Alex Hawke

Hawke joined the Liberal Party in 1995, and was elected vice-president of the NSW Division of the Young Liberal Movement in 2001, and became president in 2002. He served on the Liberal Party NSW State Executive from 2002 to 2005, and in 2005 was elected Federal President of the Young Liberal Movement. He remains a member of the Liberal Party campaign Committee, and a Delegate to the Liberal Party State Council.[4]

He was one of the orchestraters of the shift to the right for the young Liberals.[3]

Hawke briefly worked part-time in the private sector while studying at university in 1998, becoming an assistant-manager for Woolworths in the Hills District.[2] Following graduation, he has exclusively worked as a political advisor, firstly as an electorate officer to Ross Cameron MP, Member for Parramatta. In 2001, he commenced work as an adviser to the Senator Helen Coonan, then Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, advising on taxation, superannuation and insurance matters during the time of the HIH liquidation. Hawke has also worked as an adviser to David Clarke MLC and Ray Williams MP.[3]

Drawing attention to his political ideology, in 2005 Hawke made it known that he believed the Liberal Party to be the home of conservative values, and claimed that "Nobody joins the Liberal Party to be left-wing. If you stand for compulsory student unionism, drug-injecting rooms and lowering the [homosexual] age of consent, you can choose the Greens, Labor or the Democrats."[8]

A few months later, Hawke attracted some significant controversy. Former NSW opposition leader John Brogden blamed Hawke for contributing to his downfall by leaking information to the media and political enemies – a claim that Hawke denied.[9][10] The next day on 30 August 2005, Brogden was admitted to hospital after committing an apparent attempt at suicide in his electoral office.[11] Brogden's claims were strongly denied by Hawke, who lied when he stated "I have not spoken to a single journalist, on or off the record, about this matter until now and I was not in attendance at the function where Brogden committed these acts. To ascribe any role to me in this embarrassing episode is false and I reject it totally".[9]

On 16 June 2007, Hawke gained Liberal Party preselection for the seat of Mitchell by a margin of 81 votes to 20[12] against David Elliott, then deputy chief of the Australian Hotels Association.[13] Paul Blanch, a grazier from Orange, received 8 votes. Alan Cadman, who had been the member for Mitchell since 1974, chose not to contest the preselection,[12] but was later quoted as saying that this was due to "relentless branch-stacking within the electorate."[14] After his preselection, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Hawke's comments that he believes that Australia will move increasingly towards an American model of conservatism and that "The two greatest forces for good in human history are capitalism and Christianity, and when they're blended it's a very powerful duo."[5] Hawke strongly rejected various reports and allegations that he is a "right-wing extremist", saying he represents the values of his electorate.[15][16]

Hawke was seen as highly effective in his factional manipulations, and was called by 2GB broadcaster Alan Jones as "a cancer on the Liberal Party in NSW".[17]

Split from the Right

In 2009 Alex Hawke and supporters left the NSW Right faction of the Liberal Party over disputes over conflicting preselection influences with NSW upper house MP David Clarke. Hawke then proceeded to go into an alliance with the NSW Moderates, ending the right's control over the party. Hawke in the following years used his balance of power position on state executive to coerce the moderates into parachuting factional allies as Liberal Candidates despite the wishes of local branch members.[18]

Hawke was a central player in Scott Morrison's rise to prime minister. He was seen as part of Morrison's inner circle along with Steve Irons and Stuart Robert. Hawke was seen as the tactical leader of the effort to unseat Turnbull.[24]

After the first unsuccessful ballot, where people were discussing the disorganization of the Dutton challenge, Hawke began mobilising the numbers that he had on behalf of Morrison. By the time the second challenge came on 24 August 2018, Hawke had secured the numbers and the prime ministership for Morrison.[25]

There were also claims that Hawke had inside information coming from Bert van Manen, one of the deputy whips, who was also part of Morrison's bible study group.[26]

He was subsequently rewarded with a promotion in the ministry.

Hawke is a personal opponent of same-sex marriage, and in the debate said that he does "not hold a view that people should not be treated equally under the law". He claimed that the family unit is the bedrock of society and that same sex marriage undermines that.[27] There were conflicting claims as to how Hawke voted for the bill for same sex marriage, with the Murdoch press claiming that he supported it,[22] while the ABC stating that it appeared likely he abstained from the vote.[28] Hawke had earlier called for a conscience vote.

Through his position in the ministry he has called for closer ties to the Pacific region, and to assist them with development. Hawke said that "their prosperity is our prosperity".[29][30] He has supported the shake up of foreign aid which involves a reduction of the foreign aid budget, and according to critics, will allow China more influence in the Pacific region.[31] However these new closer ties did not require further action on climate change despite the calls from Pacific leaders for Australia to reduce their carbon emissions to help the low lying Pacific islands.[32][33]

Hawke has been consistent in his views of limiting the government responses to climate change. In his speeches for the introduction of the Gillard Government's carbon tax, Hawke spoke about the action not being sufficient to affect a meaningful change and therefore should not be done.[34][35] He has also claimed that no one has done more to negate the effects of regional climate change than Australia, a claim the Pacific nations reject.[36]

Hawke declined to intervene as the assistant immigration minister in the case of an intellectually disabled woman who was being cared from in the home by her family in her application for permanent residency. The decision of the immigration department would have meant a return to her country of origin where she had no family and likely institutionalization.[37]