Ben Small (politician)

Ben Small
Senator for Western Australia
Assumed office
25 November 2020
Preceded byMathias Cormann
Personal details
Born
Benjamin John Small

(1988-06-11) 11 June 1988 (age 33)
Perth, Western Australia
Political partyLiberal
Alma materUniversity of Tasmania (BAppSci)
University of Canberra (MBA)
OccupationLogistician
Businessman
WebsiteOfficial website

Benjamin John Small (born 11 June 1988) is an Australian politician. He has been a senator for Western Australia representing the Liberal Party since November 2020. He was chosen by the Liberal Party to fill a casual vacancy following Mathias Cormann's resignation.

Small studied nautical science, marine operations, and business management. He worked in marine transport and logistics for several energy and resource companies, with his holdings in those criticised as a potential conflict of interest. Before becoming a senator, he was active in grassroots politics, and unsuccessfully attempted to enter parliament at the 2016 election. Ideologically, he is considered a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party.

Early life and career

Small was born on 11 June 1988 in Perth, but grew up in the Goldfields–Esperance region, and later in Bunbury. His father was a mine manager. Small attended Adam Road Primary School and then Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School. In 2009, he graduated from the Australian Maritime College (University of Tasmania) with an Advanced Diploma of Applied Science (Nautical Science), followed by a Bachelor of Applied Science in Maritime Operations in 2012. He later obtained a Master of Business Administration from the University of Canberra.

From 2005 until 2015, Ben was a skipper, trainee officer, and committee member for Bunbury Sea Rescue. Since 2009, Small has volunteered with St John Ambulance Australia: first as an ambulance driver and paramedic, and later as a development officer. As part of the latter role, he helped deliver training to local services in Timor L'este.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Science, Small worked as a chief officer and operations manager for Farstad Shipping and then as a marine operations manager at Woodside Energy. He has also co-owned Small's Bar in Eaton, a suburb of Bunbury, since 2017.

In 2012, Small joined the Liberal Party. He served as the vice-president of the party's Bunbury branch from 2013 to 2015, and president from 2015 to 2017. In 2016, Small challenged the incumbent member for Forrest, Nola Marino, for preselection to be the Liberal Party candidate for the seat at that year's federal election. Small was backed by former member for Forrest Geoff Prosser. However, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull opposed Small's challenge and wrote a letter of support for Marino. Small lost the preselection vote 51–16. He served as president of the party's Forrest division from 2017 until his Senate nomination.

Senate

Mathias Cormann (then serving as finance minister) announced his retirement from politics in July 2020 to run for office as the Secretary-General of the OECD. Cormann resigned from the Senate on 6 November 2020, triggering a casual vacancy to be filled by a Western Australian Liberal candidate. Small was selected by the Liberal Party's Western Australian branch at a meeting the following day, beating former state minister Albert Jacob who was seen as too sympathetic to religious conservatives. He was formally appointed by the Parliament of Western Australia on 25 November 2020, sworn into the Senate on 30 November 2020, and made his first speech on 3 February 2021. Small's shares in several mining and energy companies were labelled a potential conflict of interest.

Small was named as part of the Senate Select Committee on Job Security on 10 December 2020, and the Joint Select Committee on Road Safety on 16 March 2021. On 13 May 2021, he was added to the Committee on Education and Employment: Legislation, the Join Statutory Committees on Humans Rights and Public Works, and the Joint Standing Committee on Migration.

In July 2021, Small was included as part of the City of Perth's Brand Perth initiative, in which he recommended prioritising pedestrian access in the city and emphasising the Swan River as a tourist attraction.

In November 2021 Small was one of several parliamentarians to question Australian Broadcasting Corporation executives during a Senate Estimates hearing. Small was critical of several decisions made by the public broadcaster's managing director, David Anderson.

Political positions

During preselection, Small was described by state Liberal members as a moderate candidate who appealed to several state factions. However, he has since been aligned with the conservative National Right faction of the federal Liberal Party (led by Peter Dutton), similar to his predecessor Cormann. He is also a member of the Regional and Rural grouping.

Since joining the Senate, Small has described himself as an advocate for small business and free enterprise. He supports the GST distribution reform and criticised demands from the eastern states to reconsider the deal. He supports the government's religious discrimination bill, which is intended to protect the rights of people of faith but has been criticised for allowing discrimination by religious institutions (particularly against LGBT people). He has advocated for nuclear energy as a means to reduce carbon emissions.

Small was one of several government backbenchers who opposed attempts to enforce gender quotas in state Liberal Party branches.


This page was last updated at 2022-02-03 05:21 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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