Kate Thwaites

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.

Kate Thwaites
MP
Thwaites in 2021
Member of the Australian Parliament for Jagajaga
Assumed office
18 May 2019
Preceded byJenny Macklin
Personal details
Born (1980-01-19) 19 January 1980
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Political partyLabor
Alma materRMIT University
OccupationPolitician
Websitewww.katethwaites.com

Early life

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

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

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]

References
  1. "Qualification checklist" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  2. "Ms Kate Thwaites MP". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  3. "First speech". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  4. "Kate Thwaites". Australian Labor Party. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  5. "Jagajaga". ABC News. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  6. "Jagajaga". The Poll Bludger. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  7. "Victorian Labor senator's dumping could have ramifications in Queensland". The Guardian Australia. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  8. "Jagajaga - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
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