Julian Hill (politician)

Hill was born in Melbourne in 1973. He was raised by his mother after his father, a medical doctor, died when he was four years old. He has described how his mother, a nurse and midwife by profession, instilled in him the values of "responsibility, hard work and compassion". He grew up in the east Melbourne suburb of Burwood and attended Wesley College from 1985 to 1990. He obtained a Bachelor of Science (chemistry) and a Bachelor of Laws degrees from Monash University in 2000, and a Graduate Certificate of International Relations from Deakin University in 2015. Hill is one of only a handful of Federal Australian parliamentarians with a science degree, and has spoken of his "love of science as a kid ... growing up, one of my favourite possessions, and I had to get a few of them, was the old chemistry set." He became a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia in 2012. ==Career==

Hill started his career as an electorate officer and adviser to federal MP Alan Griffin from 1995 to 2000. As mayor, Hill led the city through a period of enormous and rapid change, including a development boom as inner city bayside suburbs rapidly gentrified. Hill led high-profile initiatives in the municipality which generated metropolitan attention, including transport planning, parking management, complex social policy reforms and the Greening Port Phillip program. As mayor, Hill signed the first friendship agreement between an Australian local government and an East Timorese town. Founded on the principles of community development, the Friends of Suai celebrated its 20th year in 2020. In 2000, an article in The Age stated that " far from hiding his light in local government Hill is fast becoming the most outspoken Mayor in Melbourne." Questioned about being a young high-profile councilor and mayor, Hill commented that "[t]here is something insidious about saying, 'Aren't you too young to be doing this job?' It is the other end of the scale from saying, 'Oh, you're 60, your brain must be soft.'" Parliamentary service Hill was elected as the 5th Member for Bruce at the Federal election on 2 July 2016, defeating high-profile Liberal candidate Helen Kroger. Hill achieved a swing of 2.28% to Labor and a margin of 4.08%. Hill was re-elected in 2019, 2022 and 2025. In 2018, as part of a redistribution altering electoral boundaries, media reports suggested Hill was the biggest beneficiary. He was reelected in 2019. In 2023, Hill made a speech in Parliament that was partially written by OpenAI's ChatGPT. In the speech, Hill commented on the potentially destructive elements of the technology, stating that it had the ability to cause mass destruction. Hill was the chair of the Australian Parliament's Joint Statutory Committee of Public Accounts and Audit from August 2022 until his appointment as Assistant Minister in July 2024. This Committee oversees the Commonwealth Auditor-General, the Parliamentary Budget Office and interrogates the Australian Government's expenditure, performance and financial statements. He was appointed Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship following a ministerial reshuffle on July 29, 2024. After the re-election of the Labor government in the 2025 Australian federal election, Hill was appointed Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs and Assistant Minister for International Education in the second Albanese ministry. ==Views==

Hill made it clear in his maiden speech he held strong views against the monarchy. In December 2019, he addressed the chamber on the issue, stating that when he was first elected it was a confronting moment for him to take an oath of allegiance to a foreigner. He spoke of feeling like a cheap traitor, going as far as stating that he crossed his fingers when taking his oath of allegiance. In his first speech Hill stated: "I am conscious that as a rainbow Labor member my election is a very small step to adding to the diversity of this parliament, and I am proud to see more LGBTI Australians in this parliament than the last." He is a member of Labor's Left faction. Hill has championed Australian multiculturalism and spoken up about the importance of Australia embracing its human diversity to ensure future success; whether that be on the grounds of race, gender, sexuality or religion. Hill faced criticism from representatives of the International Education industry after he gave an interview '[making] no apology' for his championing of reforms to the regulation of the sector, which were likely to lead to a reduced number of international students being granted visas into Australia. == Personal life ==

Hill is gay, and has spoken of two former long-term partners, Lorien and David. Hill has spoken in Parliament about "the enormous privilege and authentic human experience" he had nursing his mother at home for the 10 months before her death, after she was diagnosed with an incurable cancer in 2008. Hill campaigned for amendment to Australian prescription drug laws following an incident in 2017 which left his daughter Elanor with a 64 cm blood clot after she was prescribed the oral contraceptive Diane-35 to use as an acne medication, which was not approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Hill's brother and only sibling was the actor and independent filmmaker Damian Hill, best known for writing and acting in the 2016 film Pawno. Damian died on 22 September 2018. Julian Hill presented the inaugural Damian Hill Independent Film Award, named in honour of his brother, at the 2019 Melbourne International Film Festival. 'Persistent rumours' as to Hill's residential address have followed him since his election to the seat of Bruce in 2016. Hill denied claims that he 'lived full time out of the electorate' with a statement confirming that he splits his time between an owned property in Port Melbourne, a rented apartment in Dandenong and a residence of undetermined status in Canberra. ==See also==