Paul Howes
| Paul Howes | |
|---|---|
| National Secretary of the Australian Workers' Union | |
|
In office 24 November 2007 – 2014 |
|
| Preceded by | Bill Shorten |
| Succeeded by | Scott McDine |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
23 August 1981 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party |
Democratic Socialist Perspective (1993–1996) Australian Labor Party (1996–present) |
| Occupation | Union official |
Paul Howes (born 23 August 1981) was involved in the Australian trade union movement from 1999 through 2014. His most recent position was as National Secretary of the Australian Workers' Union, the youngest individual to serve in that position. In 2008, Howes was elected as Vice President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and he served on a number of Government boards.
Howes resigned from his position as AWU National Secretary on 24 March 2014; he formally stepped down in July. He is now a Partner at KPMG.
Howes entered politics while still at Blaxland High School in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, joining the far-left political groups Democratic Socialist Party and Resistance.
He did not finish high school, leaving in Year 9. However, by the age of 16, after a "solidarity" trip to Cuba to the World Festival for Youth and Students, Howes abandoned far-left politics and joined the Australian Labor Party. In an interview with the The Age newspaper Howes stated that while in Cuba his mind was changed by the reality of what he saw, which contradicted the political beliefs he held at the time: "A beautiful country with beautiful people, but I didn't like seeing people getting arrested or the clear and transparent oppression and propaganda, and I eventually thought, 'This is all bonkers.'"
Howes has three children from his first marriage. He is married to Qantas executive Olivia Wirth.
Howes became a union official at the age of 17 when he was employed as a research officer by the Labor Council of New South Wales (now Unions New South Wales). He joined the Australian Workers' Union as an official in New South Wales in 2002 and was later recruited to the National Office of the union. In 2005 he was elected as the union's National Vice President, becoming the youngest ever national official in the history of the union. He was elected National Secretary of the Australian Workers' Union following the election of former AWU National Secretary Bill Shorten to the Australian House of Representatives in November 2007.
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