{{Short description|Australian politician}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
[[File:Evan_Thornley.jpg|thumb|Thornley in 2024]] [[File:Evan Thornley 01 Pengo.jpg|thumb|Thornley speaking at the True Cost Economics Forum, Melbourne Town Hall, 2007.]] [[File:Evancropped.jpg|thumb|Thornley speaking at an Australian Labor Party gathering on the night of the 2006 state election, at which he was a candidate.]]
'''Evan William Thornley''' (born 1964), is an Australian social entrepreneur, philanthropist and impact investor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Treadgold |first=John |date=2022-03-01 |title=Evan Thornley Has A Radical New Vision for the Business of Real-Estate in Australia |url=https://onimpact.com.au/evan-thornley-has-a-radical-new-vision-for-the-business-of-real-estate-in-australia/ |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=OnImpact |language=en-AU}}</ref> Thornley is the founder and executive chair of LongView,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Evan Thornley |url=https://longview.com.au/funds-management/team/evan-thornley |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=longview.com.au |language=en}}</ref> with a mission to find solutions to Australia's housing crisis.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Peter |date=2023-05-30 |title=The housing crisis threatens to unleash Australia's darker angels. Peter Dutton is intent on exploiting it |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2023/may/30/the-housing-crisis-threatens-to-unleash-australias-darker-angels-peter-dutton-is-intent-on-exploiting-it |access-date=2023-11-15 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
"Based on his own childhood without secure housing, he became a passionate advocate for renters<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-14 |title=Is Australia the worst country in the world to be a renter? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/radionational-breakfast/australia-the-worst-place-in-the-western-world-to-be-a-renter/102858804 |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=ABC listen |language=en-AU}}</ref> as well as bridging the affordability gap for Australians who don't come from money, and lack the benefit of the [[wiktionary:bank of mum and dad|bank of mum and dad]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australia one of worst countries in developed world to be a renter |url=https://9now.nine.com.au/today/australia-one-of-worst-countries-in-developed-world-to-be-a-renter/1d7bf14a-9899-4086-8aa3-56c08ff1d3c3 |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=9now.nine.com.au |language=en-AU}}</ref> LongView has grown to become a recognised industry leader<ref>{{Cite web |title=REIV promises ethics action for industry during annual awards night - realestate.com.au |url=https://www.realestate.com.au/news/reiv-promises-ethics-action-for-industry-during-annual-awards-night/ |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=www.realestate.com.au |language=en}}</ref> in residential property buying and management and, through its Shared Equity Fund (a form of [[equity sharing]]), is pioneering the development of a funds management to already existing dwelling assets to solve [[Australian property market|Australia's property market's]] affordability crisis by co-investing alongside homebuyers".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-01 |title=LongView launches shared equity fund |url=https://www.financialstandard.com.au/news/longview-launches-shared-equity-fund-179799429 |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Financial Standard |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Saffer |first=Carol |title=Entrepreneur Evan Thornley tackles housing problems |url=https://www.australianjewishnews.com/entrepreneur-evan-thornley-tackles-housing-problems/ |access-date=2023-11-27 |work=Australian Jewish News}}</ref>
Thornley was founding chair of Per Capita and National Secretary of the [[Australian Fabian Society]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Evan Thornley |url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/people/evan-thornley/ |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=The Wheeler Centre |language=en-US}}</ref> He was a board member of the [[Brotherhood of St Laurence]] and the Chifley Research Centre, was a founding director of [[GetUp!]]. Along with his wife, he founded [[LookSmart]], the first Australian [[dot-com company]] listed on the [[NASDAQ]]. During the [[dot-com bubble]], his stake in the company was worth almost $1 billion, but its value declined by 99% as the bubble burst.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-06-26 |title=Looksmart chief upsets board |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/looksmart-chief-upsets-board-20020626-gduc3f.html |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=The Age |language=en}}</ref> Thornley made an attempt to buy LookSmart's search engine competitor [[Google]] during its early days<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-02 |title=We've been duped by Big Tech says the Aussie who tried to buy Google |url=https://www.afr.com/technology/we-ve-been-duped-by-big-tech-says-the-aussie-who-tried-to-buy-google-20191211-p53j3v |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en}}</ref> but founders [[Larry Page]] and [[Sergey Brin]] rejected the offer.
Thornley is a co-founder of the Goodstart Consortium, a social enterprise that owns the largest childcare network in the world (formerly called [[ABC Learning]]). His vision for [[Goodstart Early Learning|Goodstart]] was to ensure Australia's children have the best possible start in life by providing the learning, development and wellbeing outcomes they need.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-29 |title=Bold Goodstart not-for-profit experiment pays off |url=https://www.goodstart.org.au/news/bold-goodstart-not-for-profit-experiment-pays-off |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=Goodstart Corporate |language=en}}</ref>
He was formerly the CEO of [[Better Place (company)|Better Place]] Australia, and Global CEO of Better Place LLC, which developed [[electric car]]s and [[charging station|charging]] or [[charging station#Battery swap|battery switching stations]] to support them.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-20 |title=Better Place: Israel's electric car start-up killed by its own success |url=https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/opinion/article-743499 |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |language=en-US |issn=0792-822X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-10-03 |title=Thornley moves up in Better Place |url=https://www.smh.com.au/environment/thornley-moves-up-in-better-place-20121004-270mh.html |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>
Thornley served in public office for two years as the [[Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)|Labor]] member of the [[Victorian Legislative Council]] for the [[Southern Metropolitan Region]], and as [[Parliamentary Secretary]] to [[Premier of Victoria|premiers]] [[Steve Bracks]] and [[John Brumby]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Evan Thornley {{!}} Parliament of Victoria |url=https://new.parliament.vic.gov.au/members/evan-thornley/ |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=new.parliament.vic.gov.au |language=en}}</ref>
==Background and early career== Thornley was raised in [[Gosford|New South Wales]] by a single mother, under difficult circumstances .<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moncrief |first=Marc |date=2008-12-28 |title=Humble beginnings no impediment to burning ambition |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/humble-beginnings-no-impediment-to-burning-ambition-20081228-767l.html |access-date=2023-11-15 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> At one stage his mother had four children under the age of seven, and survived on welfare and the kindness of the local community. He has six sisters.
Thornley eventually went to live with his father in Melbourne. A gifted student, he attended [[Scotch College, Melbourne]] on a full scholarship<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moncrief |first=Marc |date=2009-01-02 |title=A real life Evan-sent mystery |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/a-real-life-evansent-mystery-20090102-7952.html |access-date=2023-11-15 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> and is a graduate of the [[University of Melbourne]]. He commenced his university studies in 1983 and served as president of the [[students' representative council|Student Representative Council]], and then on the [[National Union of Students (Australia)|National Union of Students]] in 1987 and 1988. He completed a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1990 and, from 1991 to 1995, he was a consultant at [[McKinsey and Company]], a management consultancy firm.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-09-15 |title=LookSmart before you leap |url=https://www.afr.com/companies/looksmart-before-you-leap-20050915-kadga |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en}}</ref>
== Political career == Elected to the [[Parliament of Victoria]] in 2006, he served as [[Parliamentary Secretary]] assisting the [[Premier of Victoria|Premier]] on the National Reform Agenda and Innovation. He is a noted donor to various progressive causes, including the Australian Labor Party.{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}
On 28 December 2008, Thornley announced that he would resign from the Victorian Parliament, despite speculation that he would be chosen to serve as a [[minister (government)|minister]] in [[John Brumby]]'s government.<ref>{{cite news | last=Moncrief | first=Marc | title=Millionaire Thornley resigns from Parliament | date=28 December 2008 | work=[[The Age]] | url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/millionaire-thornley-resigns-from-parliament-20081228-7650.html}}</ref> His resignation had a mixed response. Some Labor colleagues thought his decision "insulting",<ref>{{cite news | last=Moncrieff and Ker | first=Marc and Peter | title=Labor fury at departing MP | date=30 December 2008 | work=[[The Age]] | url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/labor-fury-at-departing-mp-20081229-76tj.html}}</ref> while others acknowledged that, for many people like Thornley who move into politics to make a real and personal impact, the reality of the slow pace of change within government can be frustrating and unsuitable.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moncrief |first=Marc |date=2009-01-02 |title=A real life Evan-sent mystery |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/a-real-life-evansent-mystery-20090102-7952.html |access-date=2023-11-15 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref>
After his departure he announced he had been appointed as the CEO of Australian operations for [[Better Place (company)|Better Place]], a company promoting electric cars,<ref>{{cite news | last=Moncrief and Austin| first=Marc and Paul| title=Thornley: Why I shunned cabinet seat | date=21 January 2009 | work=[[The Age]] | url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/thornley-why-i-shunned-cabinet-seat-20090120-7lp7.html?page=-1}}</ref> which he said he thought was a "once-in-a-generation transformational project".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-01-20 |title=Thornley: Why I shunned cabinet seat |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/thornley-why-i-shunned-cabinet-seat-20090120-7lp7.html |access-date=2023-11-15 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>
A joint sitting of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council of the Victorian Parliament was required to select a new member to fill the vacancy caused by Thornley's resignation. It was the first casual vacancy to occur since the reform of the Legislative Council in 2006. Under the new rules, which mirror those of the [[Australian Senate]], if the vacating MLC had been elected as a member of a political party, the joint sitting must select a person nominated by that political party.<ref>{{cite news | last=Information Sheet No.16 | first= Legislative Council | title=A New Electoral System for Victoria's Legislative Council | date=October 2007 | publisher=Department of the Legislative Council, Parliament of Victoria| url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/council/info_sheets/New_system.htm| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051219080651/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/council/info_sheets/New_system.htm| url-status=dead| archive-date=19 December 2005}}</ref> On 30 January 2009, it was announced that Melbourne lawyer [[Jennifer Huppert]] had been nominated by the [[Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)|ALP]] to fill the upper house vacancy.<ref>{{cite news | last=Best | first=Catherine | title=Huppert to replace Thornley as Vic MP | date=30 January 2009 | work=[[The Age]] | url=http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/huppert-to-replace-thornley-as-vic-mp-20090130-7tnf.html}}</ref>
== Post-political career == Having served as the Australian head of Better Place since his resignation from parliament, Thornley was elevated to global CEO of the company in October 2012, following the sacking of its founder and major spokesperson [[Shai Agassi]]. However, Thornley severed his connection with Better Place only three months later.<ref>{{cite news |last=Crook |first=Andrew |title=Better Place hits a dead end as CEO Evan Thornley abandons electric dreams |url=https://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/economy/better-place-hits-a-dead-end-as-ceo-evan-thornley-abandons-electric-dreams/ |accessdate=2021-04-21|newspaper=smartcompany.com.au |date=2013-01-29}}</ref>
In January 2014, he became executive chair of Same Business Different Outcome (SBDO), a [[private equity firm]]. He is now executive chair of LongView, a property management company.<ref>{{cite web |title=Meet Our Team |url=https://longview.com.au/our-team/ |publisher=LongView |access-date=2021-04-21}}</ref>
== Connection to Israel, Judaism == Thornley first went to Israel while at University on a Young Political Leaders' Tour and was part of a pro-Israel group humorously dubbed "the Mossad faction". He led an Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce trade mission to Israel in 2008 and has been a delegate to the Australia Israel Leadership Forum several times. He was secretary of the Parliamentary Friends of Israel and visited Israel over 30 times during his tenure at Better Place. He was a member of the strategic review panel for the Rabbinical Council of Victoria.
Thornley began a formal process of converting to Judaism in 2012 under Rabbi Adam Stein at Kehilat Nitzan, Melbourne's only conservative synagogue.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saffer |first=Carol |title=Entrepreneur Evan Thornley tackles housing problems |url=https://www.australianjewishnews.com/entrepreneur-evan-thornley-tackles-housing-problems/ |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=www.australianjewishnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=16/3/2023 - Lily High on Life - Evan Thornley - Lily High on Life |url=https://omny.fm/shows/lily-high-on-life/16-3-2023-lily-high-on-life-evan-thornley |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=omny.fm |language=en}}</ref> Thornley formally completed the conversion process on 19 August 2014 and adopted the Hebrew name of "Lev Yonatan".
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/07/07/1025667089032.html|title=Dot-com prodigal dreams of pies and peace|author=Sinclair, Jenny|date=8 July 2002|work=[[The Age]]}} * [http://www.scotch.vic.edu.au/Gscot/gsdec04/34evan.htm Scotch College profile]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornley, Evan}} [[Category:1965 births]] [[Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria]] [[Category:Businesspeople from Melbourne]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:McKinsey & Company people]] [[Category:Members of the Victorian Legislative Council]] [[Category:People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne]] [[Category:Politicians from Melbourne]] [[Category:Melbourne Law School alumni]] [[Category:21st-century Australian politicians]] [[Category:Converts to Judaism]] [[Category:Jewish Australian politicians]] [[Category:University of Melbourne alumni]] [[Category:Australian philanthropists]] [[Category:Australian company founders]] [[Category:Australian investors]]