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Mitchell Peter Fifield (born 16 January 1967) is the
Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the Permanent Mission of the Commonwealth of Australia to the United Nations ...
. He is a former Australian politician who 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
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
from 2004 to 2019, representing 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
. He was a government minister in the Abbott, Turnbull, and
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 ...
s, serving as Assistant Minister for Social Services (2013–2015),
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 ...
(2013–2015), Minister for Communications (2015–2019), and Minister for the Arts (2015–2019).


Early life and education

Fifield was born in Sydney, the son of two bank employees, and was educated at Barker College and the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. Between 1985 and 1987, Fifield served for three years in the
Australian Army Reserve The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...
Psychology Corps. Between 1988 and 1992, Fifield was a Senior Research Officer for the NSW Minister for Transport and Sydney's Olympic Bid,
Bruce Baird Bruce George Baird, AM (born 28 February 1942), is a former Australian politician whose career included a stint as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in New South Wales. Early life Baird was born in Sydney, and was educated at the University ...
; a Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industrial Relations' Policy Adviser, National's MP John Anderson during 1992; a Senior Policy Adviser to the Victorian Minister for Transport, Alan Brown from 1992 to 1996; and Senior Political Adviser to the Federal Treasurer,
Peter Costello Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian businessman, lawyer and former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia in government of John Howard from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving treasurer in Austral ...
, from 1996 to 2003. Since 1996, Fifield held a number of Liberal Party positions, including being a delegate to the Liberal Party Victorian State Council, since 1996; a delegate to the Liberal Party Policy Assembly, in 1996 and since 2004; a delegate to the Liberal Party Goldstein Electorate Council, between 1995 and 2003.


Parliamentary career

On 31 March 2004, Fifield was appointed by the
Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly an ...
under section 15 of the
Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the A ...
to fill the
casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disquali ...
in the Australian Senate caused by the resignation in February 2004 of Richard Alston. Fifield was re-elected at the
2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not ...
. After the 2010 election, Fifield was appointed the Shadow Minister for Disabilities, Carers and the Voluntary Sector and Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate. Throughout his political career, Fifield has been an advocate of
voluntary student unionism Voluntary student unionism (VSU), as it is known in Australia, or voluntary student membership (VSM), as it is known in New Zealand, is a policy under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations i ...
, as well as allowing women to serve on the front lines of the
Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...
. Along with
Andrew Robb Andrew John Robb (born 20 August 1951) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2016, representing the Liberal Party. He served as Minister for Trade and Investment (2013–2016) in the ...
, he is the co-publisher of ''The Party Room'', a journal designed to promote new policy discussion within the Federal Coalition. Fifield has opposed federal money being spent on
cycling infrastructure Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except w ...
, and objected to part of the Rudd Government's $42 billion stimulus package being used for new cycleways and home insulation: "I don't think Bradford batts and bike paths is serious economic infrastructure. Call me crazy, but I don't think it is." Following the 2013 federal election Fifield was appointed to the Abbott Ministry as the Assistant Minister for Social Services and the Manager of Government Business in the Senate. Fifield replaced the 29th
Australian Prime Minister The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the princi ...
,
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 ...
, as Minister for Communications, in September 2015. He is currently deeply embroiled in a major Australian political controversy concerning his knowledge of police raids on his Opposition counterpart, Senator
Stephen Conroy Stephen Michael Conroy (born 18 January 1963) is an Australian former politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Senate from 1996 to 2016, representing the state of Victoria. He served as a minister in the Rudd and Gillard go ...
in the course of an election campaign, over leaks about alleged failures of the current
Australian Prime Minister The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the princi ...
with respect to shortcomings of Australian internet infrastructure when Malcolm Turnbull was Minister for the same portfolio. Fifield offered his resignation from the frontbench on 22 August 2018, during the events of the Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill. On 28 August he was reappointed to the same portfolio by Turnbull's successor, Scott Morrison.


Permanent Representative to the United Nations

In May 2019, following the Coalition's victory at the 2019 federal election, it was announced that Fifield would be appointed to succeed
Gillian Bird Gillian Elizabeth Bird (born in Adelaide) has served as Australia's Ambassador to France since November 2020. Bird concurrently serves as Australia's non-resident Ambassador to Algeria, Mauritania, and Monaco. She is a former Permanent Repre ...
as
Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the Permanent Mission of the Commonwealth of Australia to the United Nations ...
. He stepped down from cabinet as a result, and resigned from the Senate on 16 August 2019. On 8 September, the Liberal Party preselected Sarah Henderson, the former MP for Corangamite to be appointed to fill the casual vacancy. Fifield was appointed on 17 October 2019, replacing
Gillian Bird Gillian Elizabeth Bird (born in Adelaide) has served as Australia's Ambassador to France since November 2020. Bird concurrently serves as Australia's non-resident Ambassador to Algeria, Mauritania, and Monaco. She is a former Permanent Repre ...
as the new Permanent Representative of Australia to the UN, and presented his credentials to the UN Secretary‑General
António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Soci ...
on 22 October 2019.


Controversy

Fifield was accused of " mansplaining" by the Australian senator
Katy Gallagher Katherine Ruth Gallagher (born 18 March 1970) is an Australian politician who has been serving as the Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Minister for the Public Service and Vice-President of the Executive Council in the Albanese Gover ...
during a debate in a Senate committee hearing regarding social services legislation, which subsequently went viral. Fifield responded, claiming it was hypocritical and sexist to reduce an opponent's statement based on gender. The resulting argument lasted several minutes with both parties accusing the other of inappropriate language unfit for public office. Ultimately, Fifield posited the use of a phrase "womansplaining" in the same context, to which Gallagher replied that mansplaining was "a term that's used".


References


External links


Mitch Fifield's Senate HomepageDetails of Fifield's push for Australia to become a republicSummary of parliamentary voting for Senator Mitch Fifield on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fifield, Mitch 1967 births Abbott Government Government ministers of Australia Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Members of the Cabinet of Australia People educated at Barker College Turnbull Government University of Sydney alumni 21st-century Australian politicians Morrison Government Permanent Representatives of Australia to the United Nations