Catherine Fiona King (born 2 June 1966) is an Australian politician serving as the

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government in the Government of Australia is a position currently held by following the swearing in of the full Albanese ministry on 1 June 2022. The Minister for Regi ...

since 2022 and as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

since

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

. She is a member of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

(ALP) and briefly served as a minister in the Gillard and

Rudd Government Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) Rudd Government may refer to the following Aust ...

s in 2013. She served as Shadow Minister of Health from 2013 to 2019 and as Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development from 2019 to 2022.

Early life

King was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

on 2 June 1966. She completed her secondary education at Emmaus College. She subsequently completed the degrees of Bachelor of Social Work at the

Phillip Institute of Technology Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

and Master of Public Policy at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. King worked as a social worker at Ballarat Children's Homes and Family Services from 1988 to 1992, and in 1991 was named Victorian Young Achiever of the Year in the field of community services. In the same year she spent six months working in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England, which influenced her later decision to enter politics. King subsequently joined the

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...

, working as an industry policy officer for the Australia New Zealand Food Authority (1993–1994) and as a senior officer in the Department of Health and Aged Care (1997–1999). She served as assistant director of the department's population health division and later as director of injury prevention. While in the public service she lived in Canberra, spending periods in

Narrabundah Narrabundah () ( postcode: 2604) is a leafy, medium density suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, located in the inner south of the city. Narrabundah is an established garden suburb, valued for its equal proximity to both Civic and ...

Hughes Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...

and Swinger Hill. King later moved back to Victoria and joined the private sector as a senior manager in

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

's consulting division.

Politics

King joined the Australian Labor Party in 1993 and worked briefly as a research officer for

Andrew Theophanous Andrew Charles Theophanous (born 24 March 1946) is a Cypriot-born Australian former politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the House of Representatives from 1980 to 2000, and an independent member from 2000 to 2001. He is the au ...

, the parliamentary secretary for health in the Keating Government. She served as president of the party's Port Melbourne branch from 1998 to 1999. King is a member of Labor Left.

Opposition (2001–2007)

King was the only Labor candidate to win a seat at the 2001 election from the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

, and secured a 5.5-point swing, the largest swing to a Labor candidate in the poll. She was likely helped when the Liberals' initial candidate, Olympic gold medallist

Russell Mark Russell Andrew Mark, (born 25 February 1964 in Hoppers Crossing, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian Olympic Champion Shooter. He won the Olympic gold medal in double trap at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He also won an Olympic sil ...

, resigned three months before the election, whereas King had 18 months to campaign. She maintained her seat at the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, and 2016 federal elections. King was re-elected in the 2004 federal election with a slightly reduced majority and was then appointed the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development. In mid-2005 she was then promoted to Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury.

Government (2007–2013)

King was re-elected for a third term at the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

, increasing her majority from 2.2 to 8.15 points. In the 2010 federal election she increased her margin to 11.7 points. King was appointed to serve in the Second Gillard Ministry and was sworn in by

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Quentin Bryce on 14 September 2010 as the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing and the Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Transport. On 25 March 2013, King was appointed to the Ministry as the Minister for Regional Services, Local Communities and Territories and the Minister for Road Safety and sworn in by Governor-General Quentin Bryce. Following the June 2013 Labor leadership spill, she was appointed as the Minister for Regional Australia, Local Government and Territories in the Second Rudd Ministry and promoted into the

Australian Cabinet The Cabinet of Australia (or Federal Cabinet) is the chief decision-making organ of the executive branch of the government of Australia. It is a council of senior government ministers, ultimately responsible to the Federal Parliament. Minister ...

Opposition (2013–2022)

Despite the defeat of the second Rudd Government in the 2013 federal election King retained her seat with a margin of 4.9 points. Following the election of Bill Shorten as Labor Leader, King was appointed to shadow cabinet as Labor Health spokesperson. King was re-elected for a sixth time in the July 2016 federal election, increasing her margin to 7.3 points, and retained her position as Shadow Minister for Health. Following the 2019 election, she was retained in

Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...

's shadow ministry and given the portfolio of Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development.

Government (2022–)

Following the 2022 federal election, King was appointed

in the Albanese ministry.

References

External links

*
Official Australian Parliament website for Catherine KingOfficial Facebook page of Catherine KingOfficial Twitter page of Catherine KingOfficial ALP webpage for Catherine King
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Catherine 1966 births Living people Politicians from Melbourne Public servants from Melbourne Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Australian public servants Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Ballarat Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Government ministers of Australia RMIT University alumni Australian National University alumni Australian social workers Albanese Government