Marise Ann Payne (born 29 July 1964) is an Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1997 until 2023, representing the Liberal Party. She held senior ministerial office in Coalition governments between 2013 and 2022, including as Minister for Defence (2015–2018) and Minister for Foreign Affairs (2018–2022).
Payne was born in Sydney and attended the University of New South Wales. She was the first woman to serve as federal president of the Young Liberals (1989–1991). Payne was appointed to the Senate in 1997, in place of Bob Woods. She was elected to a full term in 2001, and has since been re-elected four more times. Payne was first added to the shadow ministry in 2007, and when the Coalition returned to power in 2013 she was made Minister for Human Services in the Abbott government. Payne was appointed Minister for Defence when Malcolm Turnbull became prime minister, becoming the first woman to hold the position. After Turnbull was replaced by Scott Morrison in August 2018, it was announced that she would replace Julie Bishop as Minister for Foreign Affairs in the new government, a position she held until the government's defeat in 2022. She is the longest-serving female senator in Australia's history. On 8 September 2023, Payne announced she would resign from the Senate, effective 30 September.
Early life
Payne was born in Sydney, the daughter of Ann Noreen (née Johns) and William Elliott Payne. Her father was a World War II veteran who worked as an accountant and farmer. Payne grew up in Bardwell Park, in Sydney's southern suburbs. She attended MLC School before going on to the University of New South Wales, where she graduated with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees. In her second year at university, she was involved in a road accident near Michelago. She was a passenger in a car which rolled over and she received serious injuries to her neck, fracturing her odontoid process.
Payne joined the Liberal Party in 1982, and was state president of the New South Wales Young Liberals from 1987 to 1988. She then served as federal president of the Young Liberals from 1989 to 1991, the first woman to hold the position, and as a member of the state executive of the New South Wales Liberals from 1991 to 1997. In 1991, Payne was an unsuccessful candidate to fill the casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Peter Baume. At the time she was serving as private secretary to Senator Robert Hill.
In 1994, Payne was appointed vice-chair of the Australian Republican Movement, serving under chairman Malcolm Turnbull. At the time, she was working as an adviser to Premier John Fahey and serving on the Liberal Party's state executive. Tony Abbott, who was then the national executive director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, criticised her for accepting the position, stating "anyone who does not support constitutional monarchy is at odds with the party". John Howard accused her of a "conflict of interest", stating she had joined "an organisation dominated by Labor sympathisers".
Senator (1997–2023)
Following the resignation of Senator Bob Woods in March 1997, Payne was chosen by the Liberal Party to fill the casual vacancy. She took office on 9 April 1997, and has subsequently been re-elected to the Senate at the 2001, 2007, 2013, and 2016 elections. Her office is located in Parramatta, in Sydney's western suburbs.
Payne was a backbencher for her first decade in the Senate, from 1997 to 2007. When she took her seat, The Sydney Morning Herald ran a headline describing her as "The Senator John Howard Didn't Want". She was preselected in third place on the Coalition ticket at the 2001 election, with Howard intervening to ensure Helen Coonan ranked ahead of her as the first Liberal candidate. Prior to the 2007 election, members of the Liberal Party's conservative faction attempted to have Payne removed from the ticket. However, for the sake of unity Howard and Bill Heffernan intervened to ensure that she retained a winning place on the Coalition ticket. Payne served on various Senate committees during that time, notably as chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade and the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee.