Craig Arthur Samuel Laundy (born 16 February 1971) is a former Australian

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politician who served as

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for

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from

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until his retirement in 2019. He served as Minister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace and Deregulation in the Second Turnbull Ministry, before resigning in August 2018 following the ousting of

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 Prime Minister. On 15 March 2019, Laundy announced he would retire from politics at the 2019 federal election.

Early years and background

Laundy is the son of

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baron Arthur Laundy and his ex-wife Margaret. The family owns more than 30 pubs across

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Craig was born in Sydney and educated at St Patrick's College, , St Joseph's College, , and the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Economics. Prior to his election to parliament at the 2013 federal election, Laundy worked in the family hotel business.

Political career

Laundy served as the Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs between February and July 2016 following a rearrangement in the

First Turnbull Ministry The first Turnbull ministry (Liberal– National Coalition) was the 69th ministry of the Government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. It succeeded the Abbott ministry after a leadership spill that took place on 14 Septembe ...

and served as the Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science between July 2016 and December 2017 in the Second Turnbull Ministry. Following a subsequent rearrangement of the ministry in December 2017, he was appointed as the Minister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace and Deregulation. He resigned from the position in August 2018 following the election of

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in a Liberal Party

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Fringe benefits tax

As a candidate during the 2013 federal election campaign, Laundy argued that the removal of the fringe benefits tax concession on motor vehicles would be ''"another kick in the pants to Australia's automotive industry."''

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

In January 2014, public broadcaster, the

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received criticism from senior members of the Coalition government, including the Defence Minister,

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, and the Prime Minister

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...

, who said that he feels that sometimes the ABC acts in a way that "instinctively takes everyone's side but Australia's." Laundy defended the ABC, responding that he does not defend their content, but their right to "say what they want." He said that "the beauty of living in a democracy is that if you don't like what you're hearing, what you're watching, or what you're looking at on the internet, choose another channel." He also said that it is not the role of the ABC to be patriotic.

Racial discrimination

In March 2014, the

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George Brandis George Henry Brandis (born 22 June 1957) is a former Australian politician. He was a Senator for Queensland from 2000 to 2018, representing the Liberal Party, and was a cabinet minister in the Abbott and Turnbull governments. He was later ...

proposed draft legislative amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act, 1975, seeking to remove sections that made it unlawful ''"to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people"'' on the basis of their ''"race, colour or national or ethnic origin."'' Laundy, a

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backbencher at the time, spoke out against the changes, saying that it was ''"important that we support a legislative system that reflects the diverse and multicultural country that modern Australia has become today."'' The changes were dropped after widespread public outrage, and opposition from some Liberal backbenchers, including Laundy,

Phillip Ruddock Philip Maxwell Ruddock (born 12 March 1943 in Canberra) is an Australian politician and the current mayor of Hornsby Shire. Ruddock is a member of the Liberal Party of Australia and currently the state president of the party's New South ...

, and

Ken Wyatt Kenneth George Wyatt (born 4 August 1952) is a former Australian politician who was a member of the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2022, representing the Division of Hasluck for the Liberal Party. He is the first Indigenous Australian el ...

, an

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Member of Parliament. On 3 October 2014, Laundy joined with

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MPs

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, Anthony Albanese, and

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in supporting the #NotinMyName campaign, which condemns racism, hatred, and bigotry.

Palestine

Laundy is co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine Group. On 5 June 2014, the Abbott Government announced the term ''"occupied"'' would no longer be used to describe East Jerusalem. Laundy publicly opposed the shift in language, saying that the area was occupied by armed Israeli forces.

Same-sex marriage

Laundy does not support same-sex marriage, but had previously supported a conscience vote on the issue. In September 2014, he declared that he no longer supported a free vote. After his constituency voted in favour of same-sex marriage in 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 ...

, Laundy voted for the

Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 The ''Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, which legalises same-sex marriage in Australia by amending the '' Marriage Act 1961'' to allow marriage between two persons o ...

, which legalised same-sex marriage in Australia. In 2015, pro same-sex marriage activists sent unmarked letters filled with glitter to the offices of several Federal Coalition MPs. Laundy's office was briefly locked down until police determined the packages were harmless, and the activist group

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issued an official apology for the stunt. Laundy labelled it a grossly irresponsible act, noting that to "send any undeclared substance through the mail to the office of a Member of Parliament will inevitably cause alarm".

Refugee intake

In 2015 Laundy was shown photographs of a dead Syrian toddler fleeing the Syrian civil war by his daughter at the dinner table, which brought him and the rest of his family to tears. Moved by the images and the unfolding crisis, Laundy called the Ministers for Foreign Affairs,

Julie Bishop Julie Isabel Bishop (born 17 July 1956) is an Australian former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2007 to 2018. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Curtin ...

, and Immigration and Border Protection,

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 ...

, canvassing an increase in the humanitarian refugee intake by Australia, especially in relation to refugees from Syria. Speaking to the media afterwards about the decision to seek asylum in the face of intense suffering and persecution, Laundy drew parallels between refugees and all of humanity, saying: ''"There but for the grace of God go any of us. Put yourself in the position of those people and tell me you wouldn’t do the same."'' Laundy was subsequently appointed as the Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs.

Personal Life

Laundy has a brother, named Stuart, and the two are a part of the Laundy family which owns several pubs and hotels. Stuart appeared on the third season of the Australian version of

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, which he won.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laundy, Craig 1971 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Politicians from Sydney University of New South Wales alumni Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Reid Members of the Australian House of Representatives Turnbull Government 21st-century Australian politicians Government ministers of Australia