Kim Carr | |
|---|---|
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| Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research | |
| In office 1 July 2013 – 18 September 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd |
| Preceded by | Greg Combet |
| Succeeded by | Ian Macfarlane |
| In office 3 December 2007 – 12 December 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | Ian Macfarlane |
| Succeeded by | Greg Combet |
| Minister for Higher Education | |
| In office 1 July 2013 – 18 September 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd |
| Preceded by | Craig Emerson |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Pyne |
| Minister for Human Services | |
| In office 2 March 2012 – 22 March 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | Brendan O'Connor |
| Succeeded by | Jan McLucas |
| Minister for Defence Material | |
| In office 14 December 2011 – 2 March 2012 | |
| Prime Minister | Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | Jason Clare |
| Succeeded by | Jason Clare |
| Minister for Manufacturing | |
| In office 14 December 2011 – 2 March 2012 | |
| Prime Minister | Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | New office |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Senator forVictoria | |
| In office 28 April 1993 – 30 June 2022 | |
| Preceded by | John Button |
| Succeeded by | Linda White |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kim John Carr (1955-07-02)2 July 1955 (age 70) Tumut, New South Wales, Australia |
| Party | Australian Labor Party |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Teacher |
Kim John Carr (born 2 July 1955) is an Australian former politician who served as aSenator forVictoria between 1993 and 2022. Representing theLabor Party, he was a minister in theRudd andGillard governments.[1]
Carr is a graduate of theUniversity of Melbourne, and before entering politics worked as a schoolteacher and political staffer. He was appointed to the Senate in 1993, filling acasual vacancy, and was made a member of theshadow ministry after Labor's defeat at the1996 election. Carr held a variety of portfolios in the Labor governments between 2007 and 2013. He was considered a leader of theLabor Left faction in Victoria until 2016 when he formed the Industrial Left, a breakaway mini-faction comprising nearly all of Carr's union allies.[2] He became the most senior senator and thusfather of the senate in 2019, retaining the title until his retirement in 2022.
Carr was born on 2 July 1955 inTumut, New South Wales.[3] His father was aboilermaker,[4] working on theSnowy Mountains Scheme.[5] The family moved regularly when he was a child, living at a caravan park inGladstone, Queensland, for a period. He attended Moreland High School inCoburg, Victoria,[6] where "a history teacher fuelled his interest in politics by slipping him copies of socialist literature to read at home".[4]
Carr studied history at theUniversity of Melbourne, completing a Bachelor of Arts withhonours and a Master of Arts, and later a Diploma of Education.[7] He joined the Labor Party in 1975. He was a secondary school teacher for nine years before becoming a political staffer for Victorian government ministersJoan Kirner andAndrew McCutcheon.[citation needed]
Carr was elected to the Senate at theMarch 1993 election, and was due to take his seat on 1 July. When retiring SenatorJohn Button resigned before the expiry of his term, however, Carr was appointed to the resulting casual vacancy on 28 April.[8] Following hismaiden speech, in which he described the opposition as pursuing "inhumane policies", he was accused by Liberal Senate leaderRobert Hill of breaking a parliamentary convention around the content of maiden speeches.[9] By 1994, he was regarded as the leader of the Victorian Left faction.[5]
Carr became a Shadow Parliamentary Secretary in March 1996 in addition to being the Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate until his election to the Opposition Shadow Ministry in November 2001. He was Shadow Minister for Science and Research from then until October 2004. He was also Shadow Minister for Industry and Innovation from July 2003 to October 2004. He has been Shadow Minister for Public Administration and Open Government, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation and Shadow Minister for the Arts October 2004 to June 2005, when he was appointed Shadow Minister for Housing, Urban Development, Local Government and Territories. He is one of five voting Victorian members of the party'sNational Executive.
Carr was a leading figure in Labor'sleft faction in his prime.[10][11][12][13] His influential position within the party has attracted substantial criticism from factional opponents, Carr was then described by colleagues as "ruthless", "calculating" and a "headkicker".[4]
After theLabor's victory in the 2007 federal election, the new Prime MinisterKevin Rudd appointed Carr asMinister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, and he was sworn into office byGovernor-GeneralMichael Jeffery on 3 December.[14]
Carr was re-elected in the 2010 election and retained his portfolio of Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research in the Second Gillard Ministry, which was sworn in on 14 September 2010.[15] He was dropped from the cabinet on 12 December 2011, amid speculation that it was due to his links with former prime minister Kevin Rudd.[16] He remained in the outer Ministry however, as Minister for Manufacturing and Minister for Defence Materiel.[17]
In the Ministerial reshuffle of 2 March 2012, Carr was appointed asMinister for Human Services.[18] Carr resigned his ministerial portfolio on 22 March 2013 after he supportedan unsuccessful attempt to reinstall Kevin Rudd as Labor Leader.
Following a subsequentsuccessful leadership spill in which Gillard was defeated, Rudd appointed Carr as the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, and Minister for Higher Education and member of Cabinet in the Second Rudd Ministry.[1]
After Labor lost government in the2013 federal election, Carr was allegedly "responsible for shifting a small but significant number of parliamentary numbers" to installBill Shorten as party leader ahead ofAnthony Albanese.[19] He continued to be appointed toShorten's shadow ministry. Carr became increasingly "estranged" from the Labor Left faction and in 2016, following theJuly federal election, the faction did not nominate Carr for the shadow ministry. In response, Carr formed his own mini-faction, the Industrial Left, which was recognised by Shorten's Labor Right, allowing him to remain in the shadow ministry.[19][20][21]
Carr had been regarded as a longstanding political rival of Albanese.[19] When Albanese became party leader in 2019, Carr announced he would not be nominating forAlbanese's new shadow ministry.[22]
As the2022 federal election approached, Carr was facing a preselection challenge to remain on the party's Senate ticket for Victoria. It was reported in early March 2022 that he had lost the support of unions in the Industrial Left faction and was set to miss out on the Senate ticket.[23][24] He had initially wanted to fight to remain in the Senate. However, following the recent death of fellow SenatorKimberley Kitching and "determined urgings" from his children, he announced on 27 March 2022 that he decided to retire at the election, citing health reasons.[19][24]
Media related toKim Carr at Wikimedia Commons
| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Senator forVictoria 1993–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Father of the Senate 2019–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research 2007–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Defence Materiel 2011–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Human Services 2012–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research 2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Higher Education 2013 | Succeeded by Office Abolished |
Prime Minister:Kevin Rudd | ||
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Prime Minister:Kevin Rudd | ||
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