Steve Fielding
Encyclopedia
Steven "Steve" Fielding (born 17 October 1960), was a Senator
representing the state of Victoria and the federal parliamentary leader of the Family First Party
in Australia. Elected to the Senate at the 2004 federal election on two percent of the Victorian vote, he failed to gain re-election at the 2010 federal election. His term ended 30 June 2011.
. His parents, Shirley and George Fielding, had a large family consisting of 16 children, and Fielding spent much of his childhood sharing a bedroom with five brothers in the family's three-bedroom home. His early education was at the local Keon Park Primary School, while for his secondary education he attended the nearby Merrilands High School.
Academically, Fielding suffered setbacks through an undiagnosed case of dyslexia
, and this led to problems studying subjects such as English. Nevertheless, he excelled in Maths, and his high marks in this subject allowed him to graduate with sufficiently high scores to gain entry into the Bachelor of Engineering
degree at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
(RMIT), where he studied electronic engineering
. Upon graduating in 1983, Fielding accepted a position at Hewlett-Packard
, and later he moved into management at technology firms NEC
and Siemens
.
Fielding returned to university to undertake a Master of Business Administration
(MBA) at Monash University
. He completed his degree in 1992, and this led him to move to Wellington
, New Zealand, where he worked for Telecom New Zealand
in "change management" during a difficult time for the industry, as it was undergoing deregulation
. He returned to Australia three years later, in 1995, and upon his return he worked for United Energy, the Australian Yellow Pages
, and as a marketing manager at Vision Super.
His first foray into politics came in 2003 when he successfully stood as an Independent candidate for the Knox City Council. Fielding has described the decision to stand as "very last-minute", but others, such as the mayor of the council, Jenny Moore, and then Victorian Labor
MP
Peter Lockwood
, claim that Fielding was very open about his intent to move into Federal politics. Either way, both Lockwood and Labor
MP Bob Stensholt
have described how Fielding later made inquiries about the possibility of running for one of the major parties prior to joining Family First.
to be elected to the Federal Parliament
.
Fielding's election was not expected – Family First had only been founded two years prior to the election, and it was not expected to succeed in its first Federal election in the state of Victoria. Like many Senators he gained a quota under the Senate's proportional representation
system by receiving preferences from other parties (see Australian electoral system
). The Australian Democrats
and the Australian Labor Party
agreed to swap preferences with Family First. But Fielding benefited from the larger-than-expected surplus of Liberal
preferences, and stayed in the count long enough to receive Democrat and Labor preferences, defeating the Australian Greens'
candidate David Risstrom
for the last Senate place in Victoria. As a result, Fielding was elected with just 2519 first preference votes (0.08%), and his party as a whole received just 56,376 votes (1.9%) for the Federal Senate in Victoria.
When first elected the Howard Government
held a slim majority in the Senate, sufficient so that Fielding would only hold the balance of power if one of the government Senators chose to cross the floor
. This changed after the 2007 Federal election (the changes of which took effect in 2008) when the balance of power in the Senate shifted to a combination of the five Australian Greens
Senators, independent Nick Xenophon
and Steve Fielding.
industrial relations policies, he indicated disagreement with government policies. In February 2009, he told a Senate hearing that he believed divorce added to the impact of global warming
because it resulted in people switching to a "resource-inefficient lifestyle".
, the overturning of civil unions legislation in the Australian Capital Territory
, and changes to media ownership laws. Conversely, his intention to vote "no" ensured the defeat of the Howard government's proposed tightening of asylum seeker laws.
in blocking the budget legislation. It was passed after Fielding negotiated exemptions for farmers and tourism operators.
and other "big names" to join him. The revelations came after Fielding changed his position on abortion, after being rebuffed by his party for taking a softer approach.
is not currently reported on his official website.
, Fielding suggested “some women may rort the scheme by deliberately falling pregnant and then having a late-term abortion”. He was subsequently criticised by all sides of Australian politics for these comments.
. Fielding joined protesting pensioners in May 2008, who brought traffic to a standstill in the Melbourne CBD, when he and others took their shirts off in the style of the cab drivers who successfully stripped for increased cab security, to demand an increase in the Pension from the government, of an extra $70 to $100 a week.
Fielding has also dressed as a giant beer bottle in order to promote Family First's proposed policy to introduce a bottle return scheme
.
, a large Pentecostal church in Melbourne. On the ABC television programme Q&A
he admitted to being a creationist but would not answer whether or not he believes that the Earth is less than 10,000 years old
. Fielding and his wife Susan have three children, James, Campbell and Gabrielle. He has claimed that he was sexually abused by a scoutmaster and family friend for two years during his teenage years. No-one has been charged or prosecuted for the alleged offences.
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,...
representing the state of Victoria and the federal parliamentary leader of the Family First Party
Family First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
in Australia. Elected to the Senate at the 2004 federal election on two percent of the Victorian vote, he failed to gain re-election at the 2010 federal election. His term ended 30 June 2011.
Early life
Fielding was born on 17 October 1960, in the Australian state capital of Melbourne, where he was raised in the suburb of ReservoirReservoir, Victoria
Reservoir is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 12 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Darebin. At the 2006 Census, Reservoir had a population of 45,970....
. His parents, Shirley and George Fielding, had a large family consisting of 16 children, and Fielding spent much of his childhood sharing a bedroom with five brothers in the family's three-bedroom home. His early education was at the local Keon Park Primary School, while for his secondary education he attended the nearby Merrilands High School.
Academically, Fielding suffered setbacks through an undiagnosed case of dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
, and this led to problems studying subjects such as English. Nevertheless, he excelled in Maths, and his high marks in this subject allowed him to graduate with sufficiently high scores to gain entry into the Bachelor of Engineering
Bachelor of Engineering
The Bachelor of Engineering is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at universities in Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland , Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Korea,...
degree at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
(RMIT), where he studied electronic engineering
Electronic engineering
Electronics engineering, also referred to as electronic engineering, is an engineering discipline where non-linear and active electrical components such as electron tubes, and semiconductor devices, especially transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, are utilized to design electronic...
. Upon graduating in 1983, Fielding accepted a position at Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
, and later he moved into management at technology firms NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
and Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
.
Fielding returned to university to undertake a Master of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
(MBA) at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
. He completed his degree in 1992, and this led him to move to Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand, where he worked for Telecom New Zealand
Telecom New Zealand
Telecom New Zealand is a New Zealand-wide communications service provider , providing fixed line telephone services, a mobile network, an internet service provider , a major ICT provider to NZ businesses , and a wholesale network infrastructure provider to other NZ CSPs...
in "change management" during a difficult time for the industry, as it was undergoing deregulation
Deregulation
Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
. He returned to Australia three years later, in 1995, and upon his return he worked for United Energy, the Australian Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages refers to a telephone directory of businesses, organized by category, rather than alphabetically by business name and in which advertising is sold. As the name suggests, such directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for non-commercial listings...
, and as a marketing manager at Vision Super.
His first foray into politics came in 2003 when he successfully stood as an Independent candidate for the Knox City Council. Fielding has described the decision to stand as "very last-minute", but others, such as the mayor of the council, Jenny Moore, and then Victorian 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...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Peter Lockwood
Peter Lockwood
Peter Lockwood is a former Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, for a single term from 2002 to 2006....
, claim that Fielding was very open about his intent to move into Federal politics. Either way, both Lockwood 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...
MP Bob Stensholt
Bob Stensholt
Robert Einar "Bob" Stensholt was an Australian politician in the Victorian Parliament.He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2010, representing the electorate of Burwood. From 2007 he was the Chair, Public Accounts and Estimates Committee...
have described how Fielding later made inquiries about the possibility of running for one of the major parties prior to joining Family First.
2004 election
Fielding was elected to represent Victoria in the Senate at the 2004 federal election. He is the first representative of the Family First PartyFamily First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
to be elected to the 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...
.
Fielding's election was not expected – Family First had only been founded two years prior to the election, and it was not expected to succeed in its first Federal election in the state of Victoria. Like many Senators he gained a quota under the Senate's proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
system by receiving preferences from other parties (see Australian electoral system
Australian electoral system
The Australian electoral system has evolved over nearly 150 years of continuous democratic government, and has a number of distinctive features including compulsory voting, preferential voting and the use of proportional voting to elect the upper house, the Australian Senate.- Compulsory voting...
). The Australian Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
and the Australian Labor Party
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...
agreed to swap preferences with Family First. But Fielding benefited from the larger-than-expected surplus of Liberal
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...
preferences, and stayed in the count long enough to receive Democrat and Labor preferences, defeating the Australian Greens'
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
candidate David Risstrom
David Risstrom
David Risstrom is a Melbourne barrister, a former Melbourne City Councillor, and a former Australian Greens candidate for the Australian Senate....
for the last Senate place in Victoria. As a result, Fielding was elected with just 2519 first preference votes (0.08%), and his party as a whole received just 56,376 votes (1.9%) for the Federal Senate in Victoria.
When first elected the Howard Government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
held a slim majority in the Senate, sufficient so that Fielding would only hold the balance of power if one of the government Senators chose to cross the floor
Crossing the floor
In politics, crossing the floor has two meanings referring to a change of allegiance in a Westminster system parliament.The term originates from the British House of Commons, which is configured with the Government and Opposition facing each other on rows of benches...
. This changed after the 2007 Federal election (the changes of which took effect in 2008) when the balance of power in the Senate shifted to a combination of the five Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
Senators, independent Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon
Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
and Steve Fielding.
Federal politics
While Family First is generally regarded as a conservative party, Fielding has said that he will not be an automatic supporter of the federal opposition in the Senate. On some issues which he sees as affecting the well-being of families, such as the WorkChoicesWorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
industrial relations policies, he indicated disagreement with government policies. In February 2009, he told a Senate hearing that he believed divorce added to the impact of global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
because it resulted in people switching to a "resource-inefficient lifestyle".
Balance of power
With some backbenchers being willing to cross the floor, Fielding's vote was important on some of the Howard government's more controversial legislation. His vote ensured the passage of Voluntary student unionismVoluntary student unionism
Voluntary student unionism is a policy, notable in Australia, under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations is voluntary....
, the overturning of civil unions legislation in the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
, and changes to media ownership laws. Conversely, his intention to vote "no" ensured the defeat of the Howard government's proposed tightening of asylum seeker laws.
Climate change
In mid-2009 Senator Fielding flew to the US on a self funded trip to discover more about climate change. He came back unconvinced that man made carbon dioxide emissions were the main driver of climate change. He has since voted against the Rudd Government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. Senator Fielding also attended the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December 2009.Youth allowance
In 2009 Senator Fielding teamed up with the coalition to defeat the Rudd Government's proposed changes to the youth allowance system. Senator Fielding said the changes were unfair to rural and regional students and that it would leave 26,000 students worse off.Alcohol
Senator Fielding opposed the Rudd Government's alcopops tax. He argued that taxing ready to drink alcohol beverages wouldn't put an end to binge drinking. Since then the Senator has campaigned hard for the government to act on Australia's binge drinking culture.Stimulus package
Following the global financial crisis the Rudd Government passed an economic stimulus package with the help of the Family First. As part of the deal Senator Fielding secured a $200 million jobs fund called 'Get Communities Working'.Voluntary Student Unionism
At the end of his campaign in support the Howard government's Voluntary Student Unionism legislation, the walls of Fielding's office were vandalised with pro-union graffiti.Luxury car tax
An increase to the luxury car tax was defeated in the Senate on 4 September 2008, with Fielding joining the coalitionCoalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
in blocking the budget legislation. It was passed after Fielding negotiated exemptions for farmers and tourism operators.
Considered changing parties
In early 2008, Fielding reportedly considered breaking away from Family First to establish a new political party, inviting Tim CostelloTim Costello
Timothy Ewen Costello AO is a prominent Baptist minister and current CEO of World Vision Australia.He is an "Australian Living Treasure". He is the brother of former treasurer of Australia and Federal Member for Higgins Peter Costello....
and other "big names" to join him. The revelations came after Fielding changed his position on abortion, after being rebuffed by his party for taking a softer approach.
ISP level content filtering
Steve Fielding has given conditional support to the mandatory ISP level filtering scheme. A spokesperson for Family First indicated that the party would want X18+ rated and refused classification (RC) content banned for everyone, including adults. Senator Fielding's support for Internet censorship in AustraliaInternet censorship in Australia
Internet censorship in Australia currently consists of a regulatory regime under which the Australian Communications and Media Authority has the power to enforce content restrictions on Internet content hosted within Australia, and maintain a "black-list" of overseas websites which is then...
is not currently reported on his official website.
Same-sex marriage
Fielding has compared same-sex marriages to incest."A bloke cannot marry his brother; it is not right. A woman cannot marry their sister; it is not right. A bloke cannot marry a bloke because it is not right, and a female cannot marry a female because it is not right. I don't support this."
Paid Parental Leave Scheme
In June 2010, during the Senate discussion on the proposed Paid Parental Leave SchemeParental leave
Parental leave is an employee benefit that provides paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. Often, the term parental leave includes maternity, paternity, and adoption leave...
, Fielding suggested “some women may rort the scheme by deliberately falling pregnant and then having a late-term abortion”. He was subsequently criticised by all sides of Australian politics for these comments.
Legislation
Senator Fielding has introduced the following legislation into Parliament:- Protecting Problem Gamblers Bill 2009
- Keeping Jobs from Going Offshore (Protection of Personal Information) Bill 2009
- Britt Lapthorne Bill 2009
- Removing Branding from Cigarette Packs Bill 2009
- Keeping Banks Accountable Bill 2009
- Removal of Excessive Super Bill 2009
- Easy Comparison of Grocery Prices Bill 2008
- Poker Machine Harm Minimisation Bill 2008
- Poker Machine Harm Reduction Tax Bill 2008
- Alcohol Toll Reduction Bill 2007
- Restoring Family Work Balance Bill 2007
- Fair Bank and Credit Card Fees Bill 2007
- Predatory Pricing Bill 2007
- Creeping Acquisitions 2007 Bill
Stunts
Fielding's use of publicity stunts has been commented on by The Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
. Fielding joined protesting pensioners in May 2008, who brought traffic to a standstill in the Melbourne CBD, when he and others took their shirts off in the style of the cab drivers who successfully stripped for increased cab security, to demand an increase in the Pension from the government, of an extra $70 to $100 a week.
Fielding has also dressed as a giant beer bottle in order to promote Family First's proposed policy to introduce a bottle return scheme
Container deposit legislation
Container-deposit legislation is any law that requires collection of a monetary deposit on soft-drink, juice, milk, water, alcoholic-beverage, and/or other containers at the point of sale...
.
Personal life
Fielding is a Christian and attends CityLife ChurchCityLife Church
CityLife Church, formerly known as Waverley Christian Fellowship, is a non-denominational megachurch in Melbourne, Australia. CityLife is a Pentecostal multi-site church with weekly meetings in Knox, Casey and Manningham in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Special services are also held in Mandarin and...
, a large Pentecostal church in Melbourne. On the ABC television programme Q&A
Q&A (TV program)
Q&A is an Australian television program, broadcast on ABC1 hosted by award-winning news journalist Tony Jones. It is similar to shows like Question Time on the BBC and Questions and Answers on RTÉ....
he admitted to being a creationist but would not answer whether or not he believes that the Earth is less than 10,000 years old
Young Earth creationism
Young Earth creationism is the religious belief that Heavens, Earth, and all life on Earth were created by direct acts of the Abrahamic God during a relatively short period, sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago...
. Fielding and his wife Susan have three children, James, Campbell and Gabrielle. He has claimed that he was sexually abused by a scoutmaster and family friend for two years during his teenage years. No-one has been charged or prosecuted for the alleged offences.