Peter Whish-Wilson

Senator
Peter Whish-Wilson
Senator for Tasmania
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 June 2012
Preceded byBob Brown
Personal details
Born
Peter Stuart Whish-Wilson

(1968-02-24) 24 February 1968 (age 56)
Singapore
NationalityAustralian
Political partyAustralian Greens
Alma materAustralian Defence Force Academy
Royal Military College, Duntroon
University of Western Australia
OccupationEconomist
winemaker
senator
Websitegreens.org.au/tas/person/peter-whish-wilson

Peter Stuart Whish-Wilson (born 24 February 1968) is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for Tasmania since 2012, representing the Australian Greens. Formerly a lecturer in economics at the University of Tasmania, Whish-Wilson was appointed to the Senate to fill a casual vacancy caused by the retirement of former party leader Bob Brown and has since won election in his own right in 2013, 2016 and 2022.[1]

Early life and education

Whish-Wilson was born in Singapore in 1968 to Australian parents.[2] He attended the Australian Defence Force Academy from 1986 to 1988, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Politics.[3] He also attended Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1989, and was medically discharged from the Australian Army shortly afterwards. From 1991 to 1992, he studied for a Master of Economics degree at the University of Western Australia.[4]

Career

After graduation, Whish-Wilson worked for Merrill Lynch in New York and Melbourne, serving as Vice-President from 1994 to 1998. He then worked in international sales for Deutsche Bank from 1998 to 2004, and as Lecturer in Economics and Finance at the University of Tasmania from 2005 to 2012.[5] He jointly owned Three Wishes Vineyard with his family in the Tamar Valley, Tasmania, serving as its director from 2003 to 2012. The vineyard has now been sold and is no longer operating.[6]

Political career

Whish-Wilson was chosen by the Parliament of Tasmania under section 15 of the Constitution to represent the State in the Senate in 2012. He was elected Senator for Tasmania in 2013, with his term beginning on 1 July 2014. He was Chair of Committees from 2013 to 2016, and has been a member of various joint, legislation, references, select and statutory committees. He currently serves on the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport references and legislation committees, and since 2022 has been a substitute member of the Environment and Communications references committee.[7]

He currently holds the following portfolios for the Australian Greens: Healthy Oceans, Waste and Recycling, and Agriculture.[8] He has previously held the portfolios of Treasury, Consumer Affairs, Defence, Veterans Affairs, Small Business and Competition, Finance, Tourism, Trade, Marine (Tasmania), Fisheries, Whaling and Antarctica.[7]

In September 2023, Whish-Wilson joined a cross-party delegation of Australian MPs to Washington, D.C., to lobby the U.S. Department of Justice to abandon its attempts to extradite Australian publisher Julian Assange from the United Kingdom. The other members were Alex Antic, Barnaby Joyce, Monique Ryan, David Shoebridge, and Tony Zappia.[9]

Personal life

Whish-Wilson's brother is the author David Whish-Wilson. The Australian classical tubist also named Peter Whish-Wilson is a second cousin. He has revealed that he takes medical cannabis as a part of his shingles treatment.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Greens name Brown's Senate replacement". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 4 May 2012.
  2. ^ "Senator Peter Whish-Wilson". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  3. ^ Ireland, Judith (4 May 2012). "Whish-Wilson gets nod to replace Brown in Senate". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  4. ^ Matilda, New (4 May 2012). "Who Is Peter Whish-Wilson?". New Matilda. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  5. ^ Mr Peter Whish-Wilson's profile http://fcms.its.utas.edu.au/business/ecofin/pagedetails.asp?lpersonId=2908
  6. ^ "Three Wishes Vineyard". WineCompanion.
  7. ^ a b "Senator Peter Whish-Wilson". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Peter Whish-Wilson". Australian Greens. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  9. ^ Cannane, Steve (27 June 2024). "Inside the closed-door meeting in Washington DC to free WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange". ABC News. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  10. ^ Remeikis, Amy (1 July 2023). "How an open-minded GP restored senator Peter Whish-Wilson's health and saved his career". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 December 2023.