pound tourists) is a colloquial term used in Australia and New Zealand to describe British citizens who migrated to Australia and New Zealand after the Second World War. The Government of Australia initiated the Assisted ...
.
He was born a British citizen by descent, but renounced his dual citizenship before standing for parliament in 2010. His mother was born in Scotland and his father in England, while his maternal grandfather was born in Canada.
Tudge's parents separated when he was around six years old,
after which he was raised by his mother on a small farm near Pakenham. He attended a local primary school,
[ then completed his secondary education at ]Haileybury, Melbourne
(Lift up your hearts)
, established = 1892
, type = Independent, co-educational, day school
, denomination =
, slogan =
, principal = Derek Scott
, principal_l ...
, graduating in 1988. Tudge attended the University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...
, completing the degrees of Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
and Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
( Hons.).[ He served as president of the Melbourne University Student Union, replacing ]Andrew Landeryou
Andrew John Clyde Landeryou (born c. 1969-70) is a former Australian political blogger. He is the widower of Victorian Senator Kimberley Kitching.
Early life and business career
Landeryou is the son of Bill Landeryou, a former Leader of the O ...
, in what he described as "the first time a non-Left president had won for many, many years".[
Tudge was one of seven Liberal MPs in the 46th Parliament of Australia who have obtained degrees at an Oxbridge or ]Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...
university, the others being Josh Frydenberg
Joshua Anthony Frydenberg () (born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a member of parliament (MP) for the divisi ...
, Angus Taylor, Andrew Laming
Andrew Charles Laming (born 30 September 1966) is a former Australian politician who was a member of the House of Representatives representing the Division of Bowman, Queensland, for the Liberal National Party of Queensland from 2004 to 2022. H ...
, Dave Sharma
Devanand Noel "Dave" Sharma (born 21 December 1975) is an Australian former politician and former public servant and diplomat who served as member of parliament for Wentworth from 2019 to 2022. He lost the seat at the 2022 election to indep ...
, Greg Hunt
Gregory Andrew Hunt (born 18 November 1965) is a former Australian politician who was the Minister for Health between January 2017 and May 2022. He was a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives between November 2001 and 2022, rep ...
and Paul Fletcher.
Career
Tudge worked as a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three largest management consulting firms by re ...
(BCG) from 1996 to 2001.[ He was initially based in Melbourne and later in New York, and during this time completed a ]Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
(MBA) at Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
.[ He was also seconded to indigenous leader ]Noel Pearson
Noel or Noël may refer to:
Christmas
* , French for Christmas
* Noel is another name for a Christmas carol
Places
* Noel, Missouri, United States, a city
* Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community
* 1563 Noël, an asteroid
*Mount Noel, Briti ...
's Cape York Institute through Jawun
Jawun (formerly named Indigenous Enterprise Partnerships) is an Australian, non-profit organisation which manages secondments from the corporate and public sectors to a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partner organisations in urba ...
, as the organisation's first corporate secondee.
In 2002, Tudge became a senior adviser to federal education minister Brendan Nelson
Brendan John Nelson (born 19 August 1958) is a business leader and former Australian politician. He served as the federal Leader of the Opposition from 2007 to 2008, going on to serve as Australia's senior diplomat to the European Union and NA ...
. He later worked for foreign minister Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United King ...
.[ Tudge later rejoined the Cape York Institute as deputy director from 2006 to 2009.][ He was a founding board member of Teach For Australia, established in 2009 by his former BCG colleague Melodie Potts Rosevear. He subsequently ran his own policy advisory firm from 2009 until his election to parliament.
]
Political career
Tudge joined the Liberal Party in 2002 and was the convenor of its Education Policy Forum.[ In September 2009, he won ]preselection
Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...
for the Division of Aston
The Division of Aston is an Australian Federal Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. The division is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, coextensive with the City of Knox local government area. The suburbs in the division incl ...
as one of 11 candidates, defeating Neil Angus on the final ballot. He retained Aston for the Liberals at the 2010 federal election, succeeding the retiring MP Chris Pearce.
Abbott government (2013–2015)
Following the 2013 federal election and the formation of the Abbott Ministry, Tudge was appointed as parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Abbott was born in Londo ...
. On the day of the 2015 leadership spill which saw Abbott replaced by Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Turnbull grad ...
, he publicly described himself as "a very strong supporter of the prime minister". He was nonetheless retained as assistant minister to Turnbull and also made an assistant minister to social services minister Christian Porter
Charles Christian Porter (born 11 July 1970) is an Australian former politician and lawyer who served as the 37th Attorney-General of Australia from 2017 to 2021 in the Turnbull government and the subsequent Morrison government. He was a Me ...
.[
]
Turnbull government (2015–2018)
In February 2016 Tudge was appointed Minister for Human Services in the Turnbull Government. He oversaw the implementation of the Cashless Welfare Card
The Cashless Welfare Card, also known as the Indue Card, Healthy Welfare Card or Cashless Debit Card, is an Australian debit card, trialled by the Australian Government from 2016 onwards, which quarantines income for people on certain income supp ...
, a scheme by which 80% of welfare payments are placed on a debit card. Following a cabinet reshuffle, Tudge was appointed Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs in December 2017.[ During the 2018 Liberal leadership spills, he was one of a number of ministers to tender their resignation to Turnbull; however, his was not immediately accepted. He reportedly voted for ]Peter Dutton
Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician who has been leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the House of Representatives sinc ...
against Scott Morrison
Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for th ...
in the second vote.
Morrison government (2018–present)
Tudge was retained in the First Morrison Ministry as Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population.[ He stated his support for a " Bigger Australia". After the 2019 election he was elevated to cabinet.][ In December 2019 he was additionally appointed as the acting , due to ]David Coleman
David Robert Coleman OBE (26 April 1926 – 21 December 2013) was a British sports commentator and television presenter who worked for the BBC for 46 years. He covered eleven Summer Olympic Games from 1960 to 2000 and six FIFA World Cups from ...
taking indefinite leave. Tudge was appointed Minister for Education and Youth
In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Education administers the Department of Education. The position is held by Labor MP Jason Clare, following the Australian federal election in 2022.
Portfolio scope
The Minister is responsible fo ...
in December 2020, replacing Dan Tehan as part of a cabinet reshuffle caused by the retirement of Mathias Cormann
Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann (; ; born 20 September 1970) is a Belgian-born Australian politician and diplomat who currently serves as Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), having assumed the off ...
.[
Tudge is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party.
]
Controversies
In June 2017 Tudge, and Liberal Party colleagues Greg Hunt
Gregory Andrew Hunt (born 18 November 1965) is a former Australian politician who was the Minister for Health between January 2017 and May 2022. He was a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives between November 2001 and 2022, rep ...
and Michael Sukkar
Michael Sven Sukkar (born 11 September 1981) is an Australian politician who served as the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Housing from 2019, and as the Minister for Homelessness, Social and Community Housing from 2020. He lost his minis ...
, faced the possibility of being prosecuted for contempt of court after they made public statements criticising the sentencing decisions of two senior judges while the government was awaiting their ruling on a related appeal. They avoided prosecution by, eventually, making an unconditional apology to the Victorian Court of Appeal. Conviction could have resulted in their expulsion from the parliament under Constitution s 44(ii) and, as a result, the government losing its one-seat majority in the House of Representatives.
In March 2020, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is an Australian tribunal that conducts independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT review decisions made by Australian Gover ...
ordered that an Afghan asylum seeker who had previously been a part of the Afghan National Army be granted a temporary protection visa
A Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) is an Australian visa category issued to persons who had been recognised as refugees fleeing persecution. TPVs are issued to persons who apply for refugee status after making an unauthorised arrival in Australia, ...
. Tudge, who was Acting Immigration Minister at the time, instantly appealed against the AAT's decision in the Federal Court, which failed. However, during the 6-day appeal process, the asylum seeker had been kept in the detention centre. Six months later, the Federal Court found that Tudge had "engaged in conduct which can only be described as criminal" and had deprived the asylum seeker of his liberty, which has prompted calls for Tudge's resignation. That decision was itself set aside on appeal, and the matter referred back to a differently constituted sitting of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal
Affair and bullying allegations
In November 2020, Tudge's former press secretary Rachelle Miller revealed on a broadcast of '' Four Corners'' that they had engaged in an affair. Tudge subsequently released a statement on Facebook confirming the affair and that it led to the end of his marriage.[ In the same broadcast, Miller described Tudge's opposition to same-sex marriage, based on his support for "traditional" marriage, as hypocritical.][ She later also accused him of bullying and intimidation, saying in a complaint: "He would often ask me to go to dinner or drinks at the end of a long day on the road. I often felt like I didn’t have much choice or couldn’t say no because he was my boss". After further allegations of abuse by Miller in December 2021, Tudge stood aside from the ministry on 2 December while the claims were investigated. In March 2022, the review cleared Tudge of breaking any rules. Despite the review being in his favour, Tudge decided not to return to the cabinet and said he would resign formally as minister. He claimed that the decision was "in the interests of his family and his own well-being and in order to focus on his re-election as the Member for Aston". However, it was confirmed in April 2022 that Tudge had retained his ministerial title, but was officially "on leave".]
Election results
Personal life
Tudge and his wife, Teri Etchells, had three children. Their 20-year relationship ended in 2017, a year after the birth of their third child,[ as a result of Tudge's extramarital affair.]
References
External links
Alan Tudge they vote for YOU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tudge, Alan
1971 births
Living people
People educated at Haileybury (Melbourne)
Abbott Government
Turnbull Government
Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Aston
Harvard Business School alumni
21st-century Australian politicians
Melbourne Law School alumni
Government ministers of Australia
People from Melbourne
People who lost British citizenship
People with acquired British citizenship
Australian people of English descent
Australian people of Scottish descent
Australian people of Canadian descent
Morrison Government
Australian management consultants