THE HON STEPHEN CONROY
The Hon Stephen Conroy served as Leader in the Senate and Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Digital Productivity during his twenty-year political career (1996 – 2016).
Stephen’s many achievements include: establishing Australia’s National Broadband Network; overseeing the transition of all television broadcasts in Australia to digital, freeing up scarce spectrum for 4G and mobile broadband services; establishing Australia’s National Digital Economy Strategy which set out a vision for Australia to become a leading digital economy by 2020 including the Digital First Initiative to make online service delivery the primary channel for delivering government services to Australians.
Stephen was a Founding Member of the United Nations Broadband Commission for Digital Development (2010); the Australian Ministerial Delegation Leader at the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT Dubai 2012); Ministerial Representative at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) Governmental Advisory Committee (2010); and was a Member of the ICANN Accountability and Review Team (2013).
In 2012 Stephen was named International Visionary of the Year by the Intelligent Community Forum in New York. Stephen is also Senior Fellow at the Center for the Digital Future, University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism.
During his political career Stephen held the position of Opposition Deputy Whip from 1996 until 1998 when he was elected to the frontbench as Opposition Shadow Minister for Financial Services. He was renowned for his active participation in Senate Estimate Committees and contribution to many Senate Inquiries into financial services regulation and taxation policy.
In 2001 he was elected Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. He held the portfolios of Finance and Small Business between 2001-2004 and he was Shadow Minister for Trade during the negotiations and completion of the USFTA between Australia and the USA. Between 2013 – 2016 Stephen served as Shadow Minister for Defence.
Stephen founded Chellwood Advisory in 2016, a boutique consulting firm providing advice on business development and government and regulatory affairs to clients across a range of sectors including: digital technology and communications; property and infrastructure; and health and education.
Stephen is the Executive Director of Responsible Wagering Australian the independent peak body representing the Australian online wagering industry.
Stephen is also a Council Member of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and a Political Contributor to Sky News Australia where he appears regularly as a commentator on a wide range of the network’s political and news programs.
Stephen was born into an Air Force family in Ely in the United Kingdom and moved to Australia when he was 10. He grew up in Canberra and attended the Australian National University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Economics.
He worked for a number of State and Federal ministers as an adviser from 1985 until 1992 during which time he moved to Melbourne. He was elected to Footscray Council in the western suburbs in 1993 at the age of 30. He worked for the Transport Workers Union until 1996 when at the age of 33 he entered Federal Parliament as a Senator for Victoria for the Australian Labor Party.
Stephen and his wife, Paula Benson, live in Melbourne with their daughter, Isabella. A well-known sports fan, he was a national volleyball representative as a teenager and has been the President of Volleyball Victoria since 2004. Stephen is a passionate follower of Collingwood in the Australian Football League and Melbourne City in the Australian A-League soccer. He is a fan of the Chelsea Football Club in the UK and he still pulls on the boots to play soccer when he has time. He is also an extremely enthusiastic snowboarder.