Kate Thwaites

Hon Kate Thwaites
MP
Member of the Australian Parliament for Jagajaga
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 May 2019
Preceded byJenny Macklin
Personal details
Born (1980-01-19) 19 January 1980 (age 44)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Political partyLabor
Alma materRMIT University
OccupationPolitician
Websitewww.katethwaites.com

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

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]

In 2021, Thwaites co-authored a book, Enough Is Enough, with her predecessor Jagajaga member, Jenny Macklin.[9]

In April 2023, Thwaites co-signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling for an urgent boost to JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, and other support payments.[10] In the same month she joined others advocating for an expansion of the single parenting payment to include more mothers.[11]

In July 2024 she was appointed Assistant Minister for Ageing, for Social Security and for Women.

Personal life

Thwaites has two young children.[12] She has a residential property in Rosanna in Victoria and in Kingston in ACT.[13] She has an investment property in Collingwood.[13]

She is a member of the Community and Public Sector Union and is a member of Emily's List.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Qualification checklist" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ms Kate Thwaites MP". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b "First speech". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Kate Thwaites". Australian Labor Party. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  5. ^ a b "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.
  9. ^ Thwaites, Kate (30 November 2021). "'Today must mark the end of impunity in this place': Kate Thwaites MP appeals for the government to #SettheStandard". Women's Agenda. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Labor backbenchers agitate for JobSeeker increase ahead of federal budget". ABC News. 25 April 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Labor MP joins calls for expansion of single parenting payment to more mothers". ABC News. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  12. ^ "About Kate". Kate Thwaites MP. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b c "The private interests of Kate Thwaites MP". openpolitics.au. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Jagajaga
2019–present 		Incumbent