John Duncan Osborn

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John Duncan Osborn (born 1982) is an Australian political professional. He is currently a Federal Campaign Officer with the Victorian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia.

Born in Melbourne, Osborn attended Essendon Keilor College before graduating in 1999. Despite the fact that he rarely attended classes being more interested in girls, alcohol and martial arts training, he managed to gain admittance to the University of Melbourne Arts faculty in 2001, studying for a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Science.

During his time at the University of Melbourne, he became active in the Melbourne University Liberal Club (MULC), becoming the president in 2003 after rolling failed former president known only as 'Keeno'. He with good friends Rohan D'Souza and Julian Barendse organized the massively successful Go! ticket for the 2004 MUSUi elections; a coalition of Liberal Students, Jewish Students (AUJS) and a small number of Labor Right Students (Unity). John was elected as Vice-President and Education Officer and worked tirelessly with his team to promote the cause of Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) and greater standards of tertiary education through higher education liberalization.

The Liberal Club was instrumental in uncovering the disgraceful corruption of former Labor Presidents and their bogus front organisations. In consultation with University of Melbourne and the International Association the Liberals managed to get the defunct union placed into liquidation and hand over most financial responsibilities to the University proper.

Osborn has courted some controversy in his short but bright career, in particular in relation to his activities whilst an elected official of MUSUI and as a participant in the new nation-wide wave of conservative ‘anti-protests’. Students across the country were targeted by a highly successful MUSUi directed campaign to highlight the deficiencies of the then Mark Latham led Labor opposition. Osborn and his team of freedom loving liberals were often seen at leftist protests providing vocal and sometimes provocative support for free trade, freedom of association and the Howard Government.

Osborn appeared before the Senate Committee into Provisions of the Higher Education Support Amendment (Abolition of Compulsory Up-front Union Fees) Bill 2005 in his capacity as Victorian Convener of the Australian Liberal Students Federation (ALSF). It was firmly the view of the ALSF that every student’s right to freedom of association be recognised and the disgraceful system of Compulsory Student Unionism (CSU) be abolished. Osborn argued that student unions were rife with corruption and profiteering largely by the various arms of the Australian Labor Party and its associated union movement. Whilst conceding the receipt of an honorarium in excess of $20,000 he stated that he like those students of the Edith Cowan University where only 6% joined the union post-VSU ‘subscribed to Hobbesian and Millsian view of self-interest'.

Osborn was also a director of the University of Melbourne as a member of the University Council. He sat on the council with fellow liberal post-graduate Lachlan Williams and liberal Victorian MLC Bill Forwood. As a University Councillor he was outspoken for the need to promote competition within the higher education sector and to pursue structural reforms that allow market forces to operate producing efficiency and quality gains.

One role that Osborn performed with his usual efficiency and charity was the coordination of the University of Melbourne Student Union Summer School. For the first time in its long history the School instituted a wide reaching and targeted scholarship program targeting underprivileged students from underperforming schools. Opened by the new Chancellor of the University of Melbourne and former two time president of the Melbourne University Liberal Club, Ian Renard, the school gave vital assistance to a record number of VCE students.