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June 25, 2026
Accepting the McKinnon Prize for federal political leader of 2025, Victorian Senator James Paterson said he was proud of the impact he has made as a parliamentarian.
“You can serve your country and the national interest from the backbench, crossbench and opposition — it is an immense privilege to serve in any elected office,” Paterson told an audience in Canberra.
“Without yet having served a day from the ministerial wing of Parliament House … I helped stop Australia from ratifying an extradition treaty with the People’s Republic of China, I secured the listing of Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organisations in their entirety for the first time, I championed the Magnitsky sanctions regime and the foreign arrangements scheme, and I exposed thousands of devices from high risk vendors across Commonwealth agencies, leading to their removal, and a ban of high-risk apps from government devices.”
Referencing Robert Menzies’ 1970s musings about how time in opposition served as a “great constructive period in the life of a party”, Paterson said the Liberal Party needed to learn from its significant loss in the most recent federal election.
Returning to government for its own sake should never be the party’s primary objective, he added, even if electoral success was important.
“We must demonstrate we will fight for the national interest, and the Australian people, from whatever office we hold in the political system,” Paterson said.
“Because Australians, not unreasonably, are much less concerned about which side of the house we sit on than what we deliver for them.
“Only when we demonstrate that consistently over time will we again earn the trust and support of the Australian people to govern,” he said.
Paterson’s recognition, determined by a non-partisan selection panel, called out his reputation for being one of Canberra’s most prepared and policy-focused figures.
The award honours politicians who have successfully translated vision and purpose into real public impact. The short list this year was Senator Claire Chandler, Jason Clare MP, Senator David Pocock (special commendation for constructive cross-bench contribution and advocacy for lobbying reform), Allegra Spender MP, and Senator Murray Watt.
The selection panel highlighted the 38-year-old Paterson’s work across national security, foreign interference, cybersecurity, and democratic integrity.
“Despite the Coalition’s significant loss at the last election, one of our signature national security policies — the restoration of the Home Affairs portfolio — was subsequently adopted by the government,” Paterson said.
“I worked with like-minded colleagues to achieve every one of these policy changes, often on a bipartisan basis … regardless of whose name was on the ministerial letterhead, they made our country safer and more secure.”