Malcolm Turnbull
Encyclopedia
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives
since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition
and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party
from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.
Turnbull has represented the Division of Wentworth
in Sydney's eastern suburbs
since his election in October 2004. He served as the federal Minister for Environment and Water Resources
in 2007. Before entering parliamentary politics he practised as a journalist, barrister, company legal counsel, and merchant banker, and was leader of the Australian Republican Movement
.
In September 2008, Turnbull was chosen Liberal Party leader
and Leader of the Opposition. He served for a little over a year. In November 2009, he ordered the Liberal Party to support the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
proposed by the Labor
government. This prompted substantial opposition in the party, and Turnbull was voted out of his leadership post on 1 December.
In April 2010 Turnbull announced his retirement, but changed his mind a month later.
, who married the following year. His father was a hotel broker; his mother was a radio actor, writer and academic and a cousin of the British film and television actor Angela Lansbury
. They separated when Malcolm was nine and he was brought up by his father. He spent his first three years of school at Vaucluse Public School
. He continued his primary education at the private fee paying Sydney Grammar Prep, St Ives
. He then went to Sydney Grammar School's senior school at College Street
in Sydney. He was senior school co-captain in 1972. In 1987, in memory of his late father, he set up the Bruce Turnbull means-tested scholarship at Sydney Grammar, which offers full remission of fees to a student unable to afford them.
Turnbull graduated from the University of Sydney
with a double degree in law and arts. He then studied law at Brasenose College
, a constituent college of the University of Oxford
as a Rhodes Scholar
from 1978 to 1980. He studied for a Bachelor of Civil Law
degree while at Oxford and then returned to Australia. While at university in Sydney he worked as a political journalist for Nation Review
, Radio 2SM
and Channel 9
covering state politics. While at Oxford he worked for The Sunday Times
as well as contributing to newspapers and magazines in the United States and Australia. He married Lucy Hughes
in 1980 at Cumnor
, near Oxford, while he was studying at Oxford University. He and Lucy returned to Australia later that year when he was admitted to the bar. Turnbull left the bar in 1983 to become the General Counsel for Consolidated Press Holdings Limited, the Packer
family's media group. He rose to the public's attention as the successful advocate in the Spycatcher
trial (he blocked the British Government's attempts to suppress the memoirs of a former MI5
agent), and later wrote a book on the trial.
Holdings Group, the family company of Kerry Packer
, from 1983 to 1985. During this time he defended Packer against the "Goanna" allegations made by the Costigan Commission
. In partnership with Bruce McWilliam he established his own law firm, Turnbull McWilliam, in 1986 and in that year successfully defended Peter Wright
in his battle with the British Government over his book Spycatcher. In 1987, he established an investment banking firm, Whitlam Turnbull & Co Ltd in partnership with Neville Wran
(former Labor
Premier of New South Wales) and the former State Bank of New South Wales
chief executive, Nicholas Whitlam
(son of Gough Whitlam
, former Labor
Prime Minister of Australia
). Whitlam parted company with the others in 1990, and, from then until 1997, when Turnbull moved to become a managing director and later a partner of Goldman Sachs, the firm operated as Turnbull & Partners Ltd.
Turnbull was also chair of a large Australia Internet Service Provider, OzEmail
(1994–99), a director of FTR Holdings Ltd (1995–2004), chair and managing director of Goldman Sachs
Australia (1997–2001) and a partner with Goldman Sachs and Co (1998–2001). In the 1990s, Turnbull was chairman of Axiom Forest Resources, which conducted logging
in the Solomon Islands
under the trading name Silvania Forest Products. The latter's work was described by the Australian International Development Aid Bureau as a "clear-felling operation", and the then Solomon Islands Prime Minister Solomon Mamaloni
reportedly threatened to close it down for "constant breaches of logging practices", according to a critical article in the Solomon Times.
In 1999, Turnbull sold OzEmail to the then telecommunications giant MCI Worldcom. Turnbull's stake was reportedly worth nearly A$60 million. In the same year he used his software and investment company FTR Holdings Ltd to take positions in a number of Internet businesses including Webcentral and Chaos.com
. In 2005 his net worth was estimated at $133 million, making him Australia's richest parliamentarian. The 2009 annual BRW
list of the richest Australians put Turnbull at 182 of 200, with an estimated net worth of $178 million. He is the only MP in Australia to make the list. Malcolm Turnbull made the BRW Rich 200 list for the second year running in 2010, and although he slipped from 182 to 197, his estimated net worth increased to $186 million, continuing to be the only sitting politician to make the list.
In May 2002, Turnbull appeared before the HIH
royal commission
and was questioned on Goldman Sachs' involvement on the possible privatisation of one of the acquisitions of the collapsed insurance company. The Royal Commissioner's Report made no adverse findings against him or Goldman Sachs.
Turnbull was Federal Treasurer of the Liberal Party and a member of the party's federal and New South Wales executives from 2002 to 2003 and was also a director of the Menzies Research Centre
, the Liberal Party's research centre.
. He was an elected delegate at the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998
in Canberra
in February. At the Convention, Turnbull cautioned against mixing the roles of President and Prime Minister and ultimately supported the Bi-partisan appointment republican model
adopted by the Convention. Turnbull was active in the unsuccessful 1999 referendum
campaign to establish an Australian republic
. He published a book on the subject, called Fighting for the Republic. In 2000 Turnbull retired as chairman of the Australian Republican Movement. Turnbull left the board of Ausflag
in 1994 after being asked for his resignation and in 2004 joined the Australian National Flag Association
.
for the seat of Wentworth
in the eastern suburbs of Sydney in the Wentworth 1981 by-election
, but was beaten by Peter Coleman
. In 2003, Turnbull announced that he was seeking a seat in Federal Parliament
. In early 2004 he won another hotly contested battle for Wentworth, defeating Peter King
, the sitting Liberal member. King ran for the seat at the 2004 election as an independent. This turned the traditionally safe Liberal electorate into an electoral wildcard, the contest for the seat becoming a three man race between Turnbull, King and Labor
candidate David Patch. During the campaign, Turnbull spent over $600,000 on electoral expenditure. The Liberal vote fell 10 per cent, but Turnbull still won.
Announcing his cabinet reshuffle on 24 January 2006, the Prime Minister John Howard promoted Turnbull from the backbench to Parliamentary Secretary
, with special responsibility for water. In this new capacity he reported directly to the Prime Minister. On 26 September 2006, John Howard announced the creation, within the department of the Prime Minister, of the new "Office of Water Resources" to address the problem of drought in Australia. Turnbull was in charge of this office until he was elevated by Prime Minister John Howard to head the Environment and Water Resources portfolio in January 2007.
In his position as Environment Minister, Turnbull approved a proposed $1.7 billion Bell Bay Pulp Mill
in Tasmania's north, near Launceston
. His final approval of the Bell Bay Pulp Mill
project of Gunns Ltd came on 4 October 2007. Turnbull's approval followed a report by the Government's chief scientist Jim Peacock
on the project's potential environmental impact, which requires the project to meet 48 "strict environmental" conditions. Critics have accused him of failing to assess the environmental cost of the mill in terms of forest destruction and greenhouse emissions. According to The Wilderness Society
, the Pulp Mill will, amongst a number of other toxic emissions, increase Australia's yearly contribution to greenhouse gas emission by more than 2 per cent. This reportedly amounts to an extra 10 million tonnes of greenhouse gas a year
In February 2007, Turnbull was criticised for claiming a government allowance of $175 a night and paying it to his wife as rent while living in a townhouse owned by her in Canberra.
During the 2007 election campaign, Turnbull announced that the then Government would contribute $10 million to the investigation of an untried Russian technology that aims to trigger rainfall from the atmosphere, even when there are no clouds. Literature suggests that the technology is based on bogus science. The Australian Rain Corporation presented research documents written in Russian, explained by a Russian researcher who spoke to local experts in Russian.
Although Turnbull claimed that Australian Rain Corporation is Australian-based, investigations have shown that it is in fact 75 per cent Swiss-owned. It was also revealed that a prominent stakeholder in the Australian Rain Corporation, Matt Handbury, is a nephew of Rupert Murdoch
. Turnbull has refused to answer questions regarding Matt Handbury's contribution to the Wentworth Forum, the main fund-raising organisation for Turnbull's 2007 election campaign.
In 2007, Turnbull promised that his government, if elected, would grant same-sex couples death benefits in Commonwealth superannuation schemes, a similar promise to which was made three years prior during the 2004 Federal election campaign.
, despite a 5.6 per cent swing away from the coalition in the state, and a 5.4 per cent swing nationwide.
Prime Minister Howard had lost his own seat of Bennelong
, and on 25 November 2007, Liberal deputy leader Peter Costello
announced he would not seek the party leadership. Turnbull declared his candidacy later the same day, and was considered a favourite by many. He lost to Brendan Nelson
, in a 45 to 42 vote
.
Nelson in turn appointed him Shadow Treasurer
.
Shortly afterwards, fellow Opposition front bencher Nick Minchin
suggested that Turnbull's failure to consult with party colleagues before declaring his opinion to the media on such issues as an apology to the Stolen Generations cost him the leadership. This led to a disagreement between the two and culminated in Minchin privately telling Turnbull that he was "too f***ing sensitive".
In May 2008, Turnbull attacked the 2008 Australian federal budget
, concerned by increased taxes on luxury cars and certain alcoholic drinks, citing possible increased inflation.
by 45 votes to 41.
In January 2009, Turnbull appointed former Alexander Downer
staffer and Advertiser journalist Chris Kenny
as his chief of staff.
In May 2009, Turnbull attacked the 2009 Australian federal budget
, in particular the means testing of the private health insurance rebate.
On 19 June 2009 Treasury
official Godwin Grech alleged that a car dealer with links to the Labor Party had received preferential treatment under the Ozcar program, sparking the so-called 'OzCar affair
'. That day Turnbull stated that Prime Minister Rudd and Treasurer Wayne Swan
had "used their offices and taxpayers' resources to seek advantage for one of their mates and then lied about it to the Parliament" and that they needed to explain their actions or resign. On 22 June the e-mail Grech had provided to the Liberal Party to support this allegation was found to have been faked by Grech, something he later admitted, and an Australian National Audit Office
inquiry cleared both Rudd and Swan of any wrongdoing on 4 August. Turnbull's handing of the OzCar affair led to a large decline in his and the Liberal Party's approval ratings in opinion polls.
On 24 November 2009 a party room meeting was held to discuss the Rudd
government's proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS)
. Turnbull instructed the party to support CPRS despite significant disagreement among his colleagues.
There was even a suggestion that some Liberal Senators
should vote to "guillotine" debate
and force an immediate Senate vote on the CPRS bill. (If the Senate rejected the bill, this would give the government a double dissolution
trigger.)
In response the next day, MPs Wilson Tuckey
and Dennis Jensen
made a "spill motion" (for a party leadership vote), but it was defeated by 48 votes to 35. The rebellion continued, though — many front bench Liberals resigned from the shadow cabinet, including Tony Abbott
.
On 1 December 2009, a spill motion was carried. Turnbull lost the subsequent leadership election
to Abbott by 42 votes to 41 on the second ballot.
After the leadership vote, Turnbull said he would serve out his full term as member for Wentworth. On 6 April 2010, he announced he would not seek re-election. However, on 1 May 2010 he reversed his decision.
At the 2010 federal election, Turnbull was re-elected with a swing of over 11% and was subsequently brought back to the front bench as shadow communications minister.
, his wife's uncle); and Fighting for the Republic: the Ultimate Insider's Account (1999).
In 1994 a portrait of Turnbull by artist Bill Leak
won the People's Choice award at the Archibald Prize
.
. They and their two children, Alex and Daisy, live in Sydney.
Although Turnbull is a convert to Roman Catholicism, he has found himself at odds with the church's teaching on abortion
and stem cell research. Turnbull supported legislation relaxing restrictions on abortion pill RU486 and he also voted for the legalisation of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
(therapeutic cloning). He did so despite the vocal public opposition to both proposals by Cardinal George Pell
, Archbishop of Sydney.
The use of Bligh as a male middle name is a tradition in the Turnbull family. It is Turnbull's middle name as well as that of his son, Alex. One of Turnbull's ancestors was colonist John Turnbull, who named his youngest son William Bligh Turnbull in honour of deposed Governor William Bligh
at the time of the Rum Rebellion
.
Turnbull is a supporter of the Sydney Roosters
rugby league team in the Australian National Rugby League
, and the Sydney Swans
in the Australian Football League
.
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 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in a Westminster System of parliamentary government...
and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party
Liberal 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...
from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.
Turnbull has represented the Division of Wentworth
Division of Wentworth
The Division of Wentworth is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was proclaimed in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. The Division is named after William Charles Wentworth , a noted Australian explorer and statesman...
in Sydney's eastern suburbs
Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)
The Eastern Suburbs is a general term used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the east and south-east of the Sydney central business district in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Suburbs can refer to the suburbs within the local government areas of Woollahra, Waverley, Dover...
since his election in October 2004. He served as the federal Minister for Environment and Water Resources
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts (Australia)
The current Australian Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities is Tony Burke, who took over from Peter Garrett . The Minister and department change took effect in the Second Gillard Ministry on 14 September 2010...
in 2007. Before entering parliamentary politics he practised as a journalist, barrister, company legal counsel, and merchant banker, and was leader of the Australian Republican Movement
Australian Republican Movement
The Australian Republican Movement is a non-partisan lobby group advocating constitutional change in Australia to a republican form of government, from a constitutional monarchy.-Foundation:...
.
In September 2008, Turnbull was chosen Liberal Party leader
Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2008
An election for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 16 September 2008. The successful candidate was Malcolm Turnbull who defeated former leader Brendan Nelson...
and Leader of the Opposition. He served for a little over a year. In November 2009, he ordered the Liberal Party to support the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was a proposed cap-and-trade system of emissions trading for anthropogenic greenhouse gases, due to be introduced in Australia in 2010 by the Rudd government, as part of its climate change policy. It marked a major change in the energy policy of Australia...
proposed by the Labor
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...
government. This prompted substantial opposition in the party, and Turnbull was voted out of his leadership post on 1 December.
In April 2010 Turnbull announced his retirement, but changed his mind a month later.
Early life
Turnbull was born on 24 October 1954 to Bruce Turnbull and Coral LansburyCoral Lansbury
-Parents and family:Coral Lansbury was born in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda. Her parents were Oscar Vincent Stephen Lansbury and his wife, May . They were touring Australia in a production of the musical Showboat, and were stranded by the Great Depression...
, who married the following year. His father was a hotel broker; his mother was a radio actor, writer and academic and a cousin of the British film and television actor Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
. They separated when Malcolm was nine and he was brought up by his father. He spent his first three years of school at Vaucluse Public School
Vaucluse Public School
Vaucluse Public School, is a school located in Vaucluse Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is a co-educational public school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training with students from years K to 6. The school was established in 1858.- Notable alumni :* Malcolm...
. He continued his primary education at the private fee paying Sydney Grammar Prep, St Ives
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
. He then went to Sydney Grammar School's senior school at College Street
College Street, Sydney
College Street in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia is a major street in the centre of the Central Business District. It runs from Queens Square near St James station to Whitlam Square at Liverpool St...
in Sydney. He was senior school co-captain in 1972. In 1987, in memory of his late father, he set up the Bruce Turnbull means-tested scholarship at Sydney Grammar, which offers full remission of fees to a student unable to afford them.
Turnbull graduated from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
with a double degree in law and arts. He then studied law at Brasenose College
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
, a constituent college of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
as a Rhodes Scholar
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
from 1978 to 1980. He studied for a Bachelor of Civil Law
Bachelor of Civil Law
Bachelor of Civil Law is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. Historically, it originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but many universities now offer the BCL as an undergraduate degree...
degree while at Oxford and then returned to Australia. While at university in Sydney he worked as a political journalist for Nation Review
Nation Review
Nation Reviewwas an Australian Sunday newspaper, which ceased publication in 1981. It was launched in 1970 after independent publisher Gordon Barton bought out Tom Fitzgerald's Nation publication and merged it with his own Sunday Review journal...
, Radio 2SM
2SM
2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, New South Wales, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group...
and Channel 9
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
covering state politics. While at Oxford he worked for The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
as well as contributing to newspapers and magazines in the United States and Australia. He married Lucy Hughes
Lucy Turnbull
Lucinda Mary "Lucy" Turnbull, née Hughes AO , a former Australian politician and former Lord Mayor of Sydney, is a prominent Australian business leader and company director. Turnbull was the first female Lord Mayor of Sydney, between 2003 and 2004 and was Deputy Lord Mayor, between 1999 and 2003...
in 1980 at Cumnor
Cumnor
Cumnor is a village and civil parish west of the centre of Oxford, England. The parish of Cumnor includes Cumnor Hill, , Chawley , the Dean Court area on the edge of Botley and the outlying settlements of Chilswell, Farmoor and Swinford...
, near Oxford, while he was studying at Oxford University. He and Lucy returned to Australia later that year when he was admitted to the bar. Turnbull left the bar in 1983 to become the General Counsel for Consolidated Press Holdings Limited, the Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
family's media group. He rose to the public's attention as the successful advocate in the Spycatcher
Spycatcher
Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer , is a book written by Peter Wright, former MI5 officer and Assistant Director, and co-author Paul Greengrass. It was published first in Australia...
trial (he blocked the British Government's attempts to suppress the memoirs of a former MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
agent), and later wrote a book on the trial.
Career
Turnbull was General Counsel and Secretary for Australian Consolidated PressAustralian Consolidated Press
ACP Magazines , a subsidiary of the Nine Entertainment Co., is an Australian media company. It publishes the Australian Women's Weekly and the Australian edition of Woman's Day....
Holdings Group, the family company of Kerry Packer
Kerry Packer
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
, from 1983 to 1985. During this time he defended Packer against the "Goanna" allegations made by the Costigan Commission
Costigan Commission
The Costigan Commission was a controversial Australian royal commission....
. In partnership with Bruce McWilliam he established his own law firm, Turnbull McWilliam, in 1986 and in that year successfully defended Peter Wright
Peter Wright
Peter Maurice Wright was an English scientist and former MI5 counterintelligence officer, noted for writing the controversial book Spycatcher, which became an international bestseller with sales of over two million copies...
in his battle with the British Government over his book Spycatcher. In 1987, he established an investment banking firm, Whitlam Turnbull & Co Ltd in partnership with Neville Wran
Neville Wran
Neville Kenneth Wran, AC, CNZM, QC was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 until 1986. He was National President of the Australian Labor Party from 1980 to 1986 and Chairman of both the Lionel Murphy Foundation and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation from 1986...
(former Labor
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...
Premier of New South Wales) and the former State Bank of New South Wales
State Bank of New South Wales
The State Bank of New South Wales was a bank that was owned by the Government of New South Wales. It existed from 1933 until 2000, when it was taken over by the Commonwealth Bank....
chief executive, Nicholas Whitlam
Nicholas Whitlam
Nicholas Richard Whitlam born 6 December 1945, is an Australian businessman, the son of former Prime Minister Edward Gough Whitlam and Margaret Whitlam. He first became publicly prominent in 1981 when he was appointed chief executive of the State Bank of New South Wales...
(son of Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
, former Labor
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...
Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
). Whitlam parted company with the others in 1990, and, from then until 1997, when Turnbull moved to become a managing director and later a partner of Goldman Sachs, the firm operated as Turnbull & Partners Ltd.
Turnbull was also chair of a large Australia Internet Service Provider, OzEmail
OzEmail
OzEmail was a major Internet service provider in Australia, until it was acquired by the iiNet ISP on February 28, 2005.-History:In the early 1980s, Sean Howard was the editor of the Australian Personal Computer magazine and was running a small electronic mail service called Microtex...
(1994–99), a director of FTR Holdings Ltd (1995–2004), chair and managing director of Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
Australia (1997–2001) and a partner with Goldman Sachs and Co (1998–2001). In the 1990s, Turnbull was chairman of Axiom Forest Resources, which conducted logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
in the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
under the trading name Silvania Forest Products. The latter's work was described by the Australian International Development Aid Bureau as a "clear-felling operation", and the then Solomon Islands Prime Minister Solomon Mamaloni
Solomon Mamaloni
Solomon Mamaloni was the second Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands three times:* August 31, 1981 - November 19, 1984* March 28, 1989 - June 18, 1993* November 7, 1994 - August 27, 1997...
reportedly threatened to close it down for "constant breaches of logging practices", according to a critical article in the Solomon Times.
In 1999, Turnbull sold OzEmail to the then telecommunications giant MCI Worldcom. Turnbull's stake was reportedly worth nearly A$60 million. In the same year he used his software and investment company FTR Holdings Ltd to take positions in a number of Internet businesses including Webcentral and Chaos.com
Chaos.com
Chaos.com is an online retailer now based in Melbourne, Australia that offers CDs, DVDs, Games, Books, Merchandise and Music Downloads. Similar to Amazon.com it ships to all countries including Australia, USA, UK, France, Germany, Japan, Spain and Singapore...
. In 2005 his net worth was estimated at $133 million, making him Australia's richest parliamentarian. The 2009 annual BRW
Business Review Weekly
BRW is an Australian weekly business magazine published by the Fairfax Media group. It regularly compiles lists which rank corporations and individuals according to various criteria, similar to Fortune magazine in the United States.BRW provides news and commentary on the economy, business and...
list of the richest Australians put Turnbull at 182 of 200, with an estimated net worth of $178 million. He is the only MP in Australia to make the list. Malcolm Turnbull made the BRW Rich 200 list for the second year running in 2010, and although he slipped from 182 to 197, his estimated net worth increased to $186 million, continuing to be the only sitting politician to make the list.
In May 2002, Turnbull appeared before the HIH
HIH Insurance
HIH Insurance was Australia's second largest insurance company. It was placed into provisional liquidation on 15 March 2001. The demise of HIH is considered to be the largest corporate collapse in Australia's history, with liquidators estimating that HIH's losses totalled up to $5.3 billion...
royal commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
and was questioned on Goldman Sachs' involvement on the possible privatisation of one of the acquisitions of the collapsed insurance company. The Royal Commissioner's Report made no adverse findings against him or Goldman Sachs.
Turnbull was Federal Treasurer of the Liberal Party and a member of the party's federal and New South Wales executives from 2002 to 2003 and was also a director of the Menzies Research Centre
Menzies Research Centre
The Menzies Research Centre in an Australian think tank that began in 1994 to undertake research into public policy issues. The centre is controlled by the Liberal Party of Australia and they share common conservative/neo-liberal values...
, the Liberal Party's research centre.
Australian Republican Movement
From 1993 to 2000, Turnbull was the chairman of the Australian Republican MovementAustralian Republican Movement
The Australian Republican Movement is a non-partisan lobby group advocating constitutional change in Australia to a republican form of government, from a constitutional monarchy.-Foundation:...
. He was an elected delegate at the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998
Australian Constitutional Convention 1998
The Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 was a Constitutional Convention which gathered at Old Parliament House, Canberra from 2–13 February 1998. It was called by the Howard Government to discuss whether Australia should become a republic...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
in February. At the Convention, Turnbull cautioned against mixing the roles of President and Prime Minister and ultimately supported the Bi-partisan appointment republican model
Bi-partisan appointment republican model
The Bi-partisan appointment republican model is a proposal for Australian constitutional reform. If approved at referendum, the model would have established Australia as a republic with a Head of State appointed by the Australian Federal Parliament...
adopted by the Convention. Turnbull was active in the unsuccessful 1999 referendum
Australian republic referendum, 1999
The Australian republic referendum held on 6 November 1999 was a two-question referendum to amend the Constitution of Australia. The first question asked whether Australia should become a republic with a President appointed by Parliament following a bi-partisan appointment model which had...
campaign to establish an Australian republic
Republicanism in Australia
Republicanism in Australia is a movement to change Australia's status as a constitutional monarchy to a republican form of government. Such sentiments have been expressed in Australia from before federation onward to the present...
. He published a book on the subject, called Fighting for the Republic. In 2000 Turnbull retired as chairman of the Australian Republican Movement. Turnbull left the board of Ausflag
Ausflag
Ausflag is a not for profit organisation that was established to promote the debate on the flag of Australia.Ausflag was formed in 1981 by Harold Scruby who has since worked to foster debate on the design of the flag...
in 1994 after being asked for his resignation and in 2004 joined the Australian National Flag Association
Australian National Flag Association
The Australian National Flag Association was launched at a public meeting in Sydney on 5 October 1983 to oppose suggestions that the existing Australian National Flag is not appropriately representative of the nation, and should be changed, with the late Sir Colin Hines elected as founding President...
.
Howard Government
Turnbull first ran for Liberal Party preselectionPreselection
Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties...
for the seat of Wentworth
Division of Wentworth
The Division of Wentworth is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was proclaimed in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. The Division is named after William Charles Wentworth , a noted Australian explorer and statesman...
in the eastern suburbs of Sydney in the Wentworth 1981 by-election
Wentworth by-election, 1981
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Wentworth on 11 April 1981. This was triggered by the resignation of Liberal Party MP Robert Ellicott.The by-election was won by Liberal Party candidate Peter Coleman.-Results:...
, but was beaten by Peter Coleman
Peter Coleman
William Peter Coleman is an Australian writer/journalist, former politician and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Tom Lewis and Sir Eric Willis. Following Willis' resignation as leader he was made Leader of the New South Wales Opposition...
. In 2003, Turnbull announced that he was seeking a seat in Federal Parliament
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
. In early 2004 he won another hotly contested battle for Wentworth, defeating Peter King
Peter King (Australian politician)
Peter Edward King , Australian politician, was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives from November 2001 to October 2004, representing the seat of Wentworth, New South Wales. He was born in Bingara, New South Wales, and was educated at the Shore School,...
, the sitting Liberal member. King ran for the seat at the 2004 election as an independent. This turned the traditionally safe Liberal electorate into an electoral wildcard, the contest for the seat becoming a three man race between Turnbull, King and Labor
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...
candidate David Patch. During the campaign, Turnbull spent over $600,000 on electoral expenditure. The Liberal vote fell 10 per cent, but Turnbull still won.
Announcing his cabinet reshuffle on 24 January 2006, the Prime Minister John Howard promoted Turnbull from the backbench to Parliamentary Secretary
Parliamentary Secretary
A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
, with special responsibility for water. In this new capacity he reported directly to the Prime Minister. On 26 September 2006, John Howard announced the creation, within the department of the Prime Minister, of the new "Office of Water Resources" to address the problem of drought in Australia. Turnbull was in charge of this office until he was elevated by Prime Minister John Howard to head the Environment and Water Resources portfolio in January 2007.
In his position as Environment Minister, Turnbull approved a proposed $1.7 billion Bell Bay Pulp Mill
Bell Bay Pulp Mill
The Bell Bay Pulp Mill, also known as the Tamar Valley Pulp Mill or Gunns Pulp Mill, is a proposed $2.3 billion pulp mill which Gunns Limited is planning to build in the Tamar Valley, near Launceston, Tasmania.-Proposed mill:...
in Tasmania's north, near Launceston
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart...
. His final approval of the Bell Bay Pulp Mill
Bell Bay Pulp Mill
The Bell Bay Pulp Mill, also known as the Tamar Valley Pulp Mill or Gunns Pulp Mill, is a proposed $2.3 billion pulp mill which Gunns Limited is planning to build in the Tamar Valley, near Launceston, Tasmania.-Proposed mill:...
project of Gunns Ltd came on 4 October 2007. Turnbull's approval followed a report by the Government's chief scientist Jim Peacock
Jim Peacock
William James Peacock AC was Chief Scientist of Australia , President of the Australian Academy of Science and Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry ....
on the project's potential environmental impact, which requires the project to meet 48 "strict environmental" conditions. Critics have accused him of failing to assess the environmental cost of the mill in terms of forest destruction and greenhouse emissions. According to The Wilderness Society
The Wilderness Society (Australia)
The Wilderness Society is an Australian, community-based, not-for-profit non-governmental environmental advocacy organisation. Its purpose is to protect, promote and restore wilderness and natural processes across Australia for the survival and ongoing evolution of life on Earth.It is a...
, the Pulp Mill will, amongst a number of other toxic emissions, increase Australia's yearly contribution to greenhouse gas emission by more than 2 per cent. This reportedly amounts to an extra 10 million tonnes of greenhouse gas a year
In February 2007, Turnbull was criticised for claiming a government allowance of $175 a night and paying it to his wife as rent while living in a townhouse owned by her in Canberra.
During the 2007 election campaign, Turnbull announced that the then Government would contribute $10 million to the investigation of an untried Russian technology that aims to trigger rainfall from the atmosphere, even when there are no clouds. Literature suggests that the technology is based on bogus science. The Australian Rain Corporation presented research documents written in Russian, explained by a Russian researcher who spoke to local experts in Russian.
Although Turnbull claimed that Australian Rain Corporation is Australian-based, investigations have shown that it is in fact 75 per cent Swiss-owned. It was also revealed that a prominent stakeholder in the Australian Rain Corporation, Matt Handbury, is a nephew of Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
. Turnbull has refused to answer questions regarding Matt Handbury's contribution to the Wentworth Forum, the main fund-raising organisation for Turnbull's 2007 election campaign.
In 2007, Turnbull promised that his government, if elected, would grant same-sex couples death benefits in Commonwealth superannuation schemes, a similar promise to which was made three years prior during the 2004 Federal election campaign.
Opposition
Turnbull retained his seat at the 2007 election gaining a two-party 1.3 per cent swing in WentworthDivision of Wentworth
The Division of Wentworth is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It was proclaimed in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. The Division is named after William Charles Wentworth , a noted Australian explorer and statesman...
, despite a 5.6 per cent swing away from the coalition in the state, and a 5.4 per cent swing nationwide.
Prime Minister Howard had lost his own seat of Bennelong
Division of Bennelong
The Division of Bennelong is an Australian electorate in New South Wales. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Bennelong, an Aboriginal man befriended by the first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip...
, and on 25 November 2007, Liberal deputy leader Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
announced he would not seek the party leadership. Turnbull declared his candidacy later the same day, and was considered a favourite by many. He lost to Brendan Nelson
Brendan Nelson
Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
, in a 45 to 42 vote
Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2007
An election for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 29 November 2007. At the same time an election for the deputy leadership of the party was held, as under Liberal Party rules, all leadership positions are declared vacant after a general election, no matter what the...
.
Nelson in turn appointed him Shadow Treasurer
Shadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
.
Shortly afterwards, fellow Opposition front bencher Nick Minchin
Nick Minchin
Nicholas Hugh "Nick" Minchin is a former Australian politician, serving as a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing South Australia from July 1993 to June 2011, and a former cabinet minister in the Howard Government....
suggested that Turnbull's failure to consult with party colleagues before declaring his opinion to the media on such issues as an apology to the Stolen Generations cost him the leadership. This led to a disagreement between the two and culminated in Minchin privately telling Turnbull that he was "too f***ing sensitive".
In May 2008, Turnbull attacked the 2008 Australian federal budget
2008 Australian federal budget
The 2008 to 2009 budget was released on 13 May 2008, with a particular emphasis on family welfare and capital investment funds, the Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan selling it to the House of Representatives as "a A$55 billion Working Families Support Package" that "strengthens...
, concerned by increased taxes on luxury cars and certain alcoholic drinks, citing possible increased inflation.
Leader of the Opposition
Nelson was not a successful party leader. On 16 September 2008, Turnbull was elected party leaderLiberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2008
An election for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 16 September 2008. The successful candidate was Malcolm Turnbull who defeated former leader Brendan Nelson...
by 45 votes to 41.
In January 2009, Turnbull appointed former Alexander Downer
Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
staffer and Advertiser journalist Chris Kenny
Chris Kenny
Chris Kenny is a retired American soccer defender who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League.-Youth:...
as his chief of staff.
In May 2009, Turnbull attacked the 2009 Australian federal budget
2009 Australian federal budget
The 2009 to 2010 Australian federal budget was released on 12 May 2009 by the Treasurer of Australia, Wayne Swan. Swan has commented that the budget will be tougher than in previous years...
, in particular the means testing of the private health insurance rebate.
On 19 June 2009 Treasury
Department of the Treasury (Australia)
The Department of the Treasury is an Australian Government department. Its role is to focus and develop economic policy.-History:The Commonwealth Treasury was established in Melbourne in January 1901....
official Godwin Grech alleged that a car dealer with links to the Labor Party had received preferential treatment under the Ozcar program, sparking the so-called 'OzCar affair
OzCar affair
The OzCar affair refers to a 2009 controversy in Australian federal politics, revolving around allegations made by then Federal Leader of the Opposition and Liberal leader, Malcolm Turnbull, that the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and/or the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, had acted improperly on behalf of a...
'. That day Turnbull stated that Prime Minister Rudd and Treasurer Wayne Swan
Wayne Swan
Wayne Maxwell Swan is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996, and then re elected in 1998 till today , representing the Division of Lilley, QLD...
had "used their offices and taxpayers' resources to seek advantage for one of their mates and then lied about it to the Parliament" and that they needed to explain their actions or resign. On 22 June the e-mail Grech had provided to the Liberal Party to support this allegation was found to have been faked by Grech, something he later admitted, and an Australian National Audit Office
Australian National Audit Office
The Australian National Audit Office is the national auditor for the Parliament of Australia and Government of Australia. It reports directly to Parliament but is administratively located in the Portfolio of Prime Minister and Cabinet....
inquiry cleared both Rudd and Swan of any wrongdoing on 4 August. Turnbull's handing of the OzCar affair led to a large decline in his and the Liberal Party's approval ratings in opinion polls.
On 24 November 2009 a party room meeting was held to discuss the 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...
government's proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS)
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was a proposed cap-and-trade system of emissions trading for anthropogenic greenhouse gases, due to be introduced in Australia in 2010 by the Rudd government, as part of its climate change policy. It marked a major change in the energy policy of Australia...
. Turnbull instructed the party to support CPRS despite significant disagreement among his colleagues.
There was even a suggestion that some Liberal Senators
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
should vote to "guillotine" debate
Cloture
In parliamentary procedure, cloture is a motion or process aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. It is also called closure or, informally, a guillotine. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. Clôture is French for "ending" or "conclusion"...
and force an immediate Senate vote on the CPRS bill. (If the Senate rejected the bill, this would give the government a double dissolution
Double dissolution
A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks between the House of Representatives and the Senate....
trigger.)
In response the next day, MPs Wilson Tuckey
Wilson Tuckey
Charles Wilson Tuckey , a former Australian federal politician, was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the seat of O'Connor in Western Australia for the Liberal Party from 1980 until 2010.-Biography:...
and Dennis Jensen
Dennis Jensen
Dr Dennis Jensen , Australian politician, was elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the 9 October 2004 federal election for the Division of Tangney, Western Australia, for the Liberal Party.- Education :...
made a "spill motion" (for a party leadership vote), but it was defeated by 48 votes to 35. The rebellion continued, though — many front bench Liberals resigned from the shadow cabinet, including Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
.
On 1 December 2009, a spill motion was carried. Turnbull lost the subsequent leadership election
Liberal Party of Australia leadership election, 2009
An election for the federal parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party of Australia was held on 1 December 2009. The incumbent, Malcolm Turnbull, was defeated by Tony Abbott in a three-way vote of Liberal Party Members of Parliament . Joe Hockey also stood as a candidate...
to Abbott by 42 votes to 41 on the second ballot.
After the leadership vote, Turnbull said he would serve out his full term as member for Wentworth. On 6 April 2010, he announced he would not seek re-election. However, on 1 May 2010 he reversed his decision.
At the 2010 federal election, Turnbull was re-elected with a swing of over 11% and was subsequently brought back to the front bench as shadow communications minister.
Writing
Turnbull has written several books in relation to his contributions to the republican debate, as well as his experiences during the Spycatcher trial. Notable examples of his writings include: The Spycatcher Trial (1988); The Reluctant Republic (1993; foreword by Robert HughesRobert Hughes (critic)
Robert Studley Forrest Hughes, AO is an Australian-born art critic, writer and television documentary maker who has resided in New York since 1970.-Early life:...
, his wife's uncle); and Fighting for the Republic: the Ultimate Insider's Account (1999).
In 1994 a portrait of Turnbull by artist Bill Leak
Bill Leak
Bill Leak is a cartoonist and painter, primarily of portraits. He is the daily editorial cartoonist on The Australian newspaper. He has won the Walkley Awards nine times....
won the People's Choice award at the Archibald Prize
Archibald Prize
The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
.
Personal life
Turnbull is married to prominent businesswoman and former mayor Lucy TurnbullLucy Turnbull
Lucinda Mary "Lucy" Turnbull, née Hughes AO , a former Australian politician and former Lord Mayor of Sydney, is a prominent Australian business leader and company director. Turnbull was the first female Lord Mayor of Sydney, between 2003 and 2004 and was Deputy Lord Mayor, between 1999 and 2003...
. They and their two children, Alex and Daisy, live in Sydney.
Although Turnbull is a convert to Roman Catholicism, he has found himself at odds with the church's teaching on abortion
Catholicism and abortion
The Roman Catholic Church opposes all forms of abortion procedures whose direct purpose is to destroy an embryo, blastocyst, zygote or fetus, since it holds that "human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception...
and stem cell research. Turnbull supported legislation relaxing restrictions on abortion pill RU486 and he also voted for the legalisation of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
Somatic cell nuclear transfer
In genetics and developmental biology, somatic-cell nuclear transfer is a laboratory technique for creating a clonal embryo, using an ovum with a donor nucleus . It can be used in embryonic stem cell research, or, potentially, in regenerative medicine where it is sometimes referred to as...
(therapeutic cloning). He did so despite the vocal public opposition to both proposals by Cardinal George Pell
George Pell
George Pell AC is an Australian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the eighth and current Archbishop of Sydney, serving since 2001. He previously served as auxiliary bishop and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Melbourne...
, Archbishop of Sydney.
The use of Bligh as a male middle name is a tradition in the Turnbull family. It is Turnbull's middle name as well as that of his son, Alex. One of Turnbull's ancestors was colonist John Turnbull, who named his youngest son William Bligh Turnbull in honour of deposed Governor William Bligh
William Bligh
Vice Admiral William Bligh FRS RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A notorious mutiny occurred during his command of HMAV Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers...
at the time of the Rum Rebellion
Rum Rebellion
The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was the only successful armed takeover of government in Australia's history. The Governor of New South Wales, William Bligh, was deposed by the New South Wales Corps under the command of Major George Johnston, working closely with John Macarthur, on 26 January 1808, 20...
.
Turnbull is a supporter of the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
rugby league team in the Australian National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
, and the Sydney Swans
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
in the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
.