Karen Margaret Synon (born 15 September 1959) is an Australian public servant and former politician. She served as 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

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

from 1997 to 1999, representing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. She was appointed to the

Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is an Australian tribunal that conducts independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT review decisions made by Australian Gover ...

in 2015.

Early life

Synon was born in

Moe, Victoria Moe ( ) is a town in the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It is approximately east of the central business district of Melbourne, due south of the peak of Mount Baw Baw in the Great Dividing Range and features vie ...

. She attended Blackburn South High School and Whitehorse Technical School, later completing an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. In 1986, Synon established the Westgate Community Initiatives Group, a non-profit employment services provider based in Melbourne's western suburbs. She served as general manager until 1993, when she took up a position with the Victorian government as director of employment in the Department of State Development.

Politics

Synon joined the Young Liberal Movement at the age of 16. She was active in the

Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division) The Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division), branded as Liberal Victoria, and commonly known as the Victorian Liberals, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in Victoria. It was formed in 1949 as the Liberal and Count ...

for two decades prior to her appointment to the Senate, including as president of the Williamstown branch. She was an ally of Liberal powerbroker

Michael Kroger Michael Norman Kroger (born 30 May 1957) is a former Australian lawyer. He was president of the Victorian Liberal Party from 1987 to 1992 and from 2015 to 2018, and is considered a member of the conservative faction. Early life Kroger was educ ...

, whom she first met in the Young Liberals during the 1970s.

Senate

Synon was appointed to the Senate in May 1997 to fill the

casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...

caused by the resignation of Jim Short. She was known for her advocacy of industrial relations reform, welfare reform, and

voluntary student unionism Voluntary student unionism (VSU), as it is known in Australia, or voluntary student membership (VSM), as it is known in New Zealand, is a policy under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations ...

. In her maiden speech she spoke against the "entitlement mentality" and "culture of dependency" that she believed had developed in Australia. Prior to the 1998 federal election, Synon was placed in the "unwinnable" fourth position on the

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

Senate ticket in Victoria. Her failure to be placed higher was due to her alignment with Michael Kroger and

Peter Costello Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian businessman, lawyer and former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia in government of John Howard from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving treasurer in Australia' ...

during a time of factional conflict with

Jeff Kennett Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is a former Australian politician who was the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, and currently a media commentator. He was previously the president of the Hawthorn Football Club, serving ...

's supporters.

Later career

Synon was appointed to the Refugee Review Tribunal in 2001 and the Migration Review Tribunal in 2004, in both cases as a part-time member. In 2015, she was appointed to a five-year term on the

. In 2019, she was also announced as an independent director of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute.

References

1959 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Women members of the Australian Senate 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian women politicians University of Melbourne alumni {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub