Catherine Esther Doust (born 27 May 1962) is an Australian politician who has been a Labor Party member of the

Legislative Council of Western Australia The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

since 2001, representing

South Metropolitan Region The South Metropolitan Region is a multi-member electoral region of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. It was created by the ''Acts Amendment (Electoral Reform) Act 1987'', an ...

. She was President of the Legislative Council from 2017 to 2021, the first woman to hold the position.

Early life

Doust was born in Kalgoorlie and attended the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

, graduating 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 year ...

degree. From 1984, she worked as an official with the

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) is the largest private sector trade union in Australia, representing retail, fast-food and warehousing workers, and has branches in every state and territory. Its membership is pre ...

, including as a board member and treasurer for periods. She also served as a vice-president of UnionsWA.Catherine (Kate) Esther Doust
Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 11 February 2017.

Political career

Doust entered parliament at the 2001 state election, standing in the second position on Labor's ticket in South Metropolitan Region. She was made deputy chairman of committees in the Legislative Council shortly after being elected, and after the 2005 state election was made a parliamentary secretary, holding that position in the ministries of Geoff Gallop and

Alan Carpenter Alan John Carpenter (born 4 January 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th Premier of Western Australia, from 2006 to 2008. From Albany, Carpenter graduated from the University of Western Australia, and worked as a journ ...

. Doust was elected deputy leader of the Labor Party in the Legislative Council after the 2008 state election. She has served in the shadow cabinet under both

Eric Ripper Eric Stephen Ripper (born 13 September 1951) is a retired Australian politician. From 2008 to 2012 he was Leader of the Opposition and leader of the Labor Party in Western Australia. He grew up on a wheat/sheep farm near Nyabing. Ripper late ...

and

Mark McGowan Mark McGowan (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician, the 30th premier of Western Australia, and the leader of the Western Australian branch of the Labor Party. McGowan was born and raised in Newcastle, New South Wales. He attended t ...

. Doust's husband,

Bill Johnston Bill or Billy Johnston may refer to: * Bill Johnston (cricketer) (1922–2007), Australian cricketer * Bill Johnston (golfer) (1925–2021), American golfer and golf course architect * Bill Johnston (tennis) William Marquitz "Little Bill" John ...

, is also a member of parliament, although they were married years before either of them were elected. Doust was elected President of the Legislative Council on 23 May 2017, in doing so becoming the first female President of the Council in history. Doust was controversially replaced on 24 May 2021 due to long standing disagreements with Premier

particularly regarding a corruption probe into former Liberal MP Phil Edman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doust, Kate 1962 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Labor Right politicians Trade unionists from Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Presidents of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Kalgoorlie University of Western Australia alumni 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Council

Early life

Political career

See also

References