Robert Andrew Simms (born 26 March 1984) is an Australian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, representing the Greens South Australia. He was a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for South Australia from 2015 to 2016, an Area

Councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

for the

City of Adelaide The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council, is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia. It is legally defi ...

from 2014 to 2015 and from 2018 to 2021. Since May 2021, he has been a member of the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the South Australian House of Assembly, H ...

Early life and education

Simms was born on 26 March 1984 in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England, the son of an English father and Australian mother originally from

Broken Hill, New South Wales Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

. The family moved to Australia in 1987 and settled in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. Simms attended primary school in Flagstaff Hill before going on to Aberfoyle Park High School, where he was a member of the debating club and served on the student council. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice (Honours), a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in politics and sociology) and a Graduate Certificate in Journalism. In 2008 Simms was admitted as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and solicitor. In 2015 he was part-way through a PhD in

political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...

, where he has also taught in the politics department.

Early career

He has worked in the community sector as a policy advocate, serving on the boards of a number of community organisations, including the Youth Affairs Council and

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

Council of South Australia. He has also worked as a radio journalist and freelance writer.

Political career

Democrats and council

Simms stood as a candidate for the

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party splinter groups, it was Australia's lar ...

in the seat of Boothby at the 2004 federal election. He later stood for the Greens in Enfield at the 2010 state election, and

in the 2014 state election. He was elected as a

councillor in 2014, and was a co-convenor of the SA Greens in 2015. He resigned from the Council on 8 September 2015, to fill a vacancy caused by Penny Wright's resignation from the Senate.

Senate career

Simms was a Greens member of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, representing the state of

, from 22 September 2015 until his defeat at the 2016 election. Until the appointment of James Paterson to the Senate in March 2016, he was the youngest serving senator and the second-youngest sitting MP (after Wyatt Roy). As a senator, Simms was the Greens parliamentary spokesperson on higher education, LGBT rights and marriage equality—portfolios previously held by Senators

Lee Rhiannon Lee Rhiannon (formerly O'Gorman, ''née'' Brown; born 30 May 1951) is a former Australian politician who was a Australian Senate, Senator for New South Wales between July 2011 and August 2018. She was elected at the 2010 Australian federal ele ...

and Janet Rice. Simms was one of five openly LGBTI members in the Parliament of Australia and supports marriage equality in Australia.

State politics and return to city council

After his defeat in 2016, Simms was the Greens' candidate for Adelaide again at the 2018 state election, and received 12.6% of the first preference votes (third of four candidates). He was re-elected to City of Adelaide Council in 2018.

Legislative Council

In May 2021, he resigned from council for the second time, to fill a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of

Mark Parnell Mark Charles Parnell (born 9 September 1959) is an Australian former politician and parliamentary leader of the SA Greens in the South Australian Legislative Council. He was the first SA Greens representative to be elected to the Parliament o ...

on the

. In March/April 2024, he has been active in the "Save the Cranker" movement to prevent historic live music pub The Crown & Anchor from being destroyed by developers. He introduced a motion to parliament to improve the state heritage laws, and attended a large rally on 28 April 2024. On 2 May 2024, it was reported that a watered-down version of his motion had passed the Legislative Council, in which MPs would be "encouraged" to make a submission to the State Commission Assessment Panel.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Robert 1984 births Living people Australian barristers South Australian local councillors Australian republicans Academic staff of Flinders University Flinders University alumni Australian gay politicians Australian gay writers Australian Greens members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Australian Greens members of the Parliament of South Australia LGBTQ legislators in Australia English emigrants to Australia 21st-century Australian politicians