Kevin Andrews

In November 2017, Andrews advocated for "Islamic bakers" to have the legal right to refuse to bake cakes for Jewish weddings and the other way around.

With the retirement of Philip Ruddock at the 2016 federal election, Andrews became the Father of the House. While Warren Snowdon is the earliest elected member (first elected in 1987), Andrews is the longest continuously serving member, as Snowdon was out of the House between 1996 and 1998. He is one of three parliamentary survivors of the Hawke government, the others being Snowdon and Russell Broadbent.

In February 2016, Andrews used $1,855 in taxpayer funds as part of approved "study allowance" to attend a "prayer breakfast" , address the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank, and have a series of policy discussion meetings in Washington DC and in the process missed the first week of Parliament, which had been approved by the party Whip.

On 14 September 2015, after Deputy Leader Julie Bishop announced she would support Malcolm Turnbull in challenge against Prime Minister Tony Abbott for the leadership of the Liberal Party, Andrews announced he supported Abbott and would stand for the deputy leadership against Bishop. Julie Bishop retained the position of Deputy Leader with 70 votes to Andrews' 30.

Andrews chairs the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the Human Rights Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, the Coalition Policy Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, and the Australia–China Parliamentary Friendship Group.

In the Abbott Government, Andrews served as Minister for Social Services from September 2013 to December 2014. He was then Minister for Defence from December 2014 to September 2015.

During an address to the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia, he said that "The level of net overseas migration is important as net inflows of migrants to Australia reduce the rate of population ageing because migrants are younger on average than the resident population. Just under 70% of the migrant intake are in the 15–44 age cohort, compared to 43% of the Australian population as a whole. Just 10% of the migrant intake are 45 or over, compared with 38% of the Australian population."

The Queensland Labor Premier, Anna Bligh, described Andrews' criticism of Sudanese as "disturbing". She said: "It has been a long time since I have heard such a pure form of racism out of the mouth of any Australian politician." Labor politician Tony Burke described Andrews' decision as "incompetent". However, Andrews' actions were applauded by then former One Nation politician, Pauline Hanson. In addition members of the Australian community viewed Andrews as responsible for creating a racial tension leading to anti-African sentiment in the community and racially based attacks on Sudanese migrants in Australia. Andrews stated in 2011 he did not regret raising the issue.

In 2011, as a Liberal Shadow Cabinet frontbencher, Andrews published a critique of the Greens' policy agenda for Quadrant Magazine in which he wrote that the Australian Greens' "objective involves a radical transformation of the culture that underpins Western civilisation" and that their agenda would threaten the "Judeo-Christian/Enlightenment synthesis that upholds the individual" as well as "the economic system that has resulted in the creation of wealth and prosperity for the most people in human history."

In the 2010 federal election, Andrews was re-elected to the seat of Menzies with a 2.7-point swing against the Labor Party.

Following the 2009 Liberal leadership ballot, Andrews served in the Shadow Cabinet of Tony Abbott as shadow minister for Families, Housing and Human Services until the 2013 election where his party won government. In the Abbott Government, Andrews served in the cabinet as Minister for Social Services and later Minister for Defence. At the September 2015 Liberal leadership ballot, Andrews unsuccessfully contested for the Liberal deputy leadership against Julie Bishop, while supporting Tony Abbott against Malcolm Turnbull as Liberal leader. Upon the ascension of the Turnbull Government Andrews was dropped from the new Ministry and moved to the backbench.

In November 2009, Andrews declared his candidacy against Malcolm Turnbull in a vote for a leadership spill, in opposition to Turnbull's support for the government's emissions trading scheme. He had declared himself a climate change sceptic, saying that 'the jury is still out' on human contributions to global warming. However, the partyroom voted down a leadership spill 41 votes to 35 and Andrews' challenge consequently did not eventuate. After continued leadership speculation, a second party room meeting was held, at which point the leadership was declared vacant. Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey, and Malcolm Turnbull all stood for the leadership, and Tony Abbott was ultimately successful. Following his election as Leader, Abbott promoted Andrews to the Shadow Cabinet as Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services.

During 2008 and 2009, he served as Chairman of the Coalition's Policy Review Committee, reviewing and developing the Opposition's policies, until he was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet (to the position of Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services) in December 2009 by the newly elected Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott. He was also appointed Deputy Chairman of the Coalition Policy Development Committee.

On 23 December 2008, a government-ordered inquiry report was released. Mr Clarke, the head of the judicial inquiry, determined Mr Andrews did not act with an improper motive.[1]

Previously, Andrews served in the Howard Government as the Minister for Ageing, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, and then the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship until the 2007 election where his party lost government.

In October 2007, Andrews' decision to cut Australia's refugee intake from African nations was described by some critics as racist and a use of the race card to appeal to "racist" voters before the 2007 Australian federal election. Andrews defended the decision, saying: "Some groups don't seem to be settling and adjusting into the Australian way of life as quickly as we would hope."

In 2007, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Andrews did not declare his wife's patronage of Life Decisions International's Board of Advisors on his entry in the Parliamentary Register of Pecuniary Interests.

On 9 April 2003, Andrews made a speech to the Endeavour Forum, a conservative Christian group founded to counter the feminist movement which opposes abortion, equal opportunity and affirmative action.

In taking a stance against stem cell research in 2002, he stated that it was the "first time" that "human beings can be treated as a commodity". He also took a stance against stem cell research during a debate in 2006, which resulted in the overturning of a previous ban on the research.

After the Coalition's third victory in 2001, Andrews was brought into the outer ministry as Minister for Ageing, a portfolio in which he served from 26 November 2001 to 7 October 2003. He was subsequently appointed to Cabinet as the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and was responsible for introducing the Howard Government's major changes to industrial relations law in 2005, commonly known as WorkChoices. In a reshuffle in early 2007, Andrews was made Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, a position which he held until the swearing-in of the First Rudd Ministry on 3 December 2007, following the defeat of the Howard Government in the 2007 election.

Andrews supported the move to make Australia a republic at the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998.

As a backbencher, Andrews presented a private member's bill, the Euthanasia Laws Bill 1996, which was passed in 1997 and overrode the Northern Territory's legislation, the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995, that legalised euthanasia in the Territory.

Andrews was elected to the House of Representatives for the Liberal Party at the 1991 Menzies by-election in Victoria. Andrews has never lived in his electorate but rather in neighbouring Jagajaga.

Andrews was a member of the Lyons Forum, a socially conservative Christian group within the Coalition that was disbanded in the mid-1990s. He served as the Forum Secretary and is credited with suggesting the name for the group.

After graduation, he worked for the Law Institute of Victoria from 1980 to 1983, as a research solicitor and co-ordinator of Continuing Legal Education. From 1983 to 1985, he served as associate to Sir James Gobbo, Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, and subsequently the Governor of Victoria. He practised as a barrister from 1985 until his election to Parliament in 1991.

Andrews was a racing commentator In the 1970s, calling various sporting events, and writing for a number of publications. He was also secretary of the Melbourne University Athletics Club, and a director of the Victorian Amateur Athletics Association.

Kevin James Andrews (born 9 November 1955) is an Australian politician and member of the Liberal Party of Australia. He is currently a backbench Member of the House of Representatives for the seat of Menzies, to which he was first elected at the 1991 by-election. Andrews is a conservative and a Catholic.

Andrews was born on 9 November 1955 in Sale, Victoria. He was educated at the Rosedale Primary School, St Patrick's College, Sale and the University of Melbourne, where he lived at Newman College and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1979 and a Bachelor of Arts in 1980. At university, he was President of the Newman College Students' Club and the National Association of Australian University Colleges. He later completed a Master of Laws degree at Monash University in 1986.