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Mark Dreyfus

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The Honourable
Mark Dreyfus
KC MP
Attorney-General of Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 June 2022
Prime MinisterAnthony Albanese
Preceded byKaty Gallagher
In office
4 February 2013 – 18 September 2013
Prime MinisterJulia Gillard
Kevin Rudd
Preceded byNicola Roxon
Succeeded byGeorge Brandis
Cabinet Secretary
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 June 2022
Prime MinisterAnthony Albanese
Preceded byPosition re-established
In office
14 September 2010 – 4 February 2013
Prime MinisterJulia Gillard
Preceded byJoe Ludwig
Succeeded byJason Clare
Special Minister of State
In office
1 July 2013 – 18 September 2013
Prime MinisterKevin Rudd
Preceded byGary Gray
Succeeded byMichael Ronaldson
Minister for the Public Service and Integrity
In office
1 July 2013 – 18 September 2013
Prime MinisterKevin Rudd
Preceded byGary Gray
Succeeded byEric Abetz
Member of the House of Representatives for Isaacs
Incumbent
Assumed office
24 November 2007
Preceded byAnn Corcoran
Personal details
Born
Mark Alfred Dreyfus

(1956-10-03) 3 October 1956 (age 68)
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Political partyLabor
Spouse
Deborah Chemke
​
​
(m. 1983; died 2023)​
Residence(s)Malvern, Victoria, Australia
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
ProfessionLawyer
Websitewww.markdreyfus.com

Mark Alfred Dreyfus KC (born 3 October 1956) is an Australian politician and lawyer who has been attorney-general of Australia and cabinet secretary since June 2022, having held both roles previously in 2013 and from 2010 to 2013 respectively. Dreyfus is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and has been the MP for Isaacs since the 2007 election.

Before beginning his political career, Dreyfus worked as a barrister for two decades, specialising in constitutional, commercial and environmental law. After winning the seat of Isaacs in 2007, Dreyfus was appointed to the Cabinet in September 2010 by Julia Gillard as Cabinet Secretary. In February 2013, following the resignation of Nicola Roxon, he was moved to become Attorney-General for the first time. After Kevin Rudd replaced Gillard as Prime Minister in June 2013, Dreyfus was retained as Attorney-General and given the additional roles of Special Minister of State and Minister for the Public Service and Integrity. He would hold these positions for less than three months, as Labor was defeated in the 2013 election.

Throughout Labor's subsequent nine years in opposition, Dreyfus served as shadow attorney-general under both Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese. Following Labor's victory in the 2022 election, he was appointed to the positions of Attorney-General and Cabinet Secretary for the second time within the Albanese Government. During his second tenure as attorney-general, he has led the Government's efforts to introduce a national anti-corruption commission, abolished the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), and initiated a royal commission regarding the unlawful Robodebt scheme. He ordered the discontinuation of the prosecution of whistleblower Bernard Collaery, and has pledged reform to the Privacy Act in response to several high-profile data breaches that have taken place in Australia.

Early life and education

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Dreyfus was born in Perth, Western Australia, the son of George Dreyfus, a noted composer who came to Australia from Nazi Germany. He is of Jewish ancestry.[1][2] Dreyfus was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne on a full scholarship and the University of Melbourne, where he resided at Ormond College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws.[3]

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Before entering parliament, Dreyfus worked as a barrister for twenty years, with an extensive practice in commercial, defamation, constitutional and environmental law. He appeared before the High Court in the leading implied freedom of political communication cases of Theophanous v Herald & Weekly Times Ltd (1994) and Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1997). He also represented Michael Danby in a defamation suit against the LaRouche movement. In 1999 he was appointed Queen's Counsel.[4]

Dreyfus also served as a director of the Law Council of Australia and on the Victorian Bar Council and Victorian Bar Ethics Committee.

Since his first professional role as a Field Officer for the Northern Land Council, Dreyfus has worked closely with Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, including representing a number of the claimants in the landmark Stolen Generations litigation.[5]

Parliamentary career

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Dreyfus at the Edithvale CFA Fun Run in 2016

In March 2006, Dreyfus successfully challenged the sitting Labor member for the Division of Isaacs, Ann Corcoran, for the right to contest the 2007 election.[6] At the 2007 election, he defeated the Liberal candidate, Ross Fox, gaining a 5.9-point swing to Labor.[7]

Following Labor's victory at the 2007 Australian federal election, Dreyfus was appointed the Chair of the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. At the 2010 Australian federal election, Dreyfus was re-elected, gaining a further 3.33-point swing to Labor.

In September 2010, Dreyfus was appointed as Cabinet Secretary as well as Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency in the Second Gillard Ministry.[8] Dreyfus took on additional responsibilities in December 2011 when he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation.

At the 2013 Australian federal election, Dreyfus was re-elected with a reduced margin of 3.9%, which was extended to 5.9% at the 2016 Australian federal election.[9]

Dreyfus had an easier run at the 2019 Australian federal election after his Liberal Party of Australia opponent was disendorsed for an earlier 'anti-Muslim rant',[10] Dreyfus was re-elected with a 3.45 percent swing in his favour.[11]

Dreyfus was again comfortably re-elected in the 2022 Australian federal election,[12] though his campaign was assisted when his Liberal Party opponent was referred to the Australian Federal Police for investigation after admitting that, though he was enrolled to vote at a pub in the Isaacs electorate, he actually lived in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell, some 20 km away.[13][14]

Dreyfus is a member of Labor's right faction.[15][16] He is a strong advocate for action on climate change[17] and for the establishment a federal anti-corruption agency.[18] Dreyfus was a vocal supporter of the 'yes' campaign during the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey[19] and a vocal opponent against Abbott government era funding reductions to climate science research at the CSIRO.[20]

Attorney-General in Gillard-Rudd government

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On 2 February 2013, Dreyfus was promoted to Attorney-General and as Minister for Emergency Management after the resignation of Nicola Roxon.[21] Dreyfus was given additional responsibilities on 1 July 2013 as Special Minister of State and Minister for the Public Service and Integrity following the decision by Gary Gray to resign from the ministry following the June 2013 Labor leadership spill.[22]

As Attorney-General, Dreyfus appeared before the International Court of Justice in The Hague as Counsel and Advocate for Australia in the case of Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v Japan; New Zealand intervening) in June and July 2013.[23] On 1 April 2014, the ICJ handed down its decision in favour of Australia that Japan cease whaling in the Southern Ocean.[24]

Shadow Attorney-General

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Dreyfus served as Labor's Shadow Attorney-General from 2013 to 2022, where he championed the establishment of a Federal Integrity Commission[18] and greater funding for community legal centres.[25]

Dreyfus as shadow attorney general is the only person to hold the same portfolio in the entirety of Labor's nine years in opposition between 2013 and 2022 as well as being longest serving shadow attorney general.

Attorney-General in Albanese government

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Following Labor's victory in the 2022 Australian federal election, Dreyfus was appointed as Attorney-General in the Albanese government on 31 May 2022.[26] In his first interview as Attorney-General he said legislating Labor's promised national anti-corruption commission by the end of 2022 was his "paramount priority", calling it a "nation-building" reform.[27] In September 2022, Dreyfus presented the legislation to create a national anti-corruption commission to Parliament,[28] and the bill was passed on 30 November.[29]

On 7 July 2022 Dreyfus used his powers as Attorney-General to discontinue the prosecution of lawyer Bernard Collaery, which had been initiated by his predecessor Christian Porter.[30] Collaery had been charged with disclosing confidential intelligence information about the Australia–East Timor spying scandal, with many criticising his prosecution as unjust and unfair.[31][32][33]

Dreyfus led the establishment of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, announcing the Letters Patent on 25 August 2022 alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.[34]

Dreyfus is a member of the Parliamentary Friends of the IHRA, which has been advocating for universities to adopt a controversial definition of antisemitism.[35]

In 2024, the Albanese government banned the display of Nazi symbols, as well as the symbols of proscribed terrorist organisations.[36]

Personal life

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Dreyfus married Chilean-born Deborah Chemke. The couple had three children, Joe, Tom and Laura.[37][38][39][40] Deborah died on 1 November 2023.[41]

Dreyfus is a keen swimmer, cyclist and runner and is a frequent participant in open water swims and fun runs within his electorate.[42][43]

Dreyfus speaks fluent Spanish[40] and has stated that, had he not become a lawyer, he would have liked to become a park ranger in the Alpine National Park.[44]

He is a supporter of the St Kilda Football Club.[45]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Swan, Jonathan (30 January 2013). "Jewish MP to put religion before politics". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  2. ^ "Record number of Jews elected". The Australian Jewish News. 6 July 2016.
  3. ^ Green, Shane (13 October 2011). "The man in the hot seat". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Dreyfus named QC". The Australian Jewish News. 24 December 1999.
  5. ^ "New Attorney-General to be sworn in tomorrow". J-Wire. Archived from the original on 6 February 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  6. ^ "Dreyfus scores narrow preselection win". The Australian Jewish News. 17 March 2006.
  7. ^ "Isaacs - Federal Election 2007 - ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Special Gazette No. S162" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. 16 September 2010. [permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Isaacs - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results - ABC News". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  10. ^ "Liberals to sack anti-Muslim candidate Jeremy Hearn". May 2019.
  11. ^ "House of Representatives division information".
  12. ^ "House of Representatives division information".
  13. ^ "LNP candidate Robbie Beaton referred to Australian Federal Police".
  14. ^ "Election 2022: Liberal candidate for Isaacs put wrong address on enrolment form".
  15. ^ "Labor's new-look shadow ministry". SBS News. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  16. ^ Harris, Rob (24 September 2020). "'The idiot for Hunter': Labor colleagues trade insults in energy split". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Fitzgibbon 'out of step' with community on climate: Dreyfus". 11 November 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Labor says scandals are behind federal Icac delay as Coalition blames Covid". TheGuardian.com. 21 October 2020.
  19. ^ "Marriage equality's big 'yes'". 21 November 2017.
  20. ^ "Science lab 'cut to the core'". June 2016.
  21. ^ Maher, Sid (2 February 2013). "Dreyfus, Bowen promoted in Gillard cabinet reshuffle". The Australian. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  22. ^ "Second Rudd Ministry" (PDF). Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Commonwealth of Australia. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013. [permanent dead link]
  23. ^ ICJ Hears Case of Whaling in Antarctic: Australia vs. Japan United Nations Information Centre Canberra
  24. ^ Meoli, Dominic. "Australia's Whaling Victory". The Diplomat.
  25. ^ "Calls for government to reverse funding cuts to Community Legal Centres". 27 March 2017.
  26. ^ "Election 2022 results: Anthony Albanese's Labor cabinet announced". June 2022.
  27. ^ "New Attorney-General promises national corruption watchdog will have power to investigate pork-barrelling". 7 June 2022.
  28. ^ "Long-awaited federal anti-corruption commission legislation introduced to parliament". ABC News. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  29. ^ Karp, Paul (29 November 2022). "'Naccflip': National anti-corruption commission bill passes Senate after Greens backdown". the Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  30. ^ Dreyfus QC MP, The Hon Mark (7 July 2022). "Discontinue the prosecution of Mr Bernard Collaery". Attorney-General.
  31. ^ Pender, Kieran (8 July 2022). "Justice for Bernard Collaery must be the beginning of decisive action on whistleblowers". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  32. ^ Keane, Bernard (1 June 2022). "More than halting the unjust Collaery trial awaits Mark Dreyfus". Crikey.com. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  33. ^ "The unjust prosecution of Bernard Collaery". Human Rights Law Council. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  34. ^ Dreyfus QC MP, The Hon Mark (25 August 2022). "Establishment of the Royal Commission into Robodebt". Attorney-General.
  35. ^ Cassidy, Caitlin (6 February 2023). "Australian universities split on decision to adopt controversial definition of antisemitism". The Guardian.
  36. ^ Jackson, Lewis (8 January 2024). "Australia bans Nazi salute and public display of terror group symbols". Reuters. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  37. ^ "Striking a different role" – Young Lawyers Journal Archived 20 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  38. ^ ParlInfo – GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S SPEECH : Address-in-Reply
  39. ^ J-Wire Staff (3 February 2013). "New Attorney-General to be sworn in tomorrow". JWire. Archived from the original on 6 February 2013.
  40. ^ a b Schubert, Misha (7 February 2006). "QC stands out among Labor candidates for Canberra". The Age. Melbourne.
  41. ^ "Attorney-General's wife Deborah Chemke dies after illness". The Canberra Times. 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  42. ^ "Race is on at Coast Guard". 12 February 2019.
  43. ^ "Run rematch for fireys' cause". 21 March 2018.
  44. ^ "Mark Dreyfus – Featurettes – Justinian". Justinian. 17 March 2013.
  45. ^ "Mark Dreyfus – Labor for Isaacs".
[edit]
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Isaacs
2007–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Cabinet Secretary
2010–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for the Public Service and Integrity
2013 		Succeeded by
Special Minister of State
2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Attorney-General of Australia
2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Attorney-General of Australia
2022–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Cabinet Secretary
2022–present
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