Jennifer Ryll McAllister (born 21 February 1973) is an Australian politician. She has been a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

since 2015 and previously served as the party's national president from 2011 to 2015. She is from the Socialist Left faction of the Labor Party. In August 2018 she was appointed Shadow Assistant Minister for Families and Communities.

Early life and education

McAllister was born in

Murwillumbah Murwillumbah ( ) is a town in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in the Tweed Shire, on the Tweed River. Sitting on the south eastern foothills of the McPherson Range in the Tweed Volcano valley, Murwillumbah is 848 km north-eas ...

, on the north coast of

. She attended the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

from 1992–1995, majoring in Politics and Government, and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, from which she graduated in 1996 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

with First Class Honours, majoring in Political Economy, Politics and Government.

Professional career

McAllister has worked in both the public and private sectors. Between 2006 and 2010, she served as the Director of Climate Change, Air and Noise Policy within the New South Wales Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water. She subsequently joined

AECOM AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm. AECOM has approximately 51,000 employees, and is number 157 on the 2019 Fortune 500 list. The company's official name from 1990 t ...

Australia Pty Ltd as Strategic Advisor Water and Climate (2010–2013), progressing to Technical Director – Infrastructure Advisory (2013–2014) and was Managing Director, Water and Urban Development (2014–2015) and a member of AECOM's ANZ executive when she resigned to join the Senate.

Political career

McAllister's first formal involvement with politics came in 1992, when she registered as a member of the Australian Labor Party. In 2003, she co-founded the Labor Environment Activist Network with

Kristina Keneally Kristina Marie Kerscher Keneally (born 19 December 1968) is an American-born Australian politician who was a Labor Senator for New South Wales from February 2018 until April 2022, when she resigned to unsuccessfully contest the House of Repres ...

. McAllister is a member of the ALP State Conference (NSW) (1999–present) and the ALP Administrative Committee (NSW) (2000–present). She was previously a member or delegate of the ALP National Policy Committee on Foreign Affairs (1998–2000), the ALP National Policy Committee (2006–2007). She was also the Labor candidate for the seat of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in the 2001 federal election. On 25 November 2011, McAllister was elected as National President of the ALP, serving until the conclusion of her term at the 2015

Australian Labor Party National Conference The Australian Labor Party National Conference (sometimes referred to as the Federal Conference) is an internal body of the Australian Labor Party, one of the major political parties in Australia. It is the highest representative body of the party ...

, where she was replaced by

Mark Butler Mark Christopher Butler (born 8 July 1970) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the House of Representatives since 2007. He was a minister in the Gillard and Rudd Governments and al ...

. In July 2014, Jenny McAllister was selected to run on the Labor senate ticket at the 2016 election in the number two position, replacing

John Faulkner John Philip Faulkner (born 12 April 1954) is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1989 to 2015. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Keating, Rudd and Gillard Governments. After his election to ...

, and considered a winnable spot. However, on 6 February 2015, John Faulkner resigned from the Senate, creating a casual vacancy. On 6 May 2015, McAllister was elected by a joint sitting of the NSW Parliament to fill the vacancy.

Personal life

McAllister lives in Redfern with her husband, John Graham—former assistant general secretary of the NSW branch of the Labor Party and member of the Legislative Council—and their two children.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McAllister, Jenny 1973 births Living people Politicians from Sydney People from the Northern Rivers University of Queensland alumni University of Sydney alumni Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Women members of the Australian Senate Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians