Steven pursued Australia’s most ambitious trade and investment agenda while serving as Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism & Investment. He negotiated and secured economy boosting agreements by completing the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP11) as well as the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA).
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In his tenure as a senior Cabinet Minister, Steven also started and completed the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement (PAFTA), as well as the Hong Kong – Australia Free Trade Agreement. He secured the commencement of FTA negotiations with the European Union, and led Australia to be the first country to establish a negotiating framework for a post-Brexit FTA with the United Kingdom.
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Steven served in a number of senior Ministerial roles as a Member of Australia’s Parliament for nearly 18 years, including in Defence Industry, International Development and the Pacific, and as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer.
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Steven is a senior leader with unrivalled experience in strategic thinking, stakeholder engagement and management, negotiation and media management. He has performed well in one of the most high-profile environments with unparalleled accountability. He is equipped with a deep knowledge of domestic and international governments and has established global relationships across the public and private sectors.
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Steven retired from politics at the May 2019 Federal election and now works in an advisory role in private equity and asset management. Steven is also an Asia Fellow with the Milken Institute.