http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/joe-hockey/ Joe Hockey is the federal Member for North Sydney and the Shadow Treasurer. Joe Hockey was born in North Sydney, as the youngest of four children. His father was born in Bethlehem of Armenian and Palestinian parentage and his Mum in Chatswood. His family worked hard running a small business on the North Shore, beginning with a deli in Chatswood and later, a real estate agency in Naremburn. His enthusiasm for politics began as a young boy when Joe discovered that working with government for a meaningful cause could help bring about real change in a community.  His first victory came at the age of fourteen when he successfully lobbied his local Council to obtain cricket nets for local children in Northbridge. At university, Joe became involved in student politics and was elected President of the Students Representative Council. He also held the position of President of the New South Wales Young Liberal Movement. Joe was educated at what is now St Philip Neri Primary School and St Aloysius’ College in Milsons Point.  He attended the University of Sydney where he completed degrees in Arts and Law. He was elected to the Australian Parliament in 1996 and following his re-election in 1998, was made Minister for Financial Services and Regulation, one of the youngest ministers in the history of the Commonwealth. After the 2001 election, Joe was appointed Minister for Small Business and Tourism. In October 2004, Joe was appointed the Minister for Human Services in the Fourth Howard Ministry and tasked with delivering a greater customer focus for the Australian Government’s major welfare and health services agencies. In January 2007, Joe was appointed Federal Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service. Following the 2007 Federal Election Joe was appointed Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing and Manager of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives. In February, 2009 Joe was appointed by Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull as Shadow Treasurer. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hey-wayne-are-you-still-laughing-about-bank-reform/ Two weeks ago I decided to take a public stand on behalf of ordinary Australians. Home buyers, consumers and small business are sick and tired of being taken for a ride by the banks, who time and time again increase their interest rates above and beyond the official movements of the Reserve Bank. I’ve had my critics - but if that means I’m standing up to a guy who earns $50,000 a day, while the customers who underwrite his business earn $50,000 a year – then I’ll cop it. A strong banking sector is vital, but at the same time banks have an obligation to give something back to the community. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Joe Hockey) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hey-wayne-are-you-still-laughing-about-bank-reform/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/hey-wayne-are-you-still-laughing-about-bank-reform/#item4394 Wed, 03 Nov 2010 20:00:52 +0000 Joe Hockey | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-spending-equals-high-rates-no-buts-about-it/ The likelihood of interest rates rising is back on the agenda, following explicit warnings from the Reserve Bank that it is considering the need for tighter monetary policy. The Coalition has consistently warned that the Labor Government’s heavy borrowing and build up of debt will put upward pressure on interest rates. These warnings have been rejected by the government and by a few select commentators in the media. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Joe Hockey) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-spending-equals-high-rates-no-buts-about-it/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-spending-equals-high-rates-no-buts-about-it/#item4106 Thu, 23 Sep 2010 19:55:39 +0000 Joe Hockey | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/terreblanche-face-to-face-with-hatred-personified/ It was February 10, 1990 Church Square Pretoria, and my mate thought it was a great idea. We had spent two months travelling around southern Africa in an old panel van equipped with camping gear, spare petrol tanks and an expired canister of tear gas. South Africa was on the threshold of civil war. This was most evident to us when we drove through the condemned homeland of Transkei. Even though a state of emergency had been lifted in the so-called separate state, it was a war zone. Smouldering cars, milling youth and a clear absence of law and order said to us we were in the wrong place at the wrong time…..but that is another story. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Joe Hockey) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/terreblanche-face-to-face-with-hatred-personified/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/terreblanche-face-to-face-with-hatred-personified/#item2786 Wed, 07 Apr 2010 21:00:03 +0000 Joe Hockey | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/spinning-the-state-elections/ I first met Bruce Hawker when he gave John Fahey’s staff just 24 hours to pack their belongings after the 1995 election defeat and get out of Premier-elect Bob Carr’s new offices. At that time I was Director of Policy to Fahey. Whilst bitterness is not in my nature I use events to define character – mine and theirs. Bruce Hawker is a spin merchant. He moulds the message for electoral gain. So when I read his piece today on The Punch about the weekend elections I was not surprised. How does Labor turn a hostile 7.4% swing in South Australia and a hostile 12% swing in Tasmania into a win for Rudd? Easy: “It could have been worse.” feedback@thepunch.com.au (Joe Hockey) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/spinning-the-state-elections/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/spinning-the-state-elections/#item2677 Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:02:07 +0000 Joe Hockey | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kokoda-pilgrims-made-the-ultimate-sacrifice/ For many it is a pilgrimage and for some it is an honourable adventure. Thousands of Australians each year make the journey to Papua New Guinea in honour of our fallen World War 2 diggers. Each journey is bedevilled with anticipation and anxiety, for walking the Kokoda track is tough and grinding. The mountains between Port Moresby and Kokoda are forbidding. The towering peaks of green thick foliage and tall trees closely linked to the sheer cliffs dwarf the intermittent rainforests of the range, and the narrow and deep valleys with their raging rivers pose the ultimate challenge during wet weather crossing. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Joe Hockey) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kokoda-pilgrims-made-the-ultimate-sacrifice/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/kokoda-pilgrims-made-the-ultimate-sacrifice/#item899 Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:00:19 +0000 Joe Hockey | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/5895m-above-sea-level-and-the-oxygen-is-thinning/ …..but the body is not. And I am in a whole world of pain. And no, seeing as you ask, I am not about talking politics (or at least not on this occasion). Rather, I mean the physical pain of preparing to climb, just four weeks from now, Africa’s Mt Kilimanjaro – “Killy”, to its friends. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Joe Hockey) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/5895m-above-sea-level-and-the-oxygen-is-thinning/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/5895m-above-sea-level-and-the-oxygen-is-thinning/#item536 Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:45:32 +0000 Joe Hockey | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bring-back-the-bears-and-rugby-leagues-lost-soul/ As a youngster I used to catch the bus to North Sydney Oval on a Saturday to watch my local team get flogged. It was like confession for a Catholic – you knew you had to go and you knew what the outcome would be, but somehow you also knew that it was good for you. Rugby League was always the working man’s sport. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Joe Hockey) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bring-back-the-bears-and-rugby-leagues-lost-soul/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bring-back-the-bears-and-rugby-leagues-lost-soul/#item217 Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:53:11 +0000 Joe Hockey | Author bios | The Punch