Gregory Ivan Combet (; born 28 April 1958) is a former Australian politician and

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

ist. He was Secretary of the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and ...

between 1999 and 2007. He was elected member for the New South Wales Federal seat of

Charlton Charlton may refer to: People * Charlton (surname) * Charlton (given name) Places Australia * Charlton, Queensland * Charlton, Victoria * Division of Charlton, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in New South Wale ...

for the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms ...

at the 2007 election and was immediately appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement in the First Rudd Ministry on 3 December 2007. Combet was the Minister for Climate Change, Industry and Innovation in the Second Gillard Ministry before announcing his resignation from the ministry on 26 June 2013 following

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

's defeat in a leadership ballot. He previously served as Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change, when

Penny Wong Penelope Ying-Yen Wong (born 5 November 1968) is an Australian politician who has been Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate in the Albanese Government since 2022. A member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) ...

was the Minister. He retired from politics at the 2013 election. In 2020, Combet was appointed to the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission to "provide strategic and policy advice" for the Morrison Coalition Government.

Early life

Greg Combet was born in Sydney and attended Eastern Creek Primary school, then Rooty Hill High School from years 7 to 10. He completed his secondary education at Baulkham Hills High School. He was later educated at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

where he studied mining engineering, and then graduated from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

with a

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; the ...

, and a Graduate Diploma in Labour Relations and the Law. He was a project officer for the

New South Wales Tenants' Union New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, before working for the

Lidcombe Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the n ...

Workers' Health Centre. In 1987, he was employed by the Waterside Workers' Federation, now part of the

Maritime Union of Australia The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) was a union which covered waterside workers, seafarers, port workers, professional divers, and office workers associated with Australian ports. The MUA was formed in 1993 with merger of the Seamen's U ...

Union activity

Combet's association with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) began in 1993 when he became a Senior Industrial Officer. In 1996 he was elected Assistant Secretary and in 1999 following the retirement of

Bill Kelty William John Kelty, AC (born 5 February 1948) is an Australian trade unionist and a well-known figure in the Australian labour movement, who served as Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) from 1983 to 2000. Born in Brunswi ...

, he became Secretary. Over his time at the ACTU, Combet has co-ordinated many union campaigns, and rose to prominence during the

1998 Australian waterfront dispute The Australian waterfront dispute of 1998 was an event in Australian industrial relations history, in which the Patrick Corporation undertook a restructuring of their operations for the purpose of dismissing their workforce. The restructuring by ...

. Combet also led successful campaigns to secure entitlements and compensation for the staff of the collapsed airline

Ansett Australia Ansett Australia was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne, Australia. The airline flew domestically within Australia and from the 1990s to destinations in Asia. After operating for 65 years, the airline was placed into admini ...

and asbestos victims of the James Hardie company. In his capacity as Secretary of the ACTU, Combet led the Rights at Work campaign against the Howard Government's

WorkChoices WorkChoices was the name given to changes made to the federal industrial relations laws in Australia by the Howard Government#Fourth term: 2004–2007, Howard Government in 2005, being amendments to the ''Workplace Relations Act 1996'' by the '' ...

industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor/trade unions, employer organizations, a ...

law changes.

Parliament

On 4 May 2007 Combet announced his intention to run for the safe Labor seat of Charlton in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle ar ...

. The sitting member for Charlton,

Kelly Hoare Kelly Joy Hoare (; born 1 July 1963) is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007, representing the New South Wales seat of Charlton for the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She succeeded ...

, expressed anger at losing preselection for her seat, and for a time considered running as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

. Combet stood down as ACTU Secretary to campaign full-time in Charlton in the lead up to the federal election. On 14 June 2007 Jeff Lawrence, National Secretary of the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU) was elected unopposed as the next Secretary of the ACTU. Greg Combet

Combet was elected as the new member for Charlton on 24 November 2007 as part of the ALP's victory in the

2007 Australian federal election The 2007 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 24 November 2007. All 150 seats in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives and 40 of the seats in the 76-member Australian Senate, Senate were up for elect ...

, achieving a two party preferred swing of 4.47 per cent, winning 62.87 per cent of the two party vote. Following the election, Prime Minister

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

appointed Combet as Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement in the First Rudd Ministry. He was sworn in on 3 December 2007. In February 2009, Combet was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change, with a focus on emissions trading, to assist Climate Change Minister Senator

. As a result of the resignation of Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon and the subsequent ministerial reshuffle, Combet was promoted to the ministry on 6 June 2009, as Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science and Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change. Combet's portfolio was amended into April 2010 to Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and Minister for Defence Materiel and Science and to help him focus on the Government's energy efficiency programs, he axed part of this scheme— Home Insulation Program (HIP) in late April due to the safety risks and the blow-out in funding. Combet was re-elected to Charlton at the 2010 federal election, suffering a post-redistribution two party swing of 0.24 per cent, winning 62.67 per cent of the two party vote. After Labor was returned to government in this election, Combet entered Cabinet, succeeding Wong as Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. Following the passage of the government's Clean Energy Bill, the portfolio of Industry and Innovation was added to Combet's responsibilities. Combet had decided to step down over health concerns prior to Prime Minister Gillard's defeat in a

leadership spill In Australian politics, a leadership spill (or simply spill) is a colloquialism referring to a declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant and open for contest. A spill may involve all or some of the leadership positions (l ...

on 26 June 2013, but brought this decision forward and announced he would step down as minister and not contest his seat in the upcoming election. The seat of Charlton was subsequently won for the ALP by Combet's former advisor and chief-of-staff

Pat Conroy Donald Patrick Conroy (October 26, 1945 – March 4, 2016) was an American author who wrote several acclaimed novels and memoirs; his books '' The Water is Wide'', '' The Lords of Discipline'', '' The Prince of Tides'' and '' The Great Santini'' ...

Subsequent activities

Since leaving parliament, Combet has worked as a consultant to unions, governments and business and as a company director. Combet works primarily with industry superannuation funds and in December 2018 became chair of Industry Super Australia and Chair of IFM Investors, a global asset management business owned by the industry superannuation funds. In 2020, in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Combet was appointed to "provide strategic and policy advice" for the Liberal Morrison Government. Combet, writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' in late‑2021, describes Australia's failed climate policies and argues that a sensible

energy transition The energy transition is the process of Fossil fuel phase-out, downshifting fossil fuels and re-developing whole systems to operate on Low-carbon power, low carbon energy sources. More generally, an energy transition is a significant structura ...

is indeed possible.

Personal life

On 12 June 2006, Combet was appointed a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

for service to industrial relations and through advocacy for the improved health and safety of workers, including people affected by asbestos-related diseases, and to the community. Combet is separated from his second wife and in 2012 began a relationship with ABC-TV newsreader Juanita Phillips. Combet is the son of a winemaker and grew up on the Penfolds Minchinbury Estate in western Sydney. He is well known for breeding

Gouldian finch The Gouldian finch (''Chloebia gouldiae''), also known as the Lady Gouldian finch, Gould's finch or the rainbow finch, is a colourful passerine bird that is native to Australia. Taxonomy The Gouldian finch was described by British ornitholog ...

es. In 2014, Combet published his autobiography ''The Fights of My Life''.Combet, Greg (2014). The Fights of My Life. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. . In the 2007 ABC-TV series '' Bastard Boys'', dramatising the

, in which Combet was heavily involved, the role of Combet was played by

Daniel Frederiksen Daniel Frederiksen is an Australian actor who has worked in television, film and live theatre. Early life and education Frederiksen grew up in Metcalfe, Victoria. He moved to Sydney to study at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. Career ...

References

External links

Profile
at

NSW Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch), also known as NSW Labor, is the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party. The parliamentary leader is elected from and by the members of the party caucus, comprising all party mem ...

*
Greg Combet
at OurCampaigns.com

at ''

ABC News ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...

''
The Hon Greg Combet AM MP
speech to the

National Press Club of Australia The National Press Club is an association of primarily news journalists, but also includes academics, business people and members of the public service, and is based in Canberra, Australia. History The National Press Club was founded in 1963 a ...