Stephen Patrick Hutchins (22 April 1956 – 24 November 2017) was an Australian politician and a member of the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. There are a t ...

for the state of

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 ...

(NSW) between October 1998 and June 2011, representing the

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 t ...

Early life and career

Hutchins was born in Sydney. He worked as a

forklift A forklift (also called lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various ...

driver and waste collector before attending 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 in arts, and then

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

, where he was part of the university's

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

education programme. He was an official with the Transport Workers' Union from 1980 and was Federal President of the union from 1993 to 1998. He was a member of the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and l ...

Executive from 1996 to 1998. On 14 October 1998 Hutchins was elected as a senator for

. He was elected again in 2004 but defeated in 2010, his term ending in 2011.

Family and personal life

His first marriage was to New South Wales State Member for

Mulgoa Mulgoa is a village, located in the local government area of the City of Penrith, in the region of western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mulgoa is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district. Mulgo ...

, Diane Beamer. His second marriage was to Natalie Sykes, who later became a Victorian state minister. Hutchins died on 24 November 2017, aged 61.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchins, Steve 1956 births 2017 deaths Harvard University alumni Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Right politicians Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Spouses of Australian politicians 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians People educated at De La Salle College, Cronulla