Greg Hunt

The Honourable Greg Hunt MP
Hunt in 2015
Minister for Health
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 August 2018
Prime Minister	Scott Morrison
Preceded by	Vacant
In office 24 January 2017 – 23 August 2018
Prime Minister	Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Sussan Ley
Succeeded by	Vacant
Minister for Sport
In office 24 January 2017 – 20 December 2017
Prime Minister	Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Sussan Ley
Succeeded by	Bridget McKenzie
Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science
In office 19 July 2016 – 24 January 2017
Prime Minister	Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Christopher Pyne
Succeeded by	Arthur Sinodinos
Minister for the Environment
In office 18 September 2013 – 19 July 2016
Prime Minister	Tony Abbott Malcolm Turnbull
Preceded by	Mark Butler
Succeeded by	Josh Frydenberg
Member of the Australian Parliament for Flinders
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 November 2001
Preceded by	Peter Reith
Majority	7.1%
Personal details
Born	Gregory Andrew Hunt (1965-11-18) 18 November 1965 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Paula Lindsey
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Melbourne Yale University
Website	Official website

Gregory Andrew Hunt (born 18 November 1965) is an Australian politician serving as Health Minister in the Morrison Government and Liberal Member of the House of Representatives since November 2001, representing the Division of Flinders in Victoria.

He served in the Australian Government as a Cabinet Minister, as Minister for the Environment from September 2013 to July 2016, in the Abbott and Turnbull Government.^[1] Hunt served as Minister for Health from 24 January 2017 until 23 August 2018, following criticism of the leadership of Malcolm Turnbull and an attempted leadership spill. Hunt was re-appointed as Health Minister in the Morrison Government on 28 August 2018.^[2][3]

Background and early career

Hunt was born in Melbourne and attended the Peninsula School.^[4] He went on to Melbourne Law School, where he won a prize for a final-year thesis he co-authored, titled A Tax to Make the Polluter Pay.^[5] Hunt was an associate to the Chief Justice of the Australian Federal Court in 1992, and subsequently attended Yale University as a Fulbright Scholar, where he obtained a Master of Arts in International Relations.^[4]

Beginning in 1994, Hunt served as a senior adviser to Alexander Downer, during both his periods as Leader of the Opposition (1994 to 1995) and Minister for Foreign Affairs (1995 to 1998). He then worked for McKinsey & Company from 1999 to 2001, and was also Director of Strategy at the World Economic Forum in Geneva from 2000 to 2001.^[4]

Political career

A member of the Liberal Party since 1994, Hunt was first elected to parliament at the 2001 federal election, replacing the retiring Peter Reith in the Division of Flinders. He was first elevated to the ministry following the 2004 federal election, when he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage. In January 2007, Hunt was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Following the Coalition's defeat at the 2007 election, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water.^[6] His title was altered to Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Heritage after the 2010 election.^[7]

After the 2013 federal election, Hunt was appointed Minister for the Environment in the Abbott Government.^[8] One of his first actions as minister was to inform Tim Flannery, the head of the Gillard government's Climate Commission, that the government was closing this body, as per its election platform.^[9] In December 2013, he announced a project to dredge Abbot Point, which was approved by the Marine Park Authority in January 2014.^[10] Following the change in Liberal Party leadership in September 2015, Hunt was retained as Minister for the Environment in the new Turnbull Government.^[11]

In February 2016, Hunt was named "Best Minister in the World" by a panel established by Thomson Reuters for the 2016 World Government Summit of Dubai.^[12]

With the reelection of the Turnbull Government in 2016, Hunt became the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science in the Second Turnbull Ministry.^[13]

Following the resignation of Sussan Ley as Health Minister, Turnbull appointed Hunt as the Minister for Health and the Minister for Sport.^[14][2]

In June 2017 Hunt, Michael Sukkar and Alan Tudge faced the possibility of being prosecuted for contempt of court after they made public statements criticising the sentencing decisions of two senior judges while the government was awaiting their ruling on a related appeal.^[15][16] They avoided prosecution by, eventually, making an unconditional apology to the Victorian Court of Appeal.^[17][18][19] Conviction could have resulted in their expulsion from the parliament under Constitution s 44(ii) and, as a result, the government losing its one-seat majority in the House of Representatives. On the 23rd of August 2018 Greg Hunt resigned as the Health Minister.

Hunt ran In the August 2018 Deputy Liberal Party leadership spill Minister for the Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg won a majority in the first round with 46 votes, while Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo received 20 and Minister for Health Greg Hunt received 16.^[20]

Personal life

Hunt is married and has a daughter and a son. His father, Alan Hunt, was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council between 1961 and 1992.

References

External links

• Official website
• Search or browse Hansard for Greg Hunt at OpenAustralia.org