• Liberal Party Senator for Victoria
• Shadow Minister for Defence (since 17 Feb 2026)
• Became a Senator on 9 March 2016 — unknown
• Email me whenever James Paterson speaks (no more than once per day)

• Voting record
• Numbers
• Register of Interests

Questions without Notice: Budget (23 Jun 2026)

“If the government cannot tell businesses who will make those decisions or how those decisions will be made, how are businesses and investors supposed to make decisions with any certainty, and why doesn't the government just scrap these toxic taxes instead?”

Questions without Notice: Budget (23 Jun 2026)

“Perhaps we'll work it out after the legislation has passed. The consultation paper refers to concepts such as innovation, commercialisation, scalability and growth potential. Who will determine whether a business satisfies those tests, and what objective criteria will be applied?”

Questions without Notice: Budget (23 Jun 2026)

“My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. The government's consultation paper on arrangements for innovative startups proposes one set of capital gains tax rules for small businesses and another set of rules for so-called innovative businesses. Can the minister explain the difference between a small business and an innovative business?”

More of James Paterson's recent appearances

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Please note that numbers do not measure quality. Also, Senators may do other things not currently covered by this site. (More about this)

• Has spoken in 37 debates in the last year — well below average amongst Senators.
• People have made 0 comments on this Senator's speeches — average amongst Senators.
• 11 people are tracking whenever this Senator speaks — email me whenever James Paterson speaks.
• Has used three-word alliterative phrases (e.g. "she sells seashells") 275 times in debates — average amongst Senators. (Why is this here?)

James Paterson's latest interest statementLast updated: 21 Apr 2026