Cory Bernardi

His father was an Italian immigrant who migrated to Australia in 1958.

His maternal grandfather was a trade unionist and staunch Labor supporter.

Cory Bernardi (born 6 November 1969) is an Australian conservative political commentator and former politician.

Bernardi was born on 6 November 1969.

Raised in Adelaide, he attended Prince Alfred College in Kent Town, South Australia.

Bernardi made state representative appearances for South Australia in the State Youth VIII at the Australian Rowing Championships in 1987 and 1988.

In 1988, as part of a Mercantile Rowing Club eight, he won the Ladies' Challenge Plate—open to 2nd grade/varsity/college crews below the heavyweight international standard—at the Henley Royal Regatta in England.

Bernardi took a business and management course at South Australian Institute of Technology, before winning a scholarship and furthering his rowing career at the Australian Institute of Sport in 1989.

After a back injury terminated his rowing career, Bernardi travelled Europe and Africa, working as a labourer.

Returning to Australia, he managed the family's hotel before spending four months in a hospital with tuberculosis.

He subsequently worked as a stockbroker and financial adviser before entering politics.

In 1989, Bernardi was selected in the seven seat of the South Australian Men's Senior VIII.

Unfortunately, the nationals interstate events that year were cancelled when a cyclone hit the Wellington Dam course in WA, part-way through the programme of events.

Three weeks later at Carrum in Victoria, Bernardi's South Australian crew placed second in an unofficial men's eight race attended by the Victorian, Western Australian and South Australian crews who raced for the Patten Cup.

That same year Bernardi became an Australian national representative when he was selected in the three seat of the coxless four which competed at the 1989 World Rowing Championships in Bled—formerly of Yugoslavia but what is now the Republic of Slovenia—and placed tenth.

Later that year Bernardi suffered a back injury that effectively ended his rowing career.

He was a Senator for South Australia from 2006 to 2020, and was the leader of the Australian Conservatives, a minor political party he founded in 2017 but disbanded in 2019.

He is a former member of the Liberal Party of Australia, having represented the party in the Senate from 2006 to 2017.

He is the author of The Conservative Revolution.

Bernardi entered politics in 2006 when he was selected by the Liberal Party to fill a Senate seat vacancy for South Australia left by the resignation of Robert Hill.

During his time in Parliament, Bernardi attracted controversy over several statements and views.

After South Australian Senator Robert Hill resigned from the Senate to become Ambassador to the United Nations in March 2006, Bernardi was selected by the Liberal Party to fill the vacancy, officially commencing his senate term on 4 May 2006.

In a media statement released shortly after the article was published, Bernardi described the story as "a rehash of a factually incorrect story that first appeared in 2006 before my appointment to the Senate."

Bernardi claimed that he had been "made aware that a colleague [had] been approaching numerous journalists in an attempt to 'push' this matter as a means of personally attacking me."

In a statement he went on to say, "I find it disappointing that there are people who clearly pine to background journalists with half-truths and mischievous suggestions in an attempt to smear others. The people who creep out of their darkened closets to resurrect previously discredited accusations do no service to themselves or the community. Politics is a battle of ideas, not a battle of smears."

On 17 February 2007, Bernardi was pre-selected ahead of Simon Birmingham and Senator Grant Chapman by the State Council of the South Australian Liberal Party to be the number one candidate on the South Australian Liberal Senate ticket for the federal election to be held in late 2007.

At the election, Bernardi was elected to a full six-year term.

In December 2007, Bernardi was appointed the federal Coalition's Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Community Services.

On 19 March 2008, Bernardi was named in a story published in The Australian newspaper as having been linked to a scheme that sold financial advice on how divorcees could hide money from their former spouses.

On 20 March 2008, Bernardi introduced a motion calling for a Senate inquiry into swearing on television and the effectiveness of the Code of Practice after a television show was broadcast at 8.30 pm containing the word "fuck" eighty times in 40 minutes.

The Senate supported the motion.

Then in June, Bernardi stated his personal view on onlineopinion.com.au regarding a proposed reform relating to same-sex relationships.

He stated, "Same-sex relationships are not the same as marital relationships and to treat them the same is to suspend common sense."

He was again given the first place on the Liberal ticket at the 2013 federal election and was re-elected.

Following a double dissolution of Parliament at the 2016 federal election, Bernardi was re-elected from the second place on the Liberal ticket.

He was elected for a term of six years, ending on 30 June 2022.

On 7 February 2017, he announced that he would be leaving the Liberal Party to form his own party, the Australian Conservatives.

In June 2019, Bernardi announced that he was disbanding the Australian Conservatives and the party was voluntarily deregistered by the Australian Electoral Commission on 25 June 2019.

Bernardi announced his resignation from politics on 19 November 2019, and on 20 January 2020 resigned from the Senate with immediate effect.

After leaving the Senate, Bernardi became a commentator and podcaster with Sky News Australia.