Kevin Andrews, the conservative MP who was a minister in the Howard and Abbott governments, has died aged 69.
A statement announcing his passing was posted by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott who said Andrews had passed away with his wife Margie by his side.
“We are deeply proud of his service to our country, our local community and his party, although shattered by his death after a year-long battle with cancer.”
“Kevin was devoted to his country, his family, and his faith and lived a life of service,” the statement said.
Andrews had been working on his political memoirs which will now be published posthumously.
Andrews entered the parliament in 1991 following a by-election for the seat of Menzies in Victoria.
He served in the Howard government as the Minister for Ageing, and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, he later became the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship until the government lost power at the 2007 election.
In 2009 when Tony Abbott became the Opposition Leader, Andrews was appointed shadow minister for Families, Housing and Human Services. When the Liberal party returned to power in 2013 he served as Minister for Social Services, and later Minister of Defence.
When Malcolm Turnbull successfully challenged Abbott for the leadership position in 2015 Andrews was relegated to the backbench. In 2026 Andrews suggested he might challenge Turnbull for the leadership of the party, but nothing ever eventuated.
In 2021 Andrews lost pre-selection for his seat and party members brought an end to his political career.
During his time in politics Andrews was a voice for the religious right of the Liberal party based on his strong Catholic faith.
In 2017 he memorably argued against marriage equality comparing same-sex relationships to being more akin to friendships than marriages. He then compared same-sex relationships to the comradery he had with his cycling buddies. Andrews publicly argued that allowing same-sex marriages would open the floodgates to other types of relationships being recognised as marriages.
Following the passage of the marriage equality laws Andrews became a proponent for religious freedom laws, a matter than remains unresolved.
As Social Services Minister one of Andrews pet projects was a scheme where married couples could get vouchers to undertake marriage counselling. Andrews has spoken about how he had found regular counselling beneficial in his own marriage. Everyday Australians shunned his Stronger Relationships scheme with only a few thousand of the 100,000 vouchers ever being used.
In 2014 while serving as a minister he distanced himself from the World Congress of Families, denying he held any roles within the organisation. The group had him listed as an ambassador and its international secretary.
