Chris Crewther

Christopher John Crewther (born 6 August 1983) is a former Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 2016 to 2019.[1] He represented the Division of Dunkley in Victoria for the Liberal Party. He succeeded the previous member, Bruce Billson, at the 2016 federal election,[2] serving under the Turnbull and then Morrison Liberal Nationals Government. He was the youngest MP in the House of Representatives from his election until July 2018, and the youngest MP in the Government throughout his term. Following a 2018 boundary redistribution by the Australian Electoral Commission, which made Dunkley notionally Labor, he lost his seat to Labor's Peta Murphy at the 2019 election.[3]

Chris Crewther
Crewther in 2018
Member of the Australian Parliament for Dunkley
In office 2 July 2016 – 18 May 2019
Preceded by	Bruce Billson
Succeeded by	Peta Murphy
Personal details
Born	6 August 1983 Mitcham, Victoria, Australia
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Grace
Children	2
Education	Master of Diplomacy, with distinction (ANU) Master of Laws specialising in international law (ANU) Bachelor of Laws with Honours (UC) VCE (Horsham College)
Alma mater	Australian National University University of Canberra The University of Melbourne Horsham College Murtoa Secondary College
Website	http://www.chriscrewther.com.au

Background and career

Crewther was born in Mitcham and spent the first few years of his life in Kilsyth and Mooroolbark, before moving to Horsham in the Wimmera when he was four.[4] He grew up and undertook his schooling in the Wimmera, attending Horsham 298 Primary School, Horsham Lutheran Primary School, Murtoa Secondary College (now Murtoa College) and Horsham College.[5] He has two master's degrees from the Australian National University in international law and diplomacy,[6] the latter in which he was awarded the James Ingram AO Prize for Excellence in Diplomatic Studies for achieving top student.[7] He also has a law degree with honours from the University of Canberra, with a science minor. Before transferring to law, he undertook part of a Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne.[4]

Before entering politics, Crewther ran his own small business, was CEO of Mildura Development Corporation (now Mildura Regional Development), was an International Lawyer through the United Nations at the Kosovo Property Agency in Kosovo (resolving property claims for those who lost possession of their property due to the 1998–99 conflict), worked in legal, policy and project management roles for the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture and AIATSIS, was an Associate to then Magistrate (now Supreme Court Justice) John Burns in the ACT Magistrates' Court, worked as a lawyer in private practice, and was a Political and Legislative Adviser to former Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Senator the Hon. Michael Ronaldson.[8]

Crewther has also been a Board Director of Zoe Support Australia (helping young pregnant and parenting mothers to get back into education), Global Voices (helping engage and involve young people in international diplomacy), and several other boards and committees.[2][8]

Crewther currently runs his own small business, is a Member of the Australian Government's Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group and is Patron of the Tourette Syndrome Association of Australia.[8]

Crewther is also an avid supporter of the Collingwood Football Club, having a proud family history associated with it. He is related to Tom Sherrin, who developed the modern shape of the ball used in Australian football,[9] and was president of Collingwood, two other Collingwood presidents or vice-presidents Syd Sherrin and Tom Sherrin Jnr, and two former Collingwood players, Norm Crewther and Bill Proudfoot.[10]

Politics

Crewther was the Liberal candidate for the outer regional/rural seat of Mallee in 2013, which has been held by the National Party since its establishment in 1949, achieving a 17% swing to bring the seat down to a 6% margin at the time.[11] He was subsequently elected to parliament in 2016 in the inner regional/outer metropolitan seat of Dunkley.[2]

In a speech to parliament in late 2016, Crewther discussed living with Tourette syndrome and established the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Tourette Syndrome as its Founding Chair. He further discussed this during an interview on the Lateline program on 2 March 2017.[12] Through his efforts advocating for people living with Tourette Syndrome, particularly children, Crewther achieved ongoing funding from the Australian Government for nationwide Tourette Syndrome camps across Australia.[13][14]

In Parliament, Crewther was Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee, under the Australian Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. In this role he instigated, led and undertook the Modern Slavery Inquiry,[15] tabling the Inquiry's interim report in August 2017 and final report, 'Hidden In Plain Sight', in December 2017.[16][17] As a result of this Inquiry and the recommendations in its final report, a Modern Slavery Bill was introduced into Parliament in June 2018, passed by the Australian House of Representatives on 17 September 2018, and passed by the Australian Senate in December 2018.[18] Australia's new Modern Slavery Act then came into force on 1 January 2019.[19]

In recognition of his work instigating and leading the Modern Slavery Inquiry and bringing about Australia's Modern Slavery Act, Crewther was named in the global Top 100 Corporate Social Responsibility Influence Leaders for 2018[20] and awarded a prestigious Freedom Award from Anti-Slavery Australia in October 2019.[21]

As Chair of Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee, Crewther also instigated, led and undertook an Inquiry into the Strategic Effectiveness and Outcomes of Australia’s Aid Programme in the Indo-Pacific, tabling the Inquiry's First Report to Parliament in April 2019.[22][23][24] Reflecting the First Report's recommendations to increase international development spending, in its October 2020 Budget the Australian Government increased overall spending for the first time in several years.[25]

Crewther was also a member of the Australian Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Treaties and Joint Standing Committee on Migration.[1] In addition, within the Coalition Government Crewther was Secretary then Chair of the Home Affairs and Legal Affairs Policy Committee, Secretary of the Immigration and Border Protection Policy Committee, Member of the Infrastructure, Regional Development and Northern Australia Policy Committee, and Member of the Foreign Affairs, Trade, Tourism and Investment Policy Committee.[1]

Following a redistribution of boundaries by the Australian Electoral Commission in 2018, which meant that Dunkley became a notional marginal Labor Party seat, Crewther lost to his Labor opponent at the 2019 federal election.[26]

References

1. Commonwealth Parliament, Canberra. "Mr Chris Crewther MP". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
2. "Dunkley – Australia Votes". Election 2016. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
3. "Heraldsun | Liberal MP'S Parting Gift a Helpful Sign For Disadvantaged". www.heraldsun.com.au. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
4. "Chris Crewther (Lib-Dunkley) – Maiden Speech | AustralianPolitics.com". australianpolitics.com. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
5. "Chris Crewther - The Weekly Advertiser". www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
6. Chris Crewther, First Speech. "ParlInfo - GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S SPEECH : Address-in-Reply". parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
7. "James Ingram Prize for Excellence in Diplomatic Studies (Domestic)". 27 October 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
8. Crewther, Chris. "Chris Crewther MP's LinkedIn Profile". LinkedIn. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
9. Witika, James. "The history of the Sherrin". Turfmate. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
10. "Australian Football Norm Crewther Player Bio". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
11. "Mallee - Australia Votes | Federal Election 2013 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
12. Miller, Barbara (2 March 2017). "Tourette's in the House: Liberal MP Chris Crewther on life with the syndrome". Lateline. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
13. Chris Crewther MP. "Newsletter, Tourette Syndrome Camps" (PDF). Retrieved 6 September 2020.
14. "Chris Crewther MP - Tourette's Camps Funded! - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
15. Commonwealth Parliament, Canberra. "Inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
16. APO, Modern Slavery Inquiry. "Hidden In Plain Sight" (PDF). Retrieved 6 November 2020.
17. Remeikis, Amy; Hutchens, Gareth; Karp, Paul (29 November 2018). "Comments on the Modern Slavery Act". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
18. Hassan, Toni (14 December 2018). "One political bright spot". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
19. "Wage Theft, Temporary Visa Holders, and Modern Day Slavery - Important information for the Migration Advice Profession". migrationalliance.com.au. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
20. "Assent Compliance - CSR Top 100". Assent Compliance. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
21. "Anti-Slavery Australia - Freedom Newsletter October 2019". eepurl.com. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
22. APO, First Report. "Inquiry into Australia's aid program in the Indo-Pacific" (PDF). Retrieved 7 November 2020.
23. "Rebrand and boost foreign aid, parliamentarians urge". The Mandarin. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
24. "'Bolt from the blue': Sector welcomes bipartisan support for foreign aid | PBA". Pro Bono Australia. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
25. Australia, RESULTS (7 October 2020). "Global crisis drives a rethink on international development spending in 2020-21". RESULTS. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
26. "Dunkley". abc.net.au. Retrieved 20 May 2019.