Sophie Mirabella
Since 2009, Sophie has been Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science and is the first woman to have held this position and a member of Shadow Cabinet.
She was elected in 2001 and in the three subsequent federal elections as the Member for Indi.
Sophie grew up working in the family milk bar from the age of 12. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with Bachelor degrees in Law and Commerce and a Masters degree in Law. Before entering Parliament Sophie was a barrister.
Sophie married Greg Mirabella in June 2006, and the couple have two daughters, Alexandra, born in 2008 and Katerina, born in 2010. She is also stepmother to two teenage girls. The family live on their rural property at Wangaratta East.
Articles by Sophie Mirabella
Thirty two weeks of stability? Not very likely…
To say there’s a lot of crazy going on in Federal politics is the most subtle of all understatements. When…... Read more
Swanny, the Tea Party caused the deficit? Ha!
Now that the US appears to have avoided its fiscal cliff (albeit briefly), I’m sure we all await an update…... Read more
Labor should spare us all the bull on Alan Jones
Turn it up Albo. Seriously. The bald-faced hypocrisy of Labor’s Anthony Albanese’s press conference yesterday was breathtaking. He began with…... Read more
There is no justification for what happened this weekend
Religion is never a justification for violence. We must be unequivocal about it. Violent protests like the one witnessed in…... Read more
Who will make the next giant leap for mankind?
The passing of the man who made that one giant leap for mankind, should give us all pause to consider…... Read more
Australians won’t warm to the carbon tax
It’s not surprising that the latest Nielsen poll shows that the carbon tax remains deeply unpopular, despite the Gillard Government’s…... Read more
There’s nothing mainstream about the Labor Party
NSW Labor State Secretary Sam Dastyari reminds me of the unlikely fellow on top of the train in the latest…... Read more
Carbon tax lesson: Don’t be too big or too successful
So the “cash for you” has been received and spent on petrol, paying off the credit cards or the latest…... Read more
Voters won’t forget the way Labor has conducted itself
Does Julia Gillard think the Australian people have the memory of a goldfish? In the alternative Gillard reality we are…... Read more
Ain’t no sunshine when she’s governing
Remember when Julia Gillard stood shoulder to shoulder with her two new allies in Government Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor…... Read more
ALP evacuees have no love for The Greens
Reading the entrails of the Labor carcass in Queensland will no doubt keep an army of commentators and party strategists…... Read more
Politically correct jeopardise our freedom of speech
There’s a kind of political kismet to the fact that the Orwellian Finkelstein media review is released while international crusader…... Read more
Julia Gillard is starting to sound like Comical Ali
So Labor MP David Bradbury has offered to get a tattoo declaring his support for the Prime Minister. Perhaps a…... Read more
Rubbery figures and the Ghosts of Budgets Past
Amidst all the presents, food and rowdy family gatherings, Christmas has also traditionally been a time for pause and reflection.…... Read more
To be fair we need to stop people dumping on Australia
President Barack Obama’s speech to the Australian Parliament, like those of his predecessors, was indeed an historic occasion. Amidst the…... Read more
Hey sheep, Joyce is just a scapegoat
Alan Joyce seems to have copped the ire of just about everyone because he was the bloke announcing Saturday’s decision…... Read more
Protesters occupied with glib, childish, pointless fantasy
This Saturday the self-described “organic” Occupy Wall Street movement will be coming to a capital city near you. They boldly…... Read more
The oddity of Beattie’s ruddy “Dear Kev” letter
We’ve seen a lot of political oddity courtesy of this Labor crew – a first-term PM knifed and crying in…... Read more
At home with a PM who’s lost all of Australia’s respect
Perhaps the most damaging outcome of all the dysfunction wrought by the Gillard Government is the shocking loss of respect…... Read more
You journos are the freaks, not us carbon protestors
This week the right to peaceful public assembly got a bit of a battering. And those wielding the sticks were…... Read more
The NBN is as useful as those newfangled Beta tapes
Remember those rabid Beta-tape aficionados of the late 70s and early 80s? You know, the ones who swore they had…... Read more
Here’s to mateship, courage, endurance and sacrifice
While the media last week fixated on the political “divide” in Australia, with vastly divergent views expressed on the carbon…... Read more
Another week, another new Labor fiasco
When the sun rose yesterday morning, optimistic Federal Labor MPs must have woken up thinking: “Monday morning – time for…... Read more
Labor is carrying on like a pack of pork chops
The high political farce of the last few days is unprecedented. Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd are tearing each other…... Read more
A carbon price? Tell ‘em they’re dreaming
So the left-wing apologists from Get Up and the ACTU are now imploring us to just “say yes” to Labor’s…... Read more
Now let’s talk about what wasn’t in the budget
Many of Australia’s brightest researchers and innovators will gather in Brisbane this week for the annual conference of the Cooperative…... Read more
Our kids are getting adult content instead of fairytales
Child health experts told a Sydney conference last week that children as young as six are displaying inappropriate sexual behaviour…... Read more
Child protection - a tale of two Australias
So the government is moving to “protect” errant toddlers in the suburbs from the naughty corner and spare them from…... Read more
Labor’s tax cuts just bread and circuses
What will Labor come up with next? What grab bag of goodies will be used to distract voters from the…... Read more
Don’t address the concern, shoot the critic
It’s a strategy that President Obama’s spin team employed when he was neck-deep in political hot water over an incredibly…... Read more
Howes will dump on anyone, except for Gillard
You’ve got to wonder how genuine Union boss Paul Howes’ latest headline-grabbing attempt to put himself centre-stage really is. He’s…... Read more
Labor is turning a blind eye to price hikes
Last weekend - while you were taking the kids to the beach, buying those extra back-to-school necessities, or for many,…... Read more
History tells us floods are natural
While devastating floodwaters recede in the north even as they rise in the south, Australians are understandably shocked by what…... Read more
The NBN still hasn’t brought the promised sunshine
So much for opening the curtains and letting the sunshine in. The last few weeks of the Federal Parliamentary year…... Read more
What Gillard could learn from Obama’s mistakes
The parallels between US politics and ours provide interesting lessons. Just as we saw an historic swing against a one-term…... Read more
Recent PMs haven’t risen to fill Lazarus’s shoes
As Lazarus rose (albeit for a book launch) this week, the gaping leadership chasm that has been the Prime Ministership…... Read more
How would Chifley judge modern Labor?
This week Labor launched the latest incarnation in their constant quest to re-write history and glorify their role in it.…... Read more
An unstable parliament is not a free pass for Gillard
So let’s get this Labor-style new paradigm straight. Because so many people rejected Labor policy at the ballot box, because…... Read more
The lesson from the new paradigm: less is more
Many conclusions have been made about the “new paradigm” of Australian politics. Much has been written of the rise of…... Read more
Introducing Labor’s new faction – the Greens
The Greens are now officially the far-left faction of the Australian Labor Party. They have been signed, sealed and delivered…... Read more
Liberal diary: “Foolya Joolia” not all she seems
Note: Labor MP Richard Marles and Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella are among our favourite contributors to The Punch, and we…... Read more
Liberal diary: Labor’s ruthless robotic machine
Note: Labor MP Richard Marles and Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella are among our favourite contributors to The Punch, and we…... Read more
Liberal diary: Spin master still in control
Note: Labor MP Richard Marles and Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella are among our favourite contributors to The Punch, and we…... Read more
Liberal diary: Would the real Julia Gillard please stand up
Just a month ago Julia Gillard declared that the Labor Government had “lost its way”. This past week proves that…... Read more
Liberal diary: Julia’s moving forward at $100m a day
Note: Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella and Labor MP Richard Marles are among our favourite contributors to The Punch, and we…... Read more
Labor should have learned its lesson on messiahs
Remember Kevin from Queensland who was “here to help”? Pre-election 2007 the Australian public were given a rock-solid guarantee that…... Read more
Historic first, or just a re-run of history
There would be greater reason to celebrate our first female Prime Minister, were it not for Labor factional warlords using…... Read more
Cultural tolerance is no excuse for harming kids
Last week I gave birth to my second child – another beautiful daughter. Like most new mothers, in between the…... Read more
A cycle of illogical decisions
At the outset I declare that I am unashamedly pro-bike. Cycling is a great sport, a clean form of transport,…... Read more
Mining tax makes a meal of our future
It’s becoming apparent that the Rudd Government has slaughtered the goose that laid the golden egg – all for one…... Read more
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Advocating risk management is not “victim blaming”
In a world in which there are still people who subscribe to the vile notion that certain victims of sexual…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: Hasbro, go straight to gaol, do not pass go
Tim says:
They should update other things in the game too. Instead of a get out of jail free card, they should have a Dodgy Lawyer card that not only gets you out of jail straight away but also gives you a fat payout in compensation for daring to arrest you in the first place. Instead of getting a hotel when you… [read more]From: A guide to summer festivals especially if you wouldn’t go
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If you want a festival for older people or for families alike, get amongst the respectable punters at Bluesfest. A truly amazing festival experience to be had of ALL AGES. And all the young "festivalgoers" usually write themselves off on the first night, only to never hear from them again the rest of… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
Superman needs saving
Can somebody please save Superman? He seems to be going through a bit of a crisis. Eighteen months ago,… Read more
