Jordon Alexander Steele-John (born 14 October 1994) is an Australian politician and

disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocat ...

advocate. He is a member of the Australian Senate as a representative of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, and is a member of the Australian Greens party. Steele-John was born in Northampton, England, but emigrated to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

as a child. He began his political career in 2013, and was elected by declaration to the Senate in 2017, at age 23, making him the youngest senator in Australia's history. Steele-John is an advocate and supporter of disability rights and LGBT rights who has campaigned extensively in the disability, health and peace spaces.

Early life and career

Born in the United Kingdom, Steele-John migrated as a child to Australia with his parents. He and his brother were home-educated. Steele-John is a disability advocate who, as a student, campaigned for the Greens in both federal and state elections. He was an active member in the

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...

federal electorate’s Greens group. Steele-John studied politics at Macquarie University by correspondence. However, his sudden unexpected appointment to the senate cut short his undergraduate studies. Steele-John uses a wheelchair due to

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sens ...

. Steele-John renounced British citizenship at age eighteen in preparation for the 2013 federal election, and currently only holds only Australian citizenship.

Political career

Prior to being listed as third senate candidate for the Greens in the 2016 federal election (behind Scott Ludlam and

Rachel Siewert Rachel Mary Siewert (born 4 November 1961) is an Australian politician. She was a senator for Western Australia from 2005 to 2021, representing the Australian Greens, and served as the party's co-deputy leader from 2017 to 2018. She previously w ...

), Steele-John had been a candidate for the WA Greens three times. He was a candidate in the March 2013 state election in the electorate of Warnbro (receiving 8.8% primary vote), the September 2013 federal election in the electorate of Fremantle (receiving 11.9% primary vote) and in the April 2014 special half-senate election which followed the result of the 2013 election being voided by the

Court of Disputed Returns The Court of Disputed Returns is a court, tribunal, or some other body that determines disputes about elections in some common law countries. The court may be known by another name such as the Court of Disputed Elections. In countries that derive ...

(as the fourth candidate on the Greens' list). Steele-John entered the Australian Senate after Western Australian senator Scott Ludlam was forced to resign when he was found to be a dual citizen and in contravention of

section 44 of the Australian Constitution Section 44 of the Australian Constitution lists the grounds for disqualification on who may become a candidate for election to the Parliament of Australia. It has generally arisen for consideration by the High Court sitting in its capacity as th ...

. On 27 October 2017, the High Court of Australia, sitting as the

, ordered the

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...

to conduct a recount of senate ballots in Western Australia, and Steele-John was declared elected at age twenty-three, making him the youngest sitting member in the Australian parliament and youngest senator. Steele-John was re-elected to the Senate at the 2019 federal election, securing 11.8% of the state's vote, with a swing of 1.48% in his favour. As the youngest person in the Senate, Steele-John has been engaged in the youth climate movement since its inception. He is passionate about addressing the climate crisis. Steele-John was named the McKinnon Emerging Political Leader of the Year in March 2019 for his leadership as a disability advocate. In 2021 he wrote an essay that appeared in the Growing Up Disabled in Australia anthology published by Black Inc Books.

Political positions

Disability Rights and Services

In February 2018, Steele-John called for a Royal Commission into

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

prisoner abuse Prisoner abuse is the mistreatment of persons while they are under arrest or incarcerated. Prisoner abuse can include physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, torture, or other acts such as refusal of essential medication. Physica ...

. In April 2018, Steele-John commented on Parliament House's need to become more wheelchair friendly. In 2019, Steele-John's campaigning successfully led to the establishment of the

Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability is a royal commission established on 4 April 2019 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902. The Honourable Ronald Sackv ...

. After years of raising the alarm that the confidentiality provisions in the Disability Royal Commission are insufficient, in 2021 he helped secure amendments that protect people making confidential disclosures to the Royal Commission. In 2020, Steele-John successfully campaigned for a compensation scheme for

thalidomide Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is a medication used to treat a number of cancers (including multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and a number of skin conditions including complications o ...

survivors, and in 2021 pressured the government to abolish independent assessments in the NDIS. He continues to campaign to increase the Disability Support Pension (DSP) and Carer Payment.

Health and Mental Health

In 2021, Steele-John took on the Australian Greens’ Health and Mental Health portfolio and announced the Greens’ policy to expand Medicare to cover mental health treatment.

Climate Action

Steele-John is a strong proponent for urgent climate action. In 2018, he introduced a Senate motion to condemn the lifting of the Western Australian fracking moratorium, which was unsuccessful.

Peace

In 2020, Steele-John introduced the Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of Overseas Service) Bill 2020, which seeks to ensure the decision to go to war is made by the Parliament, not the Prime Minister. An active anti-nuclear campaigner, Steele-John is a strong advocate for Australia's signing of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and to rethink the AUKUS alliance.

Video games

In February 2018, Steele-John expressed disappointment at the lack of government support for the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

video game development Video game development (or gamedev) is the process of developing a video game. The effort is undertaken by a developer, ranging from a single person to an international team dispersed across the globe. Development of traditional commercial PC ...

industry.

Voting age

In 2018, Steele-John introduced a bill to lower the

voting age A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain before they become eligible to vote in a public election. The most common voting age is 18 years; however, voting ages as low as 16 and as high as 25 currently exist ( ...

to sixteen. He argued that age would be in line with Austria, Argentina, Brazil and Scotland. The bill was not passed by parliament.

References

External links

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Profile
at TheyVoteForYou.org.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Steele-John, Jordon 1994 births Living people Australian Greens members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Members of the Australian Senate Australian disability rights activists Australian politicians with disabilities 21st-century Australian politicians People from Northampton Australian people of British descent