Michael Danby
Encyclopedia
Michael David Danby is an Australia
n politician and has been an Australian Labor Party
member of the Australian House of Representatives
since October 1998, representing the Division of Melbourne Ports
, Victoria
. Since July 2011 he has been chairman of the
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, a role which saw him represent the Prime Minister at the inauguration of the new nation of South Sudan
in 2011 . He is also a member of the World Movement for Democracy
's Steering Committee .
. From 1980 to 1983 he was an Australian Army
Reserve officer cadet with Officer Cadet Training Unit, 3 Training Group, based at Albert Park
and Puckapunyal
.
From 1979 to 1983 Danby was manager of Halmaag Art Galleries in Malvern
. He was Assistant Private Secretary to Barry Cohen
, a minister in the Hawke
government 1983-84, and Editor of the Australia-Israel Review in 1986-93. In 1985 he was senior vice-president of the International Youth Conference in Kingston, Jamaica
. He was a ministerial adviser to Alan Griffiths
, the Industry Minister in the Keating
government, 1993-94. He was an industrial officer with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association 1994-96.
, Victoria and lives in Elwood
, in his electorate. In February 2008 he and his longtime partner, barrister Amanda Mendes da Costa, were married at Parliament House, Canberra
, the first Jewish wedding held in the building. He has two children from his first marriage. He is a supporter of St Kilda Football Club and the Port Melbourne Boroughs.
seat of Goldstein
against Dr David Kemp. In 1997 he won a hotly disputed Labor Party preselection battle for the right to contest Melbourne Ports, where the sitting member, Clyde Holding
, was retiring, defeating Tim Pallas
, now a Victorian government minister. At the 1998 election he won the seat and was re-elected, with slightly reduced majorities, in 2001 and 2004. In 2007 he gained a 3% 2CP swing to Labor and in 2010 secured a further 1% 2CP swing. Danby was outspoken in his criticism of the Labor Party’s handling of the 2010 Election, attacking the Western Sydney focus of the Labor Party Campaign.
Government's changes to Australian electoral law, which he argued restricted the ability of voters, particularly new voters, to enrol and vote. In an article in 2005, he wrote: "For 150 years Australia has been a world leader in progressive electoral reform... As a result Australia has one of the most open and accessible electoral systems in the world, and also a system with the highest reputation for integrity and transparency. Now, for the first time in living memory, an Australian government is going to wind the process back, for no good reason other than its own partisan advantage. They are going to make it more difficult for Australians to enrol and to vote." Soon after the 2010 Federal Election Danby drew attention to the fact that for various reasons 1.4 million eligible Australians had not voted, and criticised the Government for not having acted during its previous term to ensure greater voter turn-out.
In 2008 and 2009 the Migration Committee completed three major reports. These reports made numerous recommendations in relation to Australia’s immigration detention system, several of which of have been adopted by the Australian Government, including the recommendation that ‘detention debt’ should be abolished. Danby gained some media attention in late 2009 following his criticism of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
's use of the term 'illegal immigrants' rather than 'asylum seekers'. Regarding use of the term 'illegal immigrants' he stated "I don't find these sort of populist expressions helpful in this debate."
In July 2009 in his role as Chair of the Parliamentary Group for Tibet, Michael Danby led the first ever delegation of Australian MPs and Senators to Dharamsala, India, the base of the Central Tibetan Administration
. The group met with Dalai Lama, and other senior lamas, as well as numerous government Ministers. Michael Danby also gave a speech at the celebrations for the Dalai Lama’s 74th birthday entitled ‘Let freedom reign in Tibet’. The Chinese Government reacted angrily to the delegation's visit, saying the visit constituted interference in China's internal affairs.
, also from the ALP, was elected. He has frequently spoken in support of Israel
. He supports a two-state solution
to the Israel-Palestine question. In May 2011 he said: "I am a strong supporter of Israel. Obviously also a strong supporter of a peace process there and a two-state solution, and I have that dialogue with a friends from Israel when I get the opportunity to.
In 2005 Danby was critical of a book by a Sydney Jewish atheist journalist, Antony Loewenstein
, about the Australian Jewish community and its attitudes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
which he regarded as anti Israeli propaganda. In a letter to the Australian Jewish News
, Danby called on the book's publisher, Melbourne University Press, to "drop this whole disgusting project." He also called on the Jewish community to boycott the book. "I urge the Australian Jewish community, and particularly the Australian Jewish News, to treat it with dignified silence," he said.
In a speech to Federal Parliament in December 2008, Danby stated it was important to remember the names of victims of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. Regarding the deaths of Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, Rivka Holtzberg and the others killed at the Nariman House
, Danby stated “I raise my voice in this national parliament and praise the memory of those innocent kedoshim who were killed in the Chabad
House in Mumbai
only because they were Jews.”
Danby has been a long time campaigner for Government funding of schools at risk of facing terrorist or other violent attacks. In a speech to the House of Representatives he welcomed the Australian Government’s $20 million funding program for schools at risk, and noted that a Sunday program that he had appeared on had sparked interest in the issue among many of his fellow MPs and Senators.
, opposing Arts Minister Peter Garrett
’s decision to cut funding for the institution, which is in his electorate, in October 2008. Following a wide outcry the Government changed its decision to close the Academy and announced an additional $500,000 for the elite classical training centre.
Danby helped organise the visit of the Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer
, to Australia for the Melbourne International Film Festival
in August 2009. The visit drew condemnation from the Chinese Government, but Danby criticised the Chinese Government for describing Kadeer as a terrorist, and argued that she was “a paradigm of non-violence"
In September and October 2010 Michael Danby wrote a number of articles critical of ANU academic Hugh White’s Quarterly Essay entitled “Power Shift: Australia’s Future between Washington and Beijing”.In an article published in the Wall Street Journal Asia Danby was highly critical of White’s contention that Australia should support US military evacuation of South China Sea, and other possible zones of conflict with China.
In another article in The Australian (co-authored with foreign affairs experts Carl Ungerer and Peter Khalil), Danby warned against a ‘Munich Moment’ which would result if Australia followed White’s advice and decided that the price of China’s growing power was to cease “lecturing China about dissidents, Tibet or religious freedom".
White responded to these articles in both The Australian and the Australian Financial Review.
However it seems Danby had the last word in the debate, publishing another article in the Australian Financial Review, which attacked White’s thesis as advocating “unprincipled appeasement”. Danby also accused White of holding ‘cold-blooded, Kissingerian views’, ‘treating China and the United States as if they were no more than a pair of traditional great-power rivals competing for territory or markets, like the Habsburg and Ottoman empires’.
In a Parliamentary Speech in October 2010 Danby pointed to calls for reform from within the highest echelons of the Chinese Communist Party as reason not to follow White’s approach.
In late 2010 Danby campaigned against major changes to the boundaries of the electorate of Melbourne Ports, as proposed by the Australian Electoral Commission. When the final boundaries were announced on 17 December 2010, the changes were significantly less drastic then had initially been canvassed.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician and has been an Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
member of the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
since October 1998, representing the Division of Melbourne Ports
Division of Melbourne Ports
The Division of Melbourne Ports is an Australian federal electoral division in the inner south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. Since July 2011 he has been chairman of the
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, a role which saw him represent the Prime Minister at the inauguration of the new nation of South Sudan
South Sudan
South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
in 2011 . He is also a member of the World Movement for Democracy
World Movement for Democracy
World Movement for Democracy is an international network of individuals and organizations who share the common goal of promoting democracy. The World Movement was launched in February 1999 when the National Endowment for Democracy and two nongovernmental organizations in India brought together a...
's Steering Committee .
Past Experience
Danby studied Arts at Melbourne University but left without graduating. He was President of the Melbourne University Student Union as well as President of the Australasian Union of Jewish StudentsAustralasian Union of Jewish Students
The Australasian Union of Jewish Students is a federation of Jewish student societies at Australian and New Zealand universities and other higher education institutions. It was founded in 1948 at the University of Sydney and is affiliated with the World Union of Jewish Students. It is politically...
. From 1980 to 1983 he was an Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
Reserve officer cadet with Officer Cadet Training Unit, 3 Training Group, based at Albert Park
Albert Park, Victoria
Albert Park is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip. At the 2006 Census, Albert Park had a population of 5827....
and Puckapunyal
Puckapunyal
Puckapunyal is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, in central Victoria, south-eastern Australia.-Description:Puckapunyal is a small restricted-access town inhabited mainly by about 280...
.
From 1979 to 1983 Danby was manager of Halmaag Art Galleries in Malvern
Malvern, Victoria
Malvern is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Malvern had a population of 9,422.-History:...
. He was Assistant Private Secretary to Barry Cohen
Barry Cohen
Barry Cohen AM is a former Australian Labor politician. He was a minister in the government of Bob Hawke.-Biography:He was born in Griffith, New South Wales and educated at Griffith High School, Sydney Grammar School and North Sydney Technical High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the...
, a minister in the Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
government 1983-84, and Editor of the Australia-Israel Review in 1986-93. In 1985 he was senior vice-president of the International Youth Conference in Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
. He was a ministerial adviser to Alan Griffiths
Alan Griffiths
Alan Gordon Griffiths , is a former Australian politician who represented the Division of Maribyrnong for the Australian Labor Party from March 1983 to January 1996.-Early life:...
, the Industry Minister in the Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
government, 1993-94. He was an industrial officer with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association 1994-96.
Personal
Danby was born in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria and lives in Elwood
Elwood, Victoria
Elwood is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
, in his electorate. In February 2008 he and his longtime partner, barrister Amanda Mendes da Costa, were married at Parliament House, Canberra
Parliament House, Canberra
Parliament House is the meeting facility of the Parliament of Australia located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The building was designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects and opened on 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia...
, the first Jewish wedding held in the building. He has two children from his first marriage. He is a supporter of St Kilda Football Club and the Port Melbourne Boroughs.
Political Office
In 1990 Danby ran as the Labor candidate for the safe LiberalLiberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
seat of Goldstein
Division of Goldstein
The Division of Goldstein is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1984, when the former Division of Balaclava was abolished. It is named for Vida Goldstein, an early feminist parliamentary candidate. It is located in the bayside suburbs of Melbourne, including...
against Dr David Kemp. In 1997 he won a hotly disputed Labor Party preselection battle for the right to contest Melbourne Ports, where the sitting member, Clyde Holding
Clyde Holding
Allan Clyde Holding Australian politician, was Leader of the Opposition in Victoria for ten years, and was later a federal minister.-Early life and education:...
, was retiring, defeating Tim Pallas
Tim Pallas
Timothy Hugh Pallas is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2006, representing the electorate of Tarneit...
, now a Victorian government minister. At the 1998 election he won the seat and was re-elected, with slightly reduced majorities, in 2001 and 2004. In 2007 he gained a 3% 2CP swing to Labor and in 2010 secured a further 1% 2CP swing. Danby was outspoken in his criticism of the Labor Party’s handling of the 2010 Election, attacking the Western Sydney focus of the Labor Party Campaign.
Electoral Matters Committee Activities
Danby was a member of the Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (JSCEM) from 1998 until 2010, and was Deputy Chair in 2006. He used this position to run a high profile campaign against the HowardJohn Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
Government's changes to Australian electoral law, which he argued restricted the ability of voters, particularly new voters, to enrol and vote. In an article in 2005, he wrote: "For 150 years Australia has been a world leader in progressive electoral reform... As a result Australia has one of the most open and accessible electoral systems in the world, and also a system with the highest reputation for integrity and transparency. Now, for the first time in living memory, an Australian government is going to wind the process back, for no good reason other than its own partisan advantage. They are going to make it more difficult for Australians to enrol and to vote." Soon after the 2010 Federal Election Danby drew attention to the fact that for various reasons 1.4 million eligible Australians had not voted, and criticised the Government for not having acted during its previous term to ensure greater voter turn-out.
Other Parliamentary Activities
From 2008 to 2010 Danby was chair of the Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Migration. He was Chair of the Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade throughout the 42nd Parliament and was again chosen for this position in the 43rd parliament. He is also Chair of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for the United States, and the Parliamentary Group for Tibet.In 2008 and 2009 the Migration Committee completed three major reports. These reports made numerous recommendations in relation to Australia’s immigration detention system, several of which of have been adopted by the Australian Government, including the recommendation that ‘detention debt’ should be abolished. Danby gained some media attention in late 2009 following his criticism of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
's use of the term 'illegal immigrants' rather than 'asylum seekers'. Regarding use of the term 'illegal immigrants' he stated "I don't find these sort of populist expressions helpful in this debate."
In July 2009 in his role as Chair of the Parliamentary Group for Tibet, Michael Danby led the first ever delegation of Australian MPs and Senators to Dharamsala, India, the base of the Central Tibetan Administration
Central Tibetan Administration
The Central Tibetan Administration , is an organisation based in India with the stated goals of "rehabilitating Tibetan refugees and restoring freedom and happiness in Tibet". It was established by the 14th Dalai Lama in 1959 shortly after his exile from Tibet...
. The group met with Dalai Lama, and other senior lamas, as well as numerous government Ministers. Michael Danby also gave a speech at the celebrations for the Dalai Lama’s 74th birthday entitled ‘Let freedom reign in Tibet’. The Chinese Government reacted angrily to the delegation's visit, saying the visit constituted interference in China's internal affairs.
Jewish Representation
Danby was the only Jewish member of the Australian Parliament from 1998 to 2007, when Mark DreyfusMark Dreyfus
Mark Alfred Dreyfus QC , Australian lawyer and politician, is the Australian Labor Party member for the House of Representatives seat of Isaacs, Victoria. He was elected in the 2007 federal election.- Early life :...
, also from the ALP, was elected. He has frequently spoken in support of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He supports a two-state solution
Two-state solution
The two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the consensus solution that is currently under discussion by the key parties to the conflict, most recently at the Annapolis Conference in November 2007...
to the Israel-Palestine question. In May 2011 he said: "I am a strong supporter of Israel. Obviously also a strong supporter of a peace process there and a two-state solution, and I have that dialogue with a friends from Israel when I get the opportunity to.
In 2005 Danby was critical of a book by a Sydney Jewish atheist journalist, Antony Loewenstein
Antony Loewenstein
Antony Loewenstein is an atheist Jewish-Australian political activist, freelance journalist, author and blogger who is based in Sydney.Loewenstein has written for The Guardian, Haaretz, The Washington Post, Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, Sydney's Sun-Herald, The Bulletin, ZNet, The Big...
, about the Australian Jewish community and its attitudes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
which he regarded as anti Israeli propaganda. In a letter to the Australian Jewish News
Australian Jewish News
Australian Jewish News is a Jewish newspaper in Australia which has been continuously printed since 1895. The weekly publication has been, for the most recent years of its existence, the nation's only print news publication aimed specifically at a Jewish readership and, from the start, assumed the...
, Danby called on the book's publisher, Melbourne University Press, to "drop this whole disgusting project." He also called on the Jewish community to boycott the book. "I urge the Australian Jewish community, and particularly the Australian Jewish News, to treat it with dignified silence," he said.
In a speech to Federal Parliament in December 2008, Danby stated it was important to remember the names of victims of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. Regarding the deaths of Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, Rivka Holtzberg and the others killed at the Nariman House
Nariman House
The Nariman House , renamed as Chabad House , is a five-story landmark in the Colaba area in southern Mumbai, India. The building was home to a Chabad house, a Jewish outreach center run by Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, and they have owned the Building since around 2006. The center had an...
, Danby stated “I raise my voice in this national parliament and praise the memory of those innocent kedoshim who were killed in the Chabad
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
House in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
only because they were Jews.”
Danby has been a long time campaigner for Government funding of schools at risk of facing terrorist or other violent attacks. In a speech to the House of Representatives he welcomed the Australian Government’s $20 million funding program for schools at risk, and noted that a Sunday program that he had appeared on had sparked interest in the issue among many of his fellow MPs and Senators.
Other High Profile Activities
Danby was an outspoken supporter of the Australian National Academy of MusicAustralian National Academy of Music
The Australian National Academy of Music is Australia's centre of excellence responsible for training the country's finest young musicians. Located in the South Melbourne, Victoria, it is a member of the Australian Roundtable for Arts Training Excellence...
, opposing Arts Minister Peter Garrett
Peter Garrett
Peter Robert Garrett, AM, MP , is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and politician.Garrett was lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil from 1973 until its disbanding in 2002...
’s decision to cut funding for the institution, which is in his electorate, in October 2008. Following a wide outcry the Government changed its decision to close the Academy and announced an additional $500,000 for the elite classical training centre.
Danby helped organise the visit of the Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer
Rebiya Kadeer
Rebiya Kadeer is a prominent Uyghur businesswoman and political activist from the northwest region of Xinjiang Autonomus Region of the People's Republic of China...
, to Australia for the Melbourne International Film Festival
Melbourne International Film Festival
The Melbourne International Film Festival is an acclaimed annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1951, making it one of the oldest in the World....
in August 2009. The visit drew condemnation from the Chinese Government, but Danby criticised the Chinese Government for describing Kadeer as a terrorist, and argued that she was “a paradigm of non-violence"
In September and October 2010 Michael Danby wrote a number of articles critical of ANU academic Hugh White’s Quarterly Essay entitled “Power Shift: Australia’s Future between Washington and Beijing”.In an article published in the Wall Street Journal Asia Danby was highly critical of White’s contention that Australia should support US military evacuation of South China Sea, and other possible zones of conflict with China.
In another article in The Australian (co-authored with foreign affairs experts Carl Ungerer and Peter Khalil), Danby warned against a ‘Munich Moment’ which would result if Australia followed White’s advice and decided that the price of China’s growing power was to cease “lecturing China about dissidents, Tibet or religious freedom".
White responded to these articles in both The Australian and the Australian Financial Review.
However it seems Danby had the last word in the debate, publishing another article in the Australian Financial Review, which attacked White’s thesis as advocating “unprincipled appeasement”. Danby also accused White of holding ‘cold-blooded, Kissingerian views’, ‘treating China and the United States as if they were no more than a pair of traditional great-power rivals competing for territory or markets, like the Habsburg and Ottoman empires’.
In a Parliamentary Speech in October 2010 Danby pointed to calls for reform from within the highest echelons of the Chinese Communist Party as reason not to follow White’s approach.
In late 2010 Danby campaigned against major changes to the boundaries of the electorate of Melbourne Ports, as proposed by the Australian Electoral Commission. When the final boundaries were announced on 17 December 2010, the changes were significantly less drastic then had initially been canvassed.