Anne McEwen (born 3 August 1954) is a former Australian politician who served as a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member of the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

for

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

from 2005 to 2016.

Early life

McEwen was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, South Australia, and attended St Joseph's Primary School Hectorville, and St Aloysius College in the city. The daughter of a school teacher mother and an accountant father, after leaving school McEwen went on to work in clerical and administrative positions within both the private and public sectors. During the 1980s, McEwen undertook tertiary study as a mature age entry student at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, graduating in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in politics and English literature. In her spare time, McEwen enjoys trekking and bushwalking.

Background

In the late 1980s, while working in administration within the

Students' Association of the University of Adelaide The Students' Association of the University of Adelaide (SAUA) was a student representative body that existed at the University of Adelaide from 1973 until 2007. It was one of a number of student organisations that was affiliated to and funded by ...

, McEwen became a workplace delegate for her union, the

Federated Clerks' Union The Federated Clerks Union of Australia (FCU) was an Australian trade union representing clerical workers, in existence from 1911 to 1993, when it amalgamated with the Australian Services Union. History Between 1900 and 1907, attempts were made to ...

. After a brief period of working for the

National Tertiary Education Union The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) is an Australian trade union for all higher education and university employees. It is an industry union, and the only union working exclusively in the Australian university sector. Overview NTEU ...

, McEwen joined the Federated Clerks' Union (later to merge into the

Australian Services Union The Australian Services Union (registered as the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union) is a trade union representing workers in a variety of industries. The ASU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade ...

) as an Industrial Officer/Organiser in 1993. In 2002, McEwen was elected Secretary of the South Australian and Northern Territory branch of the Australian Services Union (ASU). In 2003, McEwen was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

for her services to trade unionism as the Secretary of the ASU SA+NT. In 2005, McEwen became President of the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP).

Parliament

McEwen was elected Senator for South Australia at the 2004 election, replacing retiring senator

Nick Bolkus Nick Bolkus (born 17 July 1950) is a former Australian Labor Party politician. He was a member of the Senate from July 1981 to June 2005, representing the state of South Australia. Early career Bolkus was born in Adelaide and educated at Adela ...

. Her term in the Senate began on 1 July 2005, and she was re-elected for a second term in the 2010 federal election. McEwen made her maiden speech to the Senate on 9 August 2005. Previously holding positions such as the

Chief Government Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

in the Senate and Chair of the Environment, Communications and the Arts (Legislation) Senate Committee, following the 2013 federal election McEwen became the Chief Opposition Whip in the Senate. She was also a full member on the Joint Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade and the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, as well as a participating member on a number of other Senate committees. McEwen was also a member of a number of Parliamentary groups, including the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development, and she was Secretary of the Australia/

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

Parliamentary Friendship Group. During her time in Federal Parliament, McEwen was particularly active on issues regarding workplace relations, higher education, Australia's indigenous population, and veterans' affairs. Until the 2016 election, McEwen was the duty senator for the federal electorates of Sturt and Barker in South Australia.

References

External links

Parliamentary Profile: Australian Parliament website

Parliamentary Profile: Labor website

"Anne McEwen"
search on OpenAustralia.org
Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Anne McEwen on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:McEwen, Anne 1954 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Women members of the Australian Senate University of Adelaide alumni Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia