15 Facts About Stephen Mutch

Stephen Bruce Mutch was born on 4 February 1956 and is an Australian academic, and former politician with an academic interest in cultic organisations.

Stephen Mutch's father's uncle Thomas Mutch was a state MP in New South Wales who began his career in the Australian Labor Party but later joined the United Australia Party.

Stephen Mutch holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and Master of Laws from the University of New South Wales.

Stephen Mutch worked as a solicitor from 1979 to 1983 and was a partner in a tourist park in Heathcote, New South Wales.

Stephen Mutch served as president of the Sutherland Shire's youth council.

Stephen Mutch worked as a policy adviser from 1984 to 1987.

Stephen Mutch won Liberal preselection for the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1986, at which point he was the executive assistant to Ted Pickering.

Stephen Mutch served as a parliamentary representative on the council of the University of Wollongong from 1990 to 1995.

In May 1995, Stephen Mutch won preselection for the federal Division of Cook.

Stephen Mutch retained the seat for the Liberals at the 1996 federal election following the retirement of Don Dobie.

Howard reportedly spent "hours locked away in a room during a state Liberal Council meeting appealing to people with influence in the local area to call off the challenges", but was told that Stephen Mutch did not have the support of local branches.

Stephen Mutch unsuccessfully contested Liberal preselection for the state seat of Cronulla in 2010, losing to his old Cook challenger Mark Speakman by 82 votes to 74 after a tied first ballot, with Speakman finally beating Stephen Mutch in a preselection contest.

In March 1993, Stephen Mutch moved a motion in the Legislative Council calling for a select inquiry into cults, which the Church of Scientology subsequently described as akin to Nazi Germany.

Stephen Mutch served on the editorial board of the International Journal of Cultic Studies, a publication of the International Cultic Studies Association, Stephen Mutch was awarded a doctorate by University of New South Wales in 2004 with a Ph.

Stephen Mutch married Jennifer Brown in 1994, with whom he had two children.