James William Stevens (born 27 March 1983) is 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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member of the
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia.
The term of members o ...
for the
Division of Sturt
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Mathematics
* Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
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in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. He was elected in the
2019 Australian federal election, replacing the retiring Liberal member,
Christopher Pyne. Stevens previously served as the Chief of Staff to
Steven Marshall, the
Premier of South Australia
The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...
, and prior to that as the General Manager of
Michell Australia.
Early life and education
James Stevens was born on 27 March 1983 in
Rose Park, South Australia
Rose Park is a suburb with a population of 1,374 in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. It is located east of Adelaide's central business district. Rose Park is a leafy, tree-lined and wealthy inner suburb containing a number of his ...
.
Stevens attended
Canberra Grammar School before completing school at
St Peters College, Adelaide. He gained a Bachelor of Commerce and Master of International Trade and Development at the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
.
Career before politics
Stevens worked for
Michell Wool, including as Commercial Manager and General Manager.
Political life
From July 2004 to July 2006 Stevens served as President of the
South Australian Young Liberal Movement
The Young Liberal Movement of Australia, commonly referred to as the Young Liberals, is the youth movement of the Liberal Party of Australia representing members aged 16 to 31. It is organised as a federation with each state and territory divisi ...
. In 2005 he ran for the position of Federal Young Liberal President but was defeated by
Alex Hawke
Alexander George Hawke (born 9 July 1977) is an Australian politician who served as Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs from 2020 to 2022 in the Morrison Government. Hawke has served as Member of ...
.
Stevens was elected Campaign Coordinator for the
South Australian Liberal Party in August 2006, serving in the role for two years.
Stevens had worked for
Christopher Pyne, and became chief of staff to
Steven Marshall in February 2013 upon Marshall being elected the new
Leader of the Opposition in state government. He had previously been campaign manager for Marshall's successful entry into state politics in the
2010 election, defeating Labor incumbent
Vini Ciccarello
Vincenzina "Vini" Ciccarello (born 1947) is a former Australian Labor Party MP for the electoral district of Norwood in South Australia. She was also the mayor of the City of Kensington and Norwood for seven years.
Ciccarello first won the sea ...
in the seat of
Norwood.
Stevens also served as the president of the Liberal Party in the
Dunstan State Electorate Council from 2012 to 2016 and
Sturt Federal Electorate Council from 2016 to 2019.
From 2013 to 2018, Stevens served as the chief of staff to the leader of the parliamentary Liberal Party of South Australia.
Steven was appointed the chief of staff to the South Australian Premier Steven Marshall from 2018 to 2019.
He oversaw the adoption by the party of
data mining software in the lead-up to the
2018 South Australian state election.
Stevens was elected to 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 ...
for Sturt in South Australia in 2019,
replacing Christopher Pyne, who announced in March 2019 that he would retire from politics.
Stevens is a member of the
Moderate faction of the Liberal Party.
In 2022, Stevens fell asleep in his office and failed to turn up to vote on the Religious Discrimination Bill. He denied claims that he had soiled himself as something that "patently did not happen".
At the 2022 Federal Election, Stevens suffered a swing of 7.4% against him. He managed to retain the seat by a slim margin of 0.5%.
Recognition
In June 2013, ''
The Advertiser'' newspaper listed Stevens as one of the 50 Most Influential South Australians.
Personal life
Stevens is dating Alex May, the current State Director of the Liberal Party in South Australia and former Deputy Chief of Staff to Premier Steven Marshall.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, James
Living people
1983 births
University of Adelaide alumni
People educated at Canberra Grammar School
People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide
Liberal Party of Australia politicians
Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Sturt
University of South Australia alumni
21st-century Australian politicians