James Stevens (Australian politician)


James William Stevens is the Liberal Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Division of Sturt in South Australia. He was elected in the 2019 Australian federal election and replaced the previous Liberal member, Christopher Pyne who had announced in March 2019 that he would retire from politics. Stevens previously served as the Chief of Staff to Steven Marshall, the Premier of South Australia, and prior to that as the General Manager of Michell Australia.

Early life

Stevens attended Canberra Grammar School before completing school at St Peters College, before gaining a Bachelor of Commerce and Master of International Trade & Development at the University of Adelaide.
Stevens worked for the Michell Group of Companies including as Commercial Manager and General Manager.

Political involvement

From July 2004 to July 2006 Stevens served as President of the South Australian Young Liberal Movement. In 2005 he ran for the position of Federal Young Liberal President but was defeated by Alex Hawke.
Stevens was elected Campaign Coordinator for the South Australian Liberal Party in August 2006, serving in the role for two years.
Stevens had worked for Christopher Pyne and became chief of staff to Steven Marshall in February 2013 upon Marshall being elected the new Leader of the Opposition. He had previously been campaign manager for Marshall's successful entry into state politics in the 2010 election, defeating Labor incumbent Vini Ciccarello in the seat of Norwood.
In June 2013, The Advertiser newspaper listed Stevens as one of the 50 Most Influential South Australians.
Stevens' work as Chief of Staff to the Premier included projects such as the successful bid to have the Australian Space Agency headquarters based in Adelaide. He also oversaw the adoption by the party of data mining software in the leadup to the 2018 South Australian state election.