Warren Mundine | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Mundine onThe Long Walk in 2014 | |
| National President of the Labor Party | |
| In office 26 January 2006 – 10 January 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Barry Jones |
| Succeeded by | John Faulkner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nyunggai Warren Stephen Mundine (1956-08-11)11 August 1956 (age 69) Grafton,New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Liberal (since 2019) |
| Other political affiliations | Labor (1995–2012) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 10 |
Nyunggai Warren Stephen Mundine (born 11 August 1956) is an Australian businessman, political strategist, advocate forIndigenous affairs, and former politician. Starting his political career in 1995, Mundine became the first Indigenous person to serve on the City Council of Dubbo in New South Wales. He was the national president of theAustralian Labor Party (ALP) from 2006 to 2007 but quit the party in 2012. In 2013, Mundine was appointed chairman of theCoalition government'sIndigenous Advisory Council by then-prime minister,Tony Abbott. Mundine was theLiberal Party's unsuccessful candidate for the marginal seat ofGilmore on the south coast ofNew South Wales in the2019 Australian federal election.
As of 2023[update], Mundine was a lead campaigner for the successful "No" campaign in the lead-up to the2023 Australian referendum on theIndigenous Voice to Parliament.
He holds various roles in Indigenous initiatives, including Andrew Forrest's Generation One, and received the Officer of the Order of Australia in 2016.
Mundine was born on 11 August 1956[1] inGrafton, New South Wales.[2]
A member of theBundjalung people, thetraditional owners of much of coastal northern New South Wales, Mundine was the ninth of eleven children of a family consisting of eight boys and three girls.[3][4] Through his mother, he is also a descendant of theYuin andIrish peoples.[5] He is the younger brother of the inaugural Elder of the Australian ArmyRoy Mundine, social justice championKaye Mundine, and artistDjon Mundine,[6] the cousin of boxerTony Mundine, second cousin ofAnthony Mundine, the boxer and footballer and Uncle to the CEO ofReconciliation AustraliaKaren Mundine.[7]
In 1963, his family settled in the western Sydney suburb ofAuburn.[4] Mundine went to theCatholic Benedict Marist Brothers College, and was afitter and turner after leaving school.[8][3] Mundine worked as a barman at night and as an office trolley boy during the day, and later attended night college to earn hisHigher School Certificate.[1]
Following a job at theAustralian Taxation Office, Mundine moved toAdelaide where he earned a community development diploma atSouth Australian Institute of Technology.[4] He commenced, but did not complete, a qualification in law.[9]
In 1995, Mundine began his foray into politics as an independent candidate for theCity of Dubbo council in central-west New South Wales.[4] He was the first Aboriginal person to serve on the body,[10] and later became deputy mayor of Dubbo.[11]
At the1999 state election, Mundine stood as theNSW Labor candidate for the seat ofDubbo.[12] At the2001 federal election, Mundine was placed third on theLaborSenate ticket for NSW. In 2004, he sought to stand as the ALP candidate for theDivision of Fowler in theHouse of Representatives, but lost the preselection battle to sitting Labor MP,Julia Irwin.
Mundine succeededBarry Jones as President of the ALP, beginning his term on 28 January 2006, and became the first indigenous Australian to serve as president of an Australian political party.[13] During his tenure, Mundine pushed for the selection of candidates of Aboriginal background.[14] Mundine served just one term as national president, stepping down in 2007.[3] In March 2012, he expressed an interest in becoming Labor's first federal Aboriginal member of federal parliament, following the resignation ofMark Arbib from the Senate.[citation needed]
After the selection of formerPremier of New South WalesBob Carr to replace Arbib, Mundine left the Labor Party. In an interview withThe Australian, Mundine explained that he had been a supporter of "Hawke-Keating Labor, which was about economic development and progress, and working with unions to get good outcomes for everyone", but that, by 2012, the ALP was "no longer the party I joined" and had failed to keep up with the conservative parties in selecting Indigenous candidates.[citation needed]
In 2018 Mundine was a member of the Liberal Democrat party (now known as theLibertarian Party) and was considered as a potential Senate candidate. He later left that party to seek endorsement as a candidate for the Liberal Party.[15]
Following the election of the Tony Abbott-ledLiberal-National coalition in 2013, Abbott appointed Mundine as chairman of the Australian government's Indigenous Advisory Council.[3] In January 2017, Mundine lost his position when the council was dissolved by the prime minister,Malcolm Turnbull.[16]
On 22 January 2019, at the behest of the prime minister, Scott Morrison, the New South Wales state executive of theLiberal Party installed Mundine as candidate for the seat ofGilmore in the2019 federal election, although he had only joined the party that week. The state executive waived the usual waiting period for new party members, and withdrew the endorsement of Grant Schultz, who had been preselected as the party's candidate eight months previously.[17][18][19][20] Mundine failed to be elected, and Gilmore was one of only three government seats won by the Labor Party at the election.[21]
Mundine nominated to contest Bradfield in the2025 federal election, but lost preselection to Gisele Kapterian.[22]
Mundine is associated with the conservative faction of the NSW Liberal Party.[23]
Mundine supportschanging the date of Australia Day andIndigenous treaties in Australia.[24][25][26][27]
In the late 2000s, Mundine emerged as a public supporter of nuclear industrial development in Australia,[28] arguing that, in response toclimate change, nuclear power should not be ruled out of Australia's future energy mix.[28] His former directorship of theAustralian Uranium Association attracted criticism from anti-nuclear lobbies.[29] Following theFukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011,The Sydney Morning Herald named Mundine as a supporter ofnuclear power.[30]
Mundine wrote in an opinion piece published inThe Australian Financial Review in 2012:
"By looking after the full life cycle of theuranium, with the support of the traditional owners of the lands on which it is mined and stored, not only will we play a responsible role within the global community, but we can ensure that Australian uranium is not sold to states seeking to produce weapons."[31]
Mundine was a lead campaigner for the successful No vote in the2023 Australian referendum on theIndigenous Voice to Parliament.[6][25][26][27]
Recognise a Better Way was led by Mundine and included former Nationals deputy PMJohn Anderson, and formerKeating government ministerGary Johns.[32] The campaign, launched in January 2023, was set up by a group called the Voice No Case Committee. The committee included four Indigenous members: Mundine; Price (who later left the group); founder of theKings Creek Station Ian Conway; and Bob Liddle, owner of Kemara enterprises.[33][34]
Recognise a Better Way then merged into a new campaign, Australians for Unity, which Mundine co-founded withJacinta Nampijinpa Price on 11 May 2023.[35]
Mundine maintained his interest in Indigenous advocacy in his role withAndrew Forrest's Pilbara Mining Indigenous charity Generation One.[36]
From 12 December 2017, Mundine co-hosted a 12-part program onSky News Live,Mundine Means Business, focusing on successful Indigenous Australians in business.[37] A second season debuted on 2 September 2018,[38] supported by a grant totalling $220,000 from the Coalition government, running from 18 June 2018 to 1 August 2019, supporting 15 percent of the season's production expenses.[39] Mundine received legal advice that the grant would not preclude him from being a candidate for the next federal election underSection 44 of the Constitution of Australia.[39]
Other roles have included:
In 1975, Mundine married his first wife, Jenny Rose, with whom he has two children. After separating from Rose, Mundine gained custody of their two children.[1]
In 1983, he met his second wifeLynette Riley, marrying her in 1984. They raised seven children: two from Mundine's first marriage, four of their own, and a foster child.[1] They initially married at St Andrew's Congregational Church inBalmain, and in 2003 renewed their vows at St Brigid's Catholic Church inDubbo. A devoutCatholic, Mundine toldThe Catholic Weekly that he prayed every night.[1] His marriage to Riley broke down during his presidency of the ALP, after he cheated on his wife more than once.[11][1] Riley, a lecturer in Aboriginal education atSydney University, remained largely silent about the disintegration of her marriage with Mundine but, in 2013 she gave a rare interview on the subject.[46]
In October 2013, Mundine married for a third time, to corporate lawyer Elizabeth Henderson, describing it as the beginning of "a new life".[1]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | National President of the Australian Labor Party 2006–2007 | Succeeded by |
