Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg has a new job with investment bank Goldman Sachs two months after losing his seat at the federal election.
Mr Frydenberg lost the previously safe Liberal seat of Kooyong to independent candidate Monique Ryan, who was part of a 'teal' wave that helped to sweep the Coalition from government.
Goldman Sachs has confirmed that the man once in charge of the Australian government's finances during the COVID-19 pandemic would now take up a role with it as senior regional adviser for Asia-Pacific.
"We are fortunate to bring to Goldman Sachs a person of Josh's deep public and private sector experience, connectivity, and insight," Kevin Sneader, co-president of Goldman Sachs in Asia-Pacific ex-Japan, said in a statement.
"His significant understanding of geopolitical and economic issues will bring considerable value to our clients across the region and beyond."
A return to investment banking
Mr Frydenberg is no stranger to the world of investment banking, having previously worked for Deutsche Bank before he entered parliament.
The former treasurer, who in that role also had responsibility for giving the final approval on large foreign mergers or acquisitions of Australian firms, said he is pleased to join the bank.
"I am pleased to join Goldman Sachs, which is the pre-eminent mergers and acquisitions and capital markets adviser to clients globally," he said in a statement.
"I look forward to joining the team and contributing to the firm's leadership, its global capability, and its strength of client franchise."
Mr Frydenberg was a senior adviser to Liberal Prime Minister John Howard before entering parliament, and he has a masters in Public Administration from Harvard University.
From 'big government' critic to big spender
Mr Frydenberg was first elected to federal parliament in 2010.
In his maiden speech, he said his vision was to achieve what Liberal Party founder Robert Menzies termed "civilised capitalism".
"Unleashing the power of the individual and his enterprise while always providing a safety net for those who despite their best efforts are unable to cope," he told parliament.
"These are my motivations, my cause and my way, and they are not negotiable."
He said he wanted to shrink the size of government, because when governments got too big they impeded the private sector's ability to create jobs and created a culture of dependence.
"We have a responsibility to dream large and think of what is possible in a difficult world," he said.
"It may appear a paradox but the first of my large thoughts is that we need to limit the government. Our government is too big.
"More than 30 years ago, Margaret Thatcher said that the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.
"Thatcher's nemesis was socialism. Ours is bigger and bigger government. My goal is to ensure that government learns to live within its means," he said.
However, towards the end of his political career, as federal treasurer, Mr Frydenberg dramatically expanded the size of government.
And he was forced by circumstance — when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia — to ignore the household fallacy that the government has to "live within its means". He accepted the reality that government can often pay for the things it needs, when it needs.
In that way, he turned the modern Liberal Party back towards its economic roots, where the "father" of the party (Robert Menzies) embraced deficit spending as logical.
His policies supported Australia's economy through the pandemic lockdowns, and helped to achieve the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years.
