http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/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. en Copyright 2013 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +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/32-weeks-of-stability-not-likely/ To say there’s a lot of crazy going on in Federal politics is the most subtle of all understatements. When Julia Gillard announced the faraway election date she claimed doing so would provide “stability and certainty” going into the year. Less than a week later she is accusing her rioting Labor caucus of systematically working against her, two senior Cabinet Ministers have announced their resignations, a suspended Labor MP (who Gillard once said she had “complete confidence in”) has been arrested on 149 charges, and her ALP Vice-President launched a scathing attack on the culture of the party. So how’s that stability working out for you Julia? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Sophie Mirabella) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/32-weeks-of-stability-not-likely/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/32-weeks-of-stability-not-likely/#item10547 Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:00:35 +0000 Sophie Mirabella | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/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 from the Treasurer on the status of his “failure is not an option” budget surplus-now-deficit. Despite emphatically claiming for the last 2 years that his government “has delivered a surplus in 2012-13”, Mr Swan snuck in a quiet “surplus now unlikely” statement just before Christmas.  I guess we now know that failure is indeed an option for Labor. But while many of us were visiting family, working our way through the leftover Christmas ham, and taking a well-earned rest, our fearless Treasurer was working doubly hard - to apportion blame. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Sophie Mirabella) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/swanny-the-tea-party-caused-the-deficit-ha/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/swanny-the-tea-party-caused-the-deficit-ha/#item10319 Thu, 03 Jan 2013 19:59:59 +0000 Sophie Mirabella | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/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 the assertion that “we should not give the comments oxygen” (in reference to offensive remarks made by Broadcaster Alan Jones) and then spent the next 10 minutes using those comments in a transparent and clumsy attempt to bludgeon the Opposition Leader. That’s not just oxygen, that’s accelerant. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Sophie Mirabella) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labor-should-spare-us-all-the-bull-on-alan-jones/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/labor-should-spare-us-all-the-bull-on-alan-jones/#item9617 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 19:55:12 +0000 Sophie Mirabella | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/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 Sydney on Saturday have no place in our country. Not for any reason. Full stop. That they occurred in the name of a religion against our closest ally the US, on the pretext of an offensive 14 minute Youtube video, should be even more cause for alarm and concern. That Australian toddlers were pictured holding placards advocating the beheading of those deemed to have caused offence must surely give everyone pause. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Sophie Mirabella) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/There-is-no-justification-for-what-happened-this-weekend/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/There-is-no-justification-for-what-happened-this-weekend/#item9495 Sun, 16 Sep 2012 20:00:25 +0000 Sophie Mirabella | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/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 exactly what that small step signified. The lunar landing was met by a universal reaction of awe and celebration that was much bigger than the efforts of one nation or one man. It was a celebration of human achievement. Neil Armstrong’s famous quote clearly ascribed the success to “mankind”, as did the plaque left by the mission, which read: “We came in peace for all mankind”. It was a fine hour for America, but an even greater moment for the world. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Sophie Mirabella) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/who-will-make-the-next-giant-leap-for-mankind/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/who-will-make-the-next-giant-leap-for-mankind/#item9332 Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:40:35 +0000 Sophie Mirabella | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australians-wont-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 “cash for you” compensation. Australians instinctively know that this tax, as well as being entirely futile, represents a major betrayal by the Government.  While the polls show that many feel rising costs are not the major problem with the carbon tax, many hidden costs are yet to be revealed. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Sophie Mirabella) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australians-wont-warm-to-the-carbon-tax/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australians-wont-warm-to-the-carbon-tax/#item9109 Tue, 31 Jul 2012 19:45:06 +0000 Sophie Mirabella | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/theres-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 Mars Bar advert.  You know, the guy who finds himself sent out to beat the odds and save the train as it plunges wildly to certain tragedy. The train is out of control (thanks Julia), there’s ice on the tracks (a metaphor for the slippery slope of their Federal alliance with the Greens), and a whole bunch of seemingly qualified and capable people are sitting quietly while they hurtle to their doom. The by-line of the ad is a play on the phrase “with power comes great responsibility”. Which is both fitting and hugely ironic. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Sophie Mirabella) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/theres-nothing-mainstream-about-the-labor-party/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/theres-nothing-mainstream-about-the-labor-party/#item8938 Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:15:26 +0000 Sophie Mirabella | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/carbon-tax-lesson-dont-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 electricity bill, and now the nation stands on the threshold of the introduction of Labor’s carbon tax. I guess there are worse places to be – like actually employed by one of the organisations that sit around the threshold of eligibility to pay the carbon tax. Those nebulous, arbitrary “big polluters”. These “perpetrators” could be the Council that collects your rubbish, or the University you hope your kids will attend one day, or the manufacturer who made the disposable nappies your little one wears. Or even the abattoir that provides the meat you buy from your local supermarket. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Sophie Mirabella) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/carbon-tax-lesson-dont-be-too-big-or-too-successful/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/carbon-tax-lesson-dont-be-too-big-or-too-successful/#item8829 Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:40:26 +0000 Sophie Mirabella | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/voters-wont-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 apparently swimming about taking a fresh look at her Government with each lap of the bowl, oblivious to what we saw yesterday or the day before. That is the only possible explanation for the bald-faced hypocrisy with which she is now championing a “Parliamentary Code of Conduct”. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Sophie Mirabella) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/voters-wont-forget-the-way-labor-has-conducted-itself/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/voters-wont-forget-the-way-labor-has-conducted-itself/#item8496 Mon, 14 May 2012 19:50:20 +0000 Sophie Mirabella | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Aint-no-sunshine-when-shes-governing/ Remember when Julia Gillard stood shoulder to shoulder with her two new allies in Government Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor and they declared, hand on heart, that this was the beginning of a new era in accountability? A new paradigm, in fact. Hard to believe it was just on 18 months ago that the Labor PM said that her deal with the Independents meant her minority government would be held to higher standards of accountability. “So let’s draw back the curtains and let the sun shine in, let our Parliament be more open than it was before,” she declared with flourish. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Sophie Mirabella) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Aint-no-sunshine-when-shes-governing/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Aint-no-sunshine-when-shes-governing/#item8252 Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:40:39 +0000 Sophie Mirabella | Author bios | The Punch