Panellist: Steve Ciobo, Minister for Trade and Investment; Terri Butler, Labor Member for Griffith; Richard Di Natale, Leader of The Australian Greens; Nick Xenophon, Independent Senator for South Australia; and Jacqui Lambie, Independent Senator for Tasmania. Panellists
Steve Ciobo
Steve Ciobo was a big winner in the reshuffle following Malcolm Turnbull’s ascent to the leadership last year, being elevated to Cabinet in the important trade portfolio vacated by Andrew Robb.
Steve was first elected to Parliament in 2001, representing the Queensland seat of Moncrieff.
He served as a front-bencher during the coalition’s period in Opposition in a range of portfolios relating to the economy, business and tourism.
Before entering Parliament Steve built a professional career as an executive in the economic reform unit at international firms Coopers & Lybrand and, later, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws from Bond University, as well as a Master of Laws from the Queensland University of Technology.
He is married with two children. Terri Butler
Terri Butler is the federal Labor Member for the Brisbane seat of Griffith and shadow parliamentary secretary for child safety and prevention of family violence.
Born and raised in Cairns, Terri studied at James Cook University and graduated from the Queensland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Law (Hons) and a Bachelor of Arts (Journalism).
She has, since then, undertaken executive education at Mt Eliza (Melbourne Business School) and prior to standing for preselection had commenced a Masters of Laws at the University of Queensland.
Before entering Parliament Terri was a lawyer and a principal of the national law firm Maurice Blackburn, where she established and led the Queensland Employment and Industrial Law Section.
While working as a lawyer, Terri was repeatedly listed as one of Queensland’s top workplace relations lawyers in the Doyle's Guide to the Legal Profession.
Terri leads Labor's cost of living caucus committee and is the co-convener of Parliamentary Friends of Innovation and Enterprise - a group started to improve connections and communication between entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, start-ups, innovators, researchers, and parliamentarians.
She's the chair of Labor Friends of Tourism and is also involved in parliamentary committees that deal with social policy and legal affairs, tax and revenue, and other issues.
Terri is the mother of two young children, April and Isaac, and lives with her husband, Troy, in the Griffith electorate. Richard Di Natale
Dr Richard Di Natale became Leader of the Australian Greens following the sudden decision by his predecessor, Christine Milne, to step down in May last year.
He was previously the spokesperson for health, youth, multiculturalism, gambling and sport.
Prior to entering parliament Richard was a general practitioner and public health specialist.
He worked in Aboriginal health in the Northern Territory, on HIV prevention in India and in the drug and alcohol sector in Geelong.
Richard grew up in Melbourne, the son of Italian immigrants. Now Richard, his wife Lucy, and their two young sons live on a small, working farm in the foothills of Victoria’s Otway Range.
He played VFA football for six years and is a long-suffering Richmond Tigers fan. Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon was first elected to represent South Australia as an Independent in the Senate in 2007, having already spent ten years in the State’s Legislative Council.
He was well-known for his sustained campaigning against poker machines, and entered the Senate on a ‘No Pokies’ platform.
Other strong areas of interest include aged care, climate change, fuel pricing, housing affordability and the Murray-Darling Basin.
Nick has a reputation for being a true Independent and a tough negotiator in the horse-trading that takes place in the Senate over legislation when no one party has a majority.
After being re-elected in 2013 Nick formed part of the large group of Greens, Independents and micro-party Senators with which the major parties have to negotiate to get the numbers to pass, or block, particular items of legislation.
He has widespread popularity in South Australia and has formed the Nick Xenophon Team which is fielding Senate and House of Representatives candidates in most States and in every seat in South Australia. Experts have suggested the NXT could be a significant political force in the new Parliament.
Nick attended Prince Alfred College in Adelaide and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981.
He established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co, in 1984. Between 1994 and 1997 he served as president of the South Australian branch of the Australian Plaintiff Lawyers' Association. Jacqui Lambie
Tasmanian-born Jacqui Lambie was elected to the Senate in 2013 as a member of the Palmer United Party and became deputy leader of the PUP Senate team.
But after a rancorous falling out with PUP founder Clive Palmer, she left the party and now sits as an Independent.
Last year she started the Jacqui Lambie Network and is fielding Senate candidates in several States in the election, including Queensland.
Jacqui is a single mother of two sons and lives in Burnie, Tasmania.
A former soldier with the Australian Army, Jacqui spent a decade serving Australia in the armed forces in the transport management and military policing divisions.
Having been medically discharged from the army in 2000, she became an advocate for Australian war veterans and injured soldiers.
