Kate Thwaites
Kate Thwaites | |
---|---|
Member of the Australian Parliament for Jagajaga | |
Assumed office 18 May 2019 | |
Preceded by | Jenny Macklin |
Personal details | |
Born | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 19 January 1980
Political party | Labor |
Alma mater | RMIT University |
Occupation | Politician |
Website | www |
Kate Lynne Thwaites[1] (born 19 January 1980) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2019 federal election, representing the Division of Jagajaga in Victoria. She was a journalist and public servant before entering parliament.
Early life[edit]
Thwaites was born in Melbourne on 19 January 1980.[2] Her father was a lawyer and her mother was a schoolteacher.[3]
Thwaites grew up in the suburb of Rosanna.[4] She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of International Development from RMIT University.[2]
Career[edit]
In 2002, Thwaites began working at 2CUZ, an Indigenous community radio station in Bourke, New South Wales.[3] She later worked for ABC News until 2008, when she joined Oxfam Australia as a media adviser.[2] She later worked as a senior adviser to Labor MP Jenny Macklin and as communications director at the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.[5][6] She also worked with the National Disability Insurance Agency in Geelong.[2]
Politics[edit]
In July 2018, Thwaites won Labor preselection for the Division of Jagajaga, following Macklin's retirement. According to The Guardian, her victory was "almost a direct result of Josh Burns' win in Macnamara, with the Labor left concerned about its female representation".[7] She retained Jagajaga for the ALP at the 2019 federal election with a small positive swing.[5] Thwaites was returned as the member for Jagajaga at the 2022 Federal Election with an increased margin of over 62% of the two party preferred vote.[8] In April 2023 Thwaites called for an expansion of the single parenting payment to include more mothers.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ "Qualification checklist" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Ms Kate Thwaites MP". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ a b "First speech". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ "Kate Thwaites". Australian Labor Party. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Jagajaga". ABC News. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ "Jagajaga". The Poll Bludger. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ "Victorian Labor senator's dumping could have ramifications in Queensland". The Guardian Australia. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ "Jagajaga - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ "Labor MP joins calls for expansion of single parenting payment to more mothers". ABC News. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- 1980 births
- Australian journalists
- Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia
- Labor Left politicians
- Living people
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Jagajaga
- Members of the Australian House of Representatives
- RMIT University alumni
- Women members of the Australian House of Representatives