EMILY's List

Kate Lundy: Senator for the ACT

Kate Lundy was elected Senator for the ACT in March 1996. When she was first elected, she was the youngest woman from the Australian Labor Party to have ever been elected to Federal parliament, at 28 years of age.

She was promoted to Minister for Sport and Minister for Multicultural Affairs in March 2012.  Kate is a Foundation Member of EMILY's List Australia, having joined in 1997.

Gai Brodtmann: Member of Parliament, Canberra

Gai Brodtmann was elected as the Member for Canberra at the 2010 election.  Prior to her election she worked in the public service and was a small business owner.

Gai has been a member of EMILY's List since March 2010.

Sharon Grierson: Member of Parliament, Newcastle

Sharon Grierson was elected to represent the electorate of Newcastle in November, 2001.  She is the first woman to have been elected to that seat.  Sharon has been a member of EMILY's List since 2000.

Prior to entering politics she was a teacher and school Principal.  Sharon is also the co-convenor of Parliamentary Friends of Dementia.

Julie Owens: Member of Parliament, Parramatta

Julie Owens has been the Member for Parramatta since October 2004.  She was one of only three candidates to win a seat off a Liberal incumbent in that election and has been re-elected twice since.  She currently serves as Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Chair of the House Committee on Procedure, and a member of the Standing Committee on Publications.  Julie has been a member of EMILY's List since 1998.

Julie studied at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and was head of the Association of Australian Independent Record Labels (AIR) prior to her entry to Parliament.

Tanya Plibersek: Member of Parliament, Sydney

Tanya Plibersek is the current Minister for Health in the Gillard Government.  She has previously served as Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Housing and Minister for Human Services.  Upon her promotion to the Health portfolio in late 2011, she became the fifth woman in the Gillard Cabinet, the highest number of women to have served in Federal Cabinet. 

Tanya was elected as the Member for Sydney in 1998.  One of her roles prior to entering Parliament was in the Domestic Violence Unit at the NSW Government's Office for the Status and Advancement of Women.  Tanya joined EMILY's List with the organisation's foundation, in 1997.

Janelle Saffin: Member of Parliament, Page

Janelle Saffin became the first woman to represent the New South Wales seat of Page when she was elected in 2007.  Previously, she served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1995 to 2003.  She was formerly a senior political advisor to His Excellency Dr Jose Ramos-Horta.

Janelle was born and bred in her electorate and has lived there for the past 35 years.  Janelle joined EMILY's List in 1999.

Sharon Bird: Member of Parliament, Cunningham

Sharon Bird has been the Federal Member for Cunningham since the 2004 election.  In March 2012, she was promoted to Parliamentary Secretary for Higher Education and Skills.  She has previously served on various Standing Committees.  Prior to joining Federal Parliament, she served on Shellharbour Council from 1991 to 1995.

Before entering politics, Sharon was a secondary school and TAFE teacher, an electorate officer and a Senior Project Officer.  She joined EMILY's List with the organisation's foundation, in 1997.

Justine Elliot: Member of Parliament, Richmond

Justine Elliot was elected as the Member for Richmond in the 2004 Federal election.  She was one of the few candidates to win a seat from a Coalition incumbent in that election when she defeated Larry Anthony, a Howard Government Minister.  She served as Minister for Ageing from 2007 to 2010, and is currently the Parliamentary Secretary for Trade.

Prior to her election, Justine worked as a Youth Justice Convenor with the NSW Department of Juvenile Justice and as a police officer.  She has been a member of EMILY's List since 2004.

Trish Crossin: Senator for the Northern Territory

Trish has represented the Northern Territory in the Senate since 1998 and is the first woman elected to federal parliament from the Northern Territory.  Trish is Chair of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee and Deputy Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Rural and Regional Indigenous Communities.  She was formerly the Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate from 2001 to 2004.

Trish has been a member of the ALP since the early 1980s and is currently President of the NT Branch.  Prior to her election she was a teacher and a union official.  Trish joined EMILY's List Australia as a foundation member in 1997.

Jan McLucas: Senator for Queensland

Jan McLucas was elected to the Senate as a representative for Queensland in 1999.  She is the current Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers and the Parliamentary Secretary for the Prime Minister.  She is also actively involved in campaigning on issues that affect regional Australia.  She was formerly the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing.

Prior to her election to the Senate, Jan served on Cairns City Council from 1995 to 1998 and was a primary school teacher.  She has been a member of EMILY's List since its foundation in 1997.

Claire Moore: Senator for Queensland

Claire Moore was the National Co-Convenor of EMILY's List from 2004 to March, 2012.  She was elected to the Senate as a representative for Queensland in 2001.  Claire is Chair of the Community Affairs - Legislation Committee, and Deputy Chair of the Community Affairs - References Committee.  She is also Chair of the Parliamentary Group on Population Development and sits on a number of other committees.

Claire has a strong background engaging with social justice issues and encouraging unionism.  Prior to joining the Senate, she worked in the public service and was branch Secretary of the CPSU.  She joined EMILY's List as a foundation member in 1997.

Kirsten Livermore: Member of Parliament, Capricornia

Kirsten Livermore was just twenty-eight when she was elected to represent the people of Capricornia in 1998.  She is currently a member of the Standing Committee on Primary Industries, the Standing Committee on Climate Change, Water, Environment & Arts, and the Standing Committee on Family, Community, Housing and Youth.

Prior to entering Federal politics, Kirsten was a union organiser for the CPSU and a solicitor with the Central Queensland Community Legal Centre.  She has been a member of EMILY's List since our foundation in 1997.

Anne McEwen: Senator for South Australia

Anne McEwen was elected to represent South Australia in the Senate in 2004.  Anne is the Chief Government Whip in the Senate and is a member of various Senate committees and Parliamentary groups including the Committee for Environment, Communications and the Arts and the Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.

Prior to her election, Anne was active in the union movement, and was Secretary of the SA & NT Branch of the Australian Services Union and President of the South Australian ALP.  She has been a member of EMILY's List since 2002.

Penny Wong: Senator for South Australia

As the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Senator Penny Wong is one of four EMILY's List women in the Federal Cabinet.  From 2007 to 2010 she served as the Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water.  Penny was elected as a Senator for South Australia in 2002.  She is the first openly lesbian member of Cabinet and the first Asian-born Minister.

Prior to her election to the Senate, Penny was active in student politics, as a barrister and solicitor, in the union movement and as an advisor in the NSW Carr Government.  She joined EMILY's List in 1998.

Carol Brown: Senator for Tasmania

Carol Brown has been a Senator for Tasmania since 2005.  She is the Deputy Government Whip in the Senate.

Prior to her election, Carol had a long-standing involvement with the Labor Party and had held the role of Tasmanian Acting State Secretary and is still the Assistant Secretary for Education and Training.  She has also been a public servant and an advisor.  Carol has been a member of EMILY's List since 2000.

Julie Collins: Member of Parliament, Franklin

Julie Collins was elected as the Member for Franklin in 2007.  We were thrilled to see her promoted to Minister for the Status of Women in late 2011.  She is also Minister for Community Services and Minister for Indigenous Employment and Economic Development.

Prior to entering Parliament, Julie was State Secretary of the Tasmanian Labor Party 2006 to 2007 and held various advisor roles.  She has been a member of EMILY's List since 2006.

Lisa Singh: Senator for Tasmania

Lisa Singh was elected to the Australian Senate representing Tasmania in the 2010 election and began her term in July, 2011.  Previously she served as a Member for Dennison in the Tasmanian State Parliament from 2006 to 2010, where she was State Minister for Workplace Relations and Corrections and Consumer Protection and Minister Assisting the Premier on Climate Change from 2008.

Prior to entering politics, Lisa worked in the union movement, the non-government sector and the public service.  She was Director of the Working Women's Centre Tasmania and involved in various other community organisations.  She has been a member of EMILY's List since 1999.

Anne Urquhart: Senator for Tasmania

Anne Urquhart was elected to represent Tasmania in the Australian Senate in the 2010 Federal election.  Prior to joining the Senate, Anne spent 28 years representing Tasmanian workers in a variety of roles within the union movement.  She was Tasmanian State Secretary of the AMWU from 2004.

Anne states that one of the first battles she faced after joining the union movement in the late 1970s was to gain credibility amongst a predominantly male workforce who were not used to rallying behind a woman.

Anne is a member of the Post Polio Network of Tasmania, Amnesty International and a variety of Parliamentary Groups.  She has been a member of EMILY's List Australia since September 2011.

Lin Thorp: Senator for Tasmania

Lin Thorp entered the Federal Senate in June 2012, filling the casual vacancy left by the resignation of Nick Sherry.  This means that currently all six Tasmanian Labor Senators are women.

Prior to entering the Federal arena, Lin was a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council for 11 years as a member for Rumney.  While there, she was the Deputy Leader for the Government, and held the portfolios of Human Services, Children, Child Protection, Youth Justice, Education and Skills and Police and Emergency Management.

Lin is a strong advocate for women's rights and campaigns actively for issues including reproductive rights, pay equity and domestic violence prevention.

She is a founding member of EMILY's List and is also passionate about equity issues, particularly those related to children and young people.  Lin is married, with a son and two labradors.

Julia Gillard: Prime Minister of Australia / Member of Parliament, Lalor

Julia Gillard was sworn in as the 27th Prime Minister of Australia in June 2010.  She is Australia's first woman Prime Minister.  She has been the Member of Parliament for Lalor since 1998 and previously held a number of Ministerial and Shadow Ministerial portfolios including Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Social Inclusion, and Deputy Prime Minister.

Prior to entering Federal politics, Prime Minister Gillard was a Partner at the Slater & Gordon law firm in Werribee and previously, President of the Australian Union of Students.

Prime Minister Gillard has been a long-term supporter of EMILY's List, helping to write our original constitution and joining as a foundation member in 1997.  She delivered the Inaugural EMILY's List Oration in 2011.

Catherine King: Member of Parliament, Ballarat

Catherine King was elected as the Member for Ballarat in 2001.  She was the only member of the Labor Party to win a seat from the Liberal Party in the 2001 election.  She is the current Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Transport and Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Australia in Victoria.

Prior to her election to Federal Parliament, Catherine worked in social welfare and in the public sector.  She has been a member of EMILY's List since 1999.

Jenny Macklin: Member of Parliament, Jagajaga

Jenny Macklin is the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Minister for Disability Reform and one of four EMILY's List members in Federal Cabinet.  She is EMILY's List's longest-serving Member of Federal Parliament, having served the people of Jagajaga since 1996.  In her Indigenous Affairs portfolio, she oversaw the Apology to the Stolen Generations.  Prior to the election of a Labor Government in 2007, she held a number of Shadow Portfolios and was previously Deputy Opposition Leader.

Prior to entering Federal politics, Jenny worked as a researcher and an advisor.  She joined EMILY's List in 1998.

Laura Smyth: Member of Parliament, La Trobe

Laura Smyth is the first woman to represent the seat of La Trobe, and currently the most marginal female Federal Member of Parliament on just 0.9%.  She defeated the Liberal incumbent in the 2010 Federal election.

Prior to her election, Laura was a corporate lawyer for close to ten years and had a background in student politics.  She also worked for an aged care facility during her studies.  Laura has been a member of EMILY's List since April 2010.

Louise Pratt: Senator for Western Australia

Senator Louise Pratt is a member of the EMILY's List National Committee.  She has been a Senator for Western Australia since July 2008.  Prior to her election to the Federal Senate, she served as a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 2001 to 2007.  At that time, she was the youngest woman ever elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council.  She is Chair of the Status of Women Committee of the Federal Labor Caucus and Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories, as well as a member of various committees.

Louise is active in LGBTI advocacy and formerly worked as an electorate officer and was involved in student politics. Louise has been a member of EMILY's List Australia since 1999.

Melissa Parke: Member of Parliament, Fremantle

Melissa Parke was originally elected as the Member for Fremantle in 2007.  She was recently promoted to Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health, and for Homelessness and Social Housing.  She sits on the Joint Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence, & Trade; the Joint Standing Committee for Treaties; and is Chair of the Joint Standing Committee: Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.  Since her election she has been known for her advocacy on asylum seeker and animal rights issues.

Prior to her election, Melissa was a senior lawyer for the United Nations in various international locations.  She has been a member of EMILY's List since 1998.