Benjamin Richard "Ben" Oquist is a policy analyst, commentator and political and communications strategist. Oquist was (2015 to 2022) the Executive Director of

The Australia Institute The Australia Institute is a left-wing public policy think tank based in Canberra, Australia. Since its launch in 1994, it has carried out research on a broad range of economic, social, and environmental issues. The institute has offices in Ca ...

, an independent Australian

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

conducting

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

research on a range of economic, social, transparency and environmental issues. In October 2018,

The Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

listed Oquist and Richard Denniss of

in equal tenth-place on their 'Covert Power' list of the most powerful people in Australia. In February 2022, Oquist was included in

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

's list of Australia’s top 100 Green Power Players. Oquist is also a regular commentator and guest on Agenda (Sky News Australia), '' The Drum'', and a regular column writer for outlets including

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

, ''

Guardian Australia ''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''The Guardian''. Available solely in an online format, the newspaper's launch was led by Katharine Viner in time for the 2013 Australian fed ...

'', ''

Crikey Crikey is an Australian electronic magazine comprising a website and email newsletter available to subscribers. Crikey was described by the former Federal Opposition Leader Mark Latham as the "most popular website in Parliament House" in '' T ...

'' and the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Career

A 15-year career with Greens leader

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasma ...

was broken briefly by a two-year stint with the public affairs company Essential Media Communications. Joining The

Australia Institute The Australia Institute is a left-wing public policy think tank based in Canberra, Australia. Since its launch in 1994, it has carried out research on a broad range of economic, social, and environmental issues. The institute has offices in Ca ...

in 2014, Oquist became Executive Director in 2015.

The Australian Greens

Oquist began working with the Australian Greens in 1996 for both

Dee Margetts Diane Elizabeth Margetts (born 5 March 1955), known as Dee Margetts, is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Senate from 1993 to 1999 and a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 2001 to 2005, re ...

and

. Brown has described Oquist as a "friend and confidant" but also as "a core factor in the Greens becoming the third-largest party in Australian politics". In a 2014 radio interview, Brown stated that Oquist's approach to strategy aligned with that of his own. Oquist was reported to have been favoured by Brown for preselection as Greens senator for NSW in 2003. Upon the resignation of Senator Bob Brown on 13 April 2012, Oquist became chief of staff for the new leader, Christine Milne. In September 2013, Oquist was implicated in an attempt to unseat the then leader of the Australian Greens, Christine Milne. It was reported that Oquist was motivated to attempt to remove Milne before she restructured the organisation to remove his influence. Senator Milne had described him as an adherent to a hierarchical administrative structure, citing this as the reason behind his subsequent departure from his role on the Greens staff. His subsequent commencement with the Australia Institute aligned him with the economist and then Executive Director of the Australia Institute Richard Denniss. Denniss was also an outspoken critic of Christine Milne and a former Australian Greens staffer. Oquist was widely sourced for comment on the occasion of the resignation of Christine Milne as leader of the Australian Greens in May 2015, where he praised her role as a climate leader.

The Australia Institute

Al Gore, Clive Palmer and carbon tax repeal

In July 2014 Oquist, at that time a strategy director of

, was named as a party to the meeting between former US Democratic presidential candidate

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

and

Clive Palmer Clive Frederick Palmer (born 26 March 1954) is an Australian businessman and politician. He has iron ore, nickel, and coal holdings. Palmer owns many businesses such as Mineralogy, Waratah Coal, Queensland Nickel at Townsville, the Palmer C ...

. The meeting was instrumental in a deal brokered between the leader of the Palmer United Party,

, and the federal government of Australia for the concessional repeal of the

carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions, which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more sev ...

. Oquist's role in the context of the repeal was widely reported to be one of pragmatism, driven by a focus on gaining support in particular for the mandated Renewable Energy Target which in 2014 was thought to be under imminent threat. Following the demise of the Palmer United Party senate voting block in 2014 the deal collapsed. However, the newly constituted Senate crossbench did not vote to repeal the RET. The Carbon Pricing Scheme was abolished on 17 July 2014. Oquist's role in these events remains controversial as Palmer stood to benefit financially from the repeal through his ownership of a coal refinery.

Personal

Oquist's engagement to Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young was announced on 15 February 2022. Their marriage was held at Lobethal Road Winery in the Adelaide Hills on the Saturday of the Easter long weekend.

References

External links

*
The Australia Institute website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oquist, Ben Australian political consultants Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)