Lumen Spring 2021 - Flipbook - Page 20
Senator Simon Birmingham
Leader of the Government in the Senate
Minister for Finance
Master of Business Administration (2008)
BELOW
Simon Birmingham
as seen in On Dit,
1994, in a story on
Student President
candidates.
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Senator Simon
Birmingham
in action in
parliament.
Image credit:
AUSPIC.
18
As a child, Simon Birmingham spent six years
living with his grandmother, Madge, a retired
school teacher and principal – and without her
influence in his life, it’s likely he would never have
entered into politics.
“We spent lots of time reading the newspapers
together, watching the news together and talking
about the events that were shaping the world and
our nation. Out of that grew a strong interest
in public policy and current affairs that carries
through to this day,” Senator Birmingham said.
In his later years as a Gawler High student, he
crossed paths with State and Federal Members
of Parliament and the local mayor. From those
encounters he developed a sense of civic duty.
“In those days, Gawler still had a strong flavour
of country town about it, and the ethos of
rural communities, with engagement in local
organisations and proximity to local leaders, was
significant.”
With those seeds being planted from an early
age, Birmingham entered into student politics
while studying Economics at the University
THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
of Adelaide. He was President of the Adelaide
University Liberal Club from 1993 to 1994 and
became a key member of the Young Liberals in
South Australia throughout most of the ’90s.
“I could take that interest in policy, events and
politics that had come about from those early
years with Nan, and see a practical pathway
to give effect to it, by virtue of those who were
serving the community in elected roles,” said
Senator Birmingham.
The call of political work proved so strong that
he left his university studies (later returning to
complete an MBA) to become an electorate
officer for Senator Robert Hill. After time as a
political staffer in both Federal and State politics,
and management roles with wine and hotel
industry bodies, Birmingham made the transition
into politics when he was elected to the Senate
in 2007 – becoming the youngest member of the
Senate at the time of his appointment.
Senator Birmingham has gone on to make major
contributions to the nation within the Coalition
Government, as Minister for Education and
Training, Minister for Trade, Tourism and
Investment, and now as Minister for Finance.
“All opportunities to serve are incredible ones,
and present enormous honour in representing
your state, the party, and being able to make,
hopefully, a positive impact and difference,”
he said.
Among those impacts are many that involve
championing important South Australian and
national issues, such as managing the MurrayDarling Basin Plan, supporting defence
industries, school funding and improving
educational outcomes, and securing and
implementing the Indonesia-Australia free
trade agreement.
But it’s the current pandemic that brings the
connection between policy, events and politics
into sharp focus. “None of us would go into
politics and the parliament to respond to a global
pandemic,” he said. “But it is an event that is
thrown at you, and at those times of crisis, if
you have a deep conviction to your values, and a
sufficiently deep sense of service to your country,
then you see it as a responsibility to step up and
push through the difficult times and try to do
ultimately what you hope is best for the country.”
