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Michael Danby
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Michael Danby
Michael David Danby (born 16 February 1955) is an Australian politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1998 until 2019, representing the Division of Melbourne Ports, Victoria. Danby was briefly Parliamentary Secretary for the Arts, from March to September 2013.
Danby was born in Melbourne and lives in Elwood. Danby attended Mount Scopus Memorial College and then enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts at Melbourne University but left without completing the degree. He was President of the Melbourne University Student Union as well as President of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students. From 1980 to 1983 he was an Australian Army Reserve officer cadet with Officer Cadet Training Unit, 3 Training Group, based at Albert Park Reserve 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 (published by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council) from 1986 to 1993. 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.
In 1990 Danby ran as the Labor candidate for the safe Liberal 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, who would later become the Victorian State Treasurer. He was elected in 1998 with 55 percent of the vote, and was reelected with slightly reduced majorities in 2001 and 2004. In 2007 he gained a 3% two-candidate-preferred (TCP) swing to Labor and in 2010 secured a further 1% TCP swing. Danby was outspoken in his criticism of the Labor Party's handling of the 2010 election, attacking the heavily-Western Sydney focus of the campaign.
Danby was a member of the Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters from 1998 until 2010, and was deputy chair in 2006. He used this position to run a campaign against the Howard Government's changes[clarification needed] 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.
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 was 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 were 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, Danby led the first-ever delegation of Australian MPs and Senators to Dharamshala, India, the base of the Central Tibetan Administration. The group met with Dalai Lama, and other senior lamas, as well as numerous government Ministers. 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.
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Michael Danby
Michael David Danby (born 16 February 1955) is an Australian politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1998 until 2019, representing the Division of Melbourne Ports, Victoria. Danby was briefly Parliamentary Secretary for the Arts, from March to September 2013.
Danby was born in Melbourne and lives in Elwood. Danby attended Mount Scopus Memorial College and then enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts at Melbourne University but left without completing the degree. He was President of the Melbourne University Student Union as well as President of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students. From 1980 to 1983 he was an Australian Army Reserve officer cadet with Officer Cadet Training Unit, 3 Training Group, based at Albert Park Reserve 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 (published by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council) from 1986 to 1993. 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.
In 1990 Danby ran as the Labor candidate for the safe Liberal 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, who would later become the Victorian State Treasurer. He was elected in 1998 with 55 percent of the vote, and was reelected with slightly reduced majorities in 2001 and 2004. In 2007 he gained a 3% two-candidate-preferred (TCP) swing to Labor and in 2010 secured a further 1% TCP swing. Danby was outspoken in his criticism of the Labor Party's handling of the 2010 election, attacking the heavily-Western Sydney focus of the campaign.
Danby was a member of the Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters from 1998 until 2010, and was deputy chair in 2006. He used this position to run a campaign against the Howard Government's changes[clarification needed] 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.
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 was 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 were 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, Danby led the first-ever delegation of Australian MPs and Senators to Dharamshala, India, the base of the Central Tibetan Administration. The group met with Dalai Lama, and other senior lamas, as well as numerous government Ministers. 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.
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