Robert Andrew Simms (born 26 March 1984) is an Australian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, representing the

Greens South Australia Australian Greens SA is a green political party located in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a member of the federation of the Australian Greens party. The party has four members in the federal and state parliaments: Sarah Hanson-Yo ...

. He was 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 South Australia from 2015 to 2016, an Area

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

for the

City of Adelaide The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of South ...

from 2014 to 2015 and from 2018 to 2021. Since May 2021, he has been a member of the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly. It sits in Parli ...

Early life

Simms was born on 26 March 1984 in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, England, the son of an English father and Australian mother originally from

Broken Hill, New South Wales Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

. The family moved to Australia in 1987 and settled in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

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 ...

. Simms attended primary school in

Flagstaff Hill Flagstaff Hill usually refers to a hill on which a flag was erected. It may refer to: Place names Australia * Flagstaff Hill, near Linton, Victoria * Flagstaff Hill, Melbourne, a hill in the historic Flagstaff Gardens, Melbourne * Flagstaff Hill, S ...

before going on to

Aberfoyle Park High School Aberfoyle Park High School is a large state school, public secondary schools in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Its facilities include the Community Library, Performing Arts Centre, Gymnasium, and the Informati ...

, where he was a member of the debating club and served on the student council. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Honours), a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in politics and sociology) and a Graduate Certificate in Journalism. he was partway through a PhD in political philosophy at

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

where he has also taught in the politics department. In 2008 Simms was admitted as a barrister and solicitor. He has worked in the community sector as a policy advocate, serving on the boards of a number of community organisations including the Youth Affairs Council and

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

Council of South Australia. He has also worked as a radio journalist and freelance writer.

Political career

Early career

Simms stood as a candidate for the

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Australia ...

in the seat of Boothby at the 2004 federal election. He later stood for the Greens in

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

at the 2010 state election, and

in the 2014 state election. He was elected as an Adelaide councillor in 2014 and was a co-convenor of the

SA Greens Australian Greens SA is a green political party located in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a member of the federation of the Australian Greens party. The party has four members in the federal and state parliaments: Sarah Hanson-Y ...

in 2015. He resigned from the Council on 8 September 2015 to fill the vacancy caused by Penny Wright's resignation from the Senate.

Senate career

Simms was a Greens member of the

Senate 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 ...

, representing the state of

, from 22 September 2015 until his defeat at the 2016 election. Until the appointment of James Paterson to the Senate in March 2016, he was the youngest serving senator and the second-youngest sitting MP (after Wyatt Roy). As a senator, Simms was the Greens parliamentary spokesperson on higher education, LGBT rights and marriage equality—portfolios previously held by Senators

Lee Rhiannon Lee Rhiannon (formerly O'Gorman, ''née'' Brown; born 30 May 1951) is a former Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales between July 2011 and August 2018. She was elected at the 2010 federal election, representing the Austr ...

and

Janet Rice Janet Elizabeth Rice (born 18 November 1960) is an Australian politician, member of the Australian Greens, former councillor and mayor of Maribyrnong, environmentalist, facilitator and one of the founding members of the Victorian Greens. Early ...

. Simms was one of five openly-LGBTI members in the Parliament of Australia and supports marriage equality in Australia.

State politics and return to city council

After his defeat in 2016, Simms was the Greens' candidate for Adelaide again at the 2018 state election, and received 12.6% of the first preference votes (third of four candidates). He was re-elected to City of Adelaide Council in 2018. In 2021, he resigned from council for the second time, to fill a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of

Mark Parnell Mark Charles Parnell (born 9 September 1959) is an Australian former politician and parliamentary leader of the SA Greens in the South Australian Legislative Council. He was the first SA Greens representative to be elected to the Parliament of ...

. Simms' previous resignation from Adelaide Council was to fill a casual vacancy in the Senate, caused by the resignation of Parnell's wife, Penny Wright.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Robert 1984 births Living people Australian barristers South Australian local councillors Australian republicans Flinders University faculty Flinders University alumni Gay politicians Australian gay writers Australian Greens members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Australian Greens members of the Parliament of South Australia LGBT legislators in Australia English emigrants to Australia 21st-century Australian politicians