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Raff Ciccone

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Senator
Raff Ciccone
Ciccone in Novemmber 2021
Senator for Victoria
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 March 2019
Preceded byJacinta Collins
Personal details
Born
Raffaele Ciccone

(1983-11-01) 1 November 1983 (age 41)[1]
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
CitizenshipAustralian
Political partyLabor
SpouseNone
Alma materDeakin University
University of Melbourne
Websitesenatorciccone.com.au

Raffaele "Raff" Ciccone (born 1 November 1983) is an Australian politician who is a Senator for Victoria, representing the Australian Labor Party. He was appointed to the Senate on 6 March 2019 following the resignation of Jacinta Collins, becoming the 100th Senator to represent the state of Victoria.

Early life

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Ciccone lived with his parents and brother in the Melbourne suburb of Huntingdale. His parents immigrated to Australia from Italy in the late 1960s.[2][3][4]

He received his education at local Catholic primary schools, Christ Our Holy Redeemer, in Oakleigh East, then at Salesian College in Chadstone.[5] Ciccone went on to study for bachelor's degrees, in arts and commerce, from Deakin University and the University of Melbourne.[6] He joined the Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch) at the age of 16 when in high school.[7]

Following graduation from university, Ciccone initially worked in financial planning.[5] Then, he moved to industrial relations and employment law, becoming a senior official in the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA).[8] The role allowed him to advocate for workers in the retail sector, including fast food and warehousing workers.[5] Notably, this included convenience store workers who had been underpaid by 7-Eleven.[9]

Ciccone was elected to the community health board of Link Health and Community (formerly MonashLink) in 2009, and from December 2017 served as the organisation's chair.[6]

Politics

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Ciccone joined the Australian Labor Party in 2000 and, whilst studying, worked as a research officer to Senator the Hon. Jacinta Collins.[5] As a party member, he eventually became the vice-president of the Australian Labor Party in Victoria.[8] He was unsuccessful in his attempts in elections, at the Monash City Council elections of 2008 and 2016, and on Labor's Senate ticket in Victoria at the 2013 federal election.[10][11][12] When Senator Collins announced she would not be contesting the seat at the 2019 federal election, it created a casual vacancy and Ciccone put his name forward for the position.[8]

Ciccone was appointed to the Senate on 6 March 2019, taking Collins' place, making him the 100th Senator to represent Victoria.[5][13] In the 46th Parliament of Australia, he served as Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate and on the Parliament's Joint Standing Committees on Migration and on Treaties and became Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Temporary Migration.

From 2020 Ciccone has also served on the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment and Growth. Ciccone was the Vice-Chair of the Australia-Italy Parliamentary Country Group.[14] Since 2021, Ciccone has been a member of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee [15] and the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee. [16]

On 7 August 2020, Ciccone was appointed to the ALP's national executive.[17][18]

Following the 2022 federal election, Ciccone became Government Deputy Whip in the Senate and was elected Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee. He was also appointed to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee and Deputy Chair of the Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee. [19][20] Ciccone is Chair of the Parliamentary Country Groups for Italy, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. He is also the Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Friendship Groups of Fresh Produce; Forestry, Timber and Paper Products; Landcare; and Red Meat.[21][22]

On 9 April 2022 Ciccone was awarded honorary membership of the Hawthorn branch of the Returned and Services League for advocacy of veterans’ welfare and the establishment of a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

In an historic first, during the first parliamentary sitting week for 2024, Ciccone became the first father to bring his baby into the Australian Senate chamber. [23] Ciccone was elected Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security on October 8 following the resignation of Peter Khalil MP, who stood down to focus on his new role as Special Envoy for Social Cohesion.[24]

Political views

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Foreign policy

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In October 2020 it was reported that Ciccone had joined an informal cross-party grouping of parliamentarians, known as the "Wolverines", who take a hawkish position on China.[25] By 2022, he was known to be a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.[26] Ciccone has argued for Australia’s agriculture industry to be considered to be part of national security.[27] He is one of a handful of Australian parliamentarians who is open in their support for an autonomous, free Taiwan; known to be attending the Presidential inauguration of Lai Ching-te in May 2024.[28]

Environment and energy

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Ciccone has strongly supported Australia's timber industry, arguing the industry can help to reduce the country's carbon emissions. He has criticised the Labor government in Victoria for their decision to phase out native forest harvesting by 2030.[29] He is connected to a pro-resources grouping of his party, known as the Otis Group, and has argued against the ALP's opposition to nuclear power in Australia.[30][31] He has argued that carbon emissions from agriculture should be reduced, requiring collaboration between government and the agricultural industry. Ciccone has criticised climate change activists for arguing that environmental interests and industry interests are opposed.[32]

Industry and industrial relations

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Ciccone has advocated stronger penalties against employers committing wage theft, a rise in unemployment benefits and for greater protection of rights for gig workers.[9] He has been a leading supporter of the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, directed to value-adding in the production of food and fibre. Speaking at its launch in March 2023, he argued that while COVID-19 had revealed our vulnerability to global supply chains, it also showed Australia's "great potential to improve our domestic capability."[33]

Personal life

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Ciccone was married to Dimity Paul, who was once chief of staff to Victorian government minister Adem Somyurek and stood as a Labor candidate at the 2014 state election.[34][35] Ciccone is a "devoted" supporter of Collingwood Football Club.[36] He owns an investment property in Huntingdale and Oakleigh East.[37]

References

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  1. ^ "Senator Raff Ciccone". Senators and Members. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  2. ^ Calligeros, Marissa (8 May 2015). "The faces of Melbourne: which migrants went to which suburbs". The Age. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  3. ^ "New Liberal senator uses maiden speech to back Indigenous voice". SBS News. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Senator Raff Ciccone". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e Admin (4 September 2020). "Senator Raff Ciccone". The Glenferrie Times. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Senator Raff Ciccone". The Glenferrie Times. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  7. ^ a b c "Raff Ciccone picks up Jacinta Collins' Senate spot in Victoria". The Australian. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  8. ^ a b Coughlan, Matt (24 July 2019). "Regularly assess welfare: Labor senator". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Results for Monash City Council Elections 2008: Oakleigh Ward". Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Monash City Council election results 2016: Mount Waverley Ward". Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Vic Labor at war over Senate, Hotham". Crikey. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  12. ^ "Hansard: Legislative Assembly of Victoria" (PDF). Parliament of Victoria. 6 March 2019. Refer to pp. 131
  13. ^ "Senator Raff Ciccone". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs".
  15. ^ "Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport".
  16. ^ Greg Brown, New Blood for Labor executive, The Australian, Weekend Edition, 8 Aug 2020 p.2 (print only)
  17. ^ "National Executive".
  18. ^ "Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills".
  19. ^ "Senator Raff Ciccone".
  20. ^ "Parliamentary Networks and Country Groups". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Parliamentary Friends of Forestry, Timber and Paper Products". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Senator Raff Ciccone becomes first father to bring baby into Senate chamber". Women’s Agenda. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Peter Khalil abruptly resigns as chair of powerful committee". Herald Sun. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  24. ^ Galloway, Anthony (23 October 2020). "Seeing Red: Labor's China problem". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  25. ^ "Members". Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.
  26. ^ "After Covid-19, Vol. 3, Voices from federal parliament". Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
  27. ^ "China's ominous warnings won't stop Australian MPs attending inauguration for Taiwan's new president". ABC News. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  28. ^ Harris, Rob (23 November 2021). "Labor senator warns party about reacting to climate 'extremists'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  29. ^ Workman, Alice (10 December 2020). "Follow the leader? Not all Labor MPs get it Right". The Australian. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  30. ^ Brown, Greg (18 February 2021). "Labor senators back anti-nuclear energy rethink=The Australian".
  31. ^ Sen. Raff Ciccone, Agriculture and forestry have big role to play in climate-friendly future, Ararat Advocate, Ararat, 2 December 2022 p.11 (print only)
  32. ^ Bradley, Stefan (3 May 2023). "Comment: Labor senator Raff Ciccone on the National Reconstruction Fund". Gippsland Times. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  33. ^ "Minister stood down over allegations of misconduct made by chief of staff". The Age. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  34. ^ O'Sullivan, Sascha (30 January 2019). "Raff Ciccone picks up Jacinta Collins' Senate spot in Victoria". The Australian. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  35. ^ Hutchinson, Samantha; Towell, Noel (29 March 2022). "Words fail ScoMo as Heloise Pratt lavishes praise". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  36. ^ "The private interests of Senator Raff Ciccone". openpolitics.au. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
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