Jonathon Duniam (born 31 December 1982) 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 served as a
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
for
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
since the
2016 federal election. He served as an
assistant 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 until May 2022, following the appointment of the
Albanese ministry. Prior to entering parliament Duniam was a political staffer, including as deputy chief of staff to Tasmanian premier
Will Hodgman
William Edward Felix Hodgman (born 20 April 1969) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who has been the High Commissioner of Australia to Singapore since February 2021. He was the 45th Premier of Tasmania and a member for the Division ...
.
Early life
Duniam was born on 31 December 1982 in
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...
.
He is the son of Mary (née Graham) and Roy Duniam, and is a sixth-generation Tasmanian.
His mother has served on the
Waratah-Wynyard Council, including as deputy mayor.
His maternal grandmother Iris Graham was the first woman elected to the
Burnie City Council
Burnie City Council (or City of Burnie) is a Local government in Australia, local government body in Tasmania, located in the city and surrounds of Burnie, Tasmania, Burnie in the north-west of the state. The Burnie local government area is cl ...
and an
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
(ALP) candidate for the
Tasmanian Legislative Council
The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, H ...
, although she later left the party. His mother's uncle
Bob Graham
Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham (born November 9, 1936) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States senator from Florida from 1987 to 2005. He is a member of the Dem ...
was an ALP state government minister.
Duniam grew up in
Somerset, Tasmania
Somerset is a small township to the west of Burnie, Tasmania, Australia, which shares its name with the County of Somerset, England, UK. Today the city of Burnie encompasses the entire Burnie-Somerset urban area; however, the town is part of t ...
, attending Stella Maris Catholic Primary School and
Marist Regional College
Marist Regional College is a Roman Catholic, co-educational, secondary school, located in Parklands, a suburb of Burnie, Tasmania, Australia.
Marist Regional College is part of the Marist Schools Australia MSA network of catholic high schoo ...
in
Burnie
Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. When founded in 1827, it was named Emu Bay, being renamed after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, in the early 1840s.
, Burnie had an urban popul ...
.
[ He holds 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 years ...
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 Chi ...
from the University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...
, but has never practised as a lawyer. In 2017 it was reported that his "only job outside of politics has been frying chicken at KFC as a teenager".[
]
Politics
Duniam joined the Liberal Party in 2001 and worked as a political staffer for over a decade prior to entering parliament. He worked as an electorate officer to Senator Paul Calvert (2003–2005), adviser to Senator Eric Abetz
Eric Abetz (born 25 January 1958) is a former Australian politician who was a Senator for Tasmania from 1994 to 2022, representing the Liberal Party. He was the Minister for Employment and the Leader of the Government in the Senate in the Abbo ...
(2005–2009), chief of staff to Senator Stephen Parry (2009–2010), and deputy chief of staff to state leader Will Hodgman
William Edward Felix Hodgman (born 20 April 1969) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who has been the High Commissioner of Australia to Singapore since February 2021. He was the 45th Premier of Tasmania and a member for the Division ...
(2010–2016). Duniam also served as president of the University of Tasmania Liberal Club
The University of Tasmania Liberal Club (TULC) is a politically affiliated club based at the University of Tasmania. The club is closely tied with the Liberal Party of Australia and at times through its history has been a constitutional branch of ...
, as well as holding various party offices.
Parliament
In April 2016, Duniam was preselected in third position on the Liberal Party's Senate ticket for the 2016 federal election, ahead of incumbents David Bushby
David Christopher Bushby (born 17 July 1965) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as a Senator for Tasmania from August 2007 to January 2019, representing the Liberal Party. He was the Chief Government Whip in the Senate f ...
and Richard Colbeck
Richard Mansell Colbeck (born 5 April 1958) is an Australian politician. He has been a Senator for Tasmania since 2018, representing the Liberal Party, and served a previous term in the Senate from 2002 to 2016. Colbeck served as the Minister f ...
. He resigned his position with Hodgman the following month. Despite a double dissolution
A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolution ...
resulting in twice as many seats being vacant, he was the only new Tasmanian senator to win election in 2016.
Duniam served on various Senate committees before being appointed Deputy Government Whip in the Senate in February 2019. After the Coalition's victory at the 2019 federal election, he was appointed Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries and Assistant Minister for Regional Tourism in the Second Morrison Ministry. He relinquished the latter portfolio in December 2020 and was instead made Assistant Minister for Industry Development. He was also made Deputy Manager of Government Business in the Senate
In the Parliament of Australia, the Manager of Government Business in the Senate is a government member, usually a minister, whose responsibilities include negotiating with the Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate regarding proceedings ...
and held both positions until May 2022, following the appointment of the Albanese ministry.
In April 2021, while being interviewed by Rita Panahi
Rita Panahi (born 3 March 1976) is an American-born Australian right-wing opinion columnist. She works for ''The Herald and Weekly Times (HWT)'', a subsidiary of News Corp Australia and is the host of ''The Rita Panahi Show'' and ''The Friday S ...
on Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...
, Duniam claimed that Greens senator, Sarah Hanson-Young
Sarah Coral Hanson-Young (née Hanson; born 23 December 1981) is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for South Australia since July 2008, representing the Australian Greens. She is a graduate of the WEF young global leaders program. ...
, had exposed her young niece to danger by involving her in an environmental protest at a logging work site. The claim was false and Duniam apologised to Hanson-Young. Sky News agreed to pay $40,000, plus legal costs, to settle a defamation action brought by Hanson-Young.
In May 2021, Duniam defeated Eric Abetz for the first position on the Liberal Senate ticket in Tasmania at the 2022 federal election.
Political views
Duniam is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party.
In 2016, Duniam was reported as personally opposed to same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
but supportive of a referendum on the issue. During the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey
The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was a national survey designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia. The survey was held via the postal service between 12 September and 7 November 2017. Unlike voting in e ...
, he stated that he would vote "in accordance with the majority view of the public", subsequently voting in favour of the ''''.
During the 2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills
Leadership spills of the federal parliamentary leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia were held on 21 and 24 August 2018 and were called by the incumbent leader of the party, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
It has been nicknamed "spill ...
, Duniam refused to state whether he voted for incumbent prime minister 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 ...
or challenger 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 ...
in the first vote. In the second vote days later, he reportedly voted for Dutton 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 t ...
, with the latter emerging successful.
Personal life
Duniam had three children with his wife Anisa, whom he met at university, and lived on a "small acreage outside of Hobart". They started a child care centre in Hobart in 2016. His father-in-law Zekri Palushi is an Albanian cardiologist who sought asylum in Australia due to his political activities.[ His wife is related to other prominent Albanian anti-communists, including Catholic martyr Fran Mirakaj.][
Duniam is a Christian and attends the Mount Stuart Presbyterian Church in Hobart.][
]
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duniam, Jonathon
1982 births
Living people
Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
Members of the Australian Senate
Members of the Australian Senate for Tasmania
University of Tasmania alumni
21st-century Australian politicians
People from Burnie, Tasmania