Andrew Giles

Giles was born in Melbourne. His mother was born in the United Kingdom, making him a British citizen by descent; he renounced his dual citizenship before standing for parliament in 2013.[3] Giles attended high school at Scotch College, Melbourne. Giles has a Bachelor of Arts and Laws from the University of Melbourne. Before entering parliament, he was a principal solicitor for Slater and Gordon and as a senior associate at Holding Redlich lawyers and consultants.[4] He acted as a solicitor for refugees stranded aboard the Tampa.[5] Giles also worked as a senior advisor for the Bracks and Brumby Governments in Victoria.[6] He was secretary of the Socialist Left in Victoria.[7]

Giles was elected to parliament at the 2013 federal election, replacing the retiring Harry Jenkins in the Division of Scullin. He immediately took up a position as Labor's cities taskforce and has engaged in an Australia-wide cities listening tour.[8] He is co-chair of Parliamentary friends of Amnesty International, and the deputy chair of the Parliament's Northern Europe group of its IPU members.[9]

In 2016 he was elevated to the position of the Shadow Assistant Minister for Schools. In 2019 he became a member Labor's Shadow Ministry. His portfolios include: Multicultural Affairs, Cities and Urban Infrastructure. He also serves as the Shadow Minister Assisting for Immigration and Citizenship.[10] In this role Giles has led Labor's campaign to stop the Morrison Government's attempts to privatise Australia's visa system. [11] He is also responsible for Labor's ‘reboot’ with multicultural communities including the establishment Multicultural Caucus Committee to inform future policy development.[12]

Giles has two children and lives with his wife, Dr Jillian Constable.[13] In the 1990s, he played guitar in an indie rock band called Ether, along with James Cecil, who went on to play in bands such as Architecture in Helsinki.