1. Raffaele "Raff" Ciccone was born on 1 November 1983 and is an Australian politician who is a Senator for Victoria, representing the Australian Labor Party.
31 Facts About Raff Ciccone
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Raff Ciccone was appointed to the Senate on 6 March 2019 following the resignation of Jacinta Collins, becoming the 100th Senator to represent the state of Victoria.
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Raff Ciccone's parents immigrated to Australia from Italy in the late 1960s.
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Raff Ciccone received his education at local Catholic primary schools, Christ Our Holy Redeemer, in Oakleigh East, then at Salesian College in Chadstone.
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Raff Ciccone went on to study for bachelor's degrees, in arts and commerce, from Deakin University and the University of Melbourne.
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Raff Ciccone joined the Australian Labor Party at the age of 16 when in high school.
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Raff Ciccone was elected to the community health board of Link Health and Community in 2009, and from December 2017 served as the organisation's chair.
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Raff Ciccone joined the Australian Labor Party in 2000 and, whilst studying, worked as a research officer to Senator the Hon.
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Raff Ciccone was unsuccessful in his attempts in elections, at the Monash City Council elections of 2008 and 2016, and on Labor's Senate ticket in Victoria at the 2013 federal election.
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When Senator Collins announced she would not be contesting the seat at the 2019 federal election, it created a casual vacancy and Raff Ciccone put his name forward for the position.
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Raff Ciccone was appointed to the Senate on 6 March 2019, taking Collins' place, making him the 100th Senator to represent Victoria.
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From 2020 Raff Ciccone has served on the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment and Growth.
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Raff Ciccone was the vice-chair of the Australia-Italy Parliamentary Country Group.
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Since 2021, Raff Ciccone has been a member of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee and the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee.
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On 7 August 2020, Raff Ciccone was appointed to the ALP's national executive.
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Raff Ciccone was appointed to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee and Deputy Chair of the Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee.
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Raff Ciccone is Chair of the Parliamentary Country Groups for Italy, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.
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Raff Ciccone is the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friendship Groups of Fresh Produce; Forestry, Timber and Paper Products; Landcare; and Red Meat.
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On 9 April 2022 Raff Ciccone was awarded honorary membership of the Hawthorn branch of the Returned and Services League for advocacy of veterans' welfare and the establishment of a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
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In October 2020 it was reported that Raff Ciccone had joined an informal cross-party grouping of parliamentarians, known as the "Wolverines", who take a hawkish position on China.
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Raff Ciccone has argued for Australia's agriculture industry to be considered to be part of national security.
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Raff Ciccone is one of a handful of Australian parliamentarians who is open in their support for an autonomous, free Taiwan; known to be attending the Presidential inauguration of Lai Ching-te in May 2024.
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Raff Ciccone has strongly supported Australia's timber industry, arguing the industry can help to reduce the country's carbon emissions.
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Raff Ciccone has criticised the Labor government in Victoria for their decision to phase out native forest harvesting by 2030.
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Raff Ciccone is connected to a pro-resources grouping of his party, known as the Otis Group, and has argued against the ALP's opposition to nuclear power in Australia.
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Raff Ciccone has argued that carbon emissions from agriculture should be reduced, requiring collaboration between government and the agricultural industry.
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Raff Ciccone has criticised climate change activists for arguing that environmental interests and industry interests are opposed.
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Raff Ciccone has advocated stronger penalties against employers committing wage theft, a rise in unemployment benefits and for greater protection of rights for gig workers.
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Raff Ciccone has been a leading supporter of the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund, directed to value-adding in the production of food and fibre.
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Raff Ciccone was married to Dimity Paul, who was once chief of staff to Victorian government minister Adem Somyurek and stood as a Labor candidate at the 2014 state election.
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Raff Ciccone owns an investment property in Huntingdale and Oakleigh East.