Kerrynne Liddle is an Australian politician and the first Indigenous federal member of parliament from
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 ...
. She is an
Arrente woman and member of 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 elected to the
Senate on the party's ticket in South Australia at the
2022 federal election, to a term beginning on 1 July 2022. She was a journalist and corporate manager before entering politics.
Early life
Liddle was born and raised in
Alice Springs. She is one of five children born to
Arrernte
Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia.
It may refer to:
* Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?)
* Arrernte people, Aboriginal Australi ...
parents Geoff and Jean Liddle; her father was a construction worker and her mother was a nurse but later worked supporting high school students.
Her sister Leanne was the first Indigenous woman to become a police officer in South Australia and her aunt Lorraine Liddle was the first Indigenous person to become a barrister in the Northern Territory.
Liddle attended a public high school in Alice Springs and also studied at Katherine Rural College and later
Roseworthy Agricultural College
Roseworthy Agricultural College was an agricultural college in Australia. It was north of Adelaide and west of Roseworthy town. It was the first agricultural college in Australia, established in 1883. It is now part of the University of Adela ...
, working as a
jillaroo in her early career.
[ As a mature-age student she completed 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 ...
in management at the University of South Australia
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
and a Master of Business Administration
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 accoun ...
from 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 ...
. She completed a Vincent Fairfax Foundation Ethics Fellowship and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Career
Liddle worked as a journalist with the ABC in radio and television, and Channel 7 Adelaide. She later established her own public relations business,[ in Adelaide.][ In 2010, she served on the expert panel for the Review of Australian Government Investment in the Indigenous Broadcasting and Media Sector conducted by ]Neville Stevens
Neville Robert Stevens is a former senior Australian public servant and policymaker. He is a consultant and serves on a number of boards.
Life and career
Stevens was appointed to his first Secretary role in December 1990, as head of the ...
.
In 2011, Liddle was appointed as Santos Limited
Santos Ltd. (South Australia Northern Territory Oil Search) is an Australian oil and gas exploration and production company, with its headquarters in Adelaide, South Australia. It owns liquefied natural gas (LNG), pipeline gas, and oil assets. ...
's Aboriginal participation manager. She later worked for Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia as a manager at the Ayers Rock Resort
Yulara is a town in the southern region of the Northern Territory, Australia. It lies as an unincorporated enclave within MacDonnell Region. At the , Yulara had a permanent population of 1,099, in an area of . It is by road from World Heritage ...
, responsible for over 1000 staff, with 400 Indigenous employees.
Liddle served on several boards, including GPEX for GP training and the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress
Central is an adjective
In linguistics, an adjective (abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives wer ...
. She also served as chair of the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute
The Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, usually referred to as Tandanya, is an art museum located on Grenfell Street in Adelaide, South Australia. It specialises in promoting Indigenous Australian art, including visual art, music ...
, on the boards of the South Australian Housing Trust
The South Australian Housing Trust (SAHT) is an independent statutory authority originally established by the Government of South Australia responsible for providing low-cost rental housing to working people and their families, as a means of s ...
, Aboriginal Hostels Limited
Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to:
*Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology
* Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area
*One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
and Indigenous Business Australia, and as a member of the councils of 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 ...
and University of South Australia
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
.[
]
Politics
Liddle became 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 t ...
(ALP) in 2006. She later stated in 2021 that she was a financial member for only one year and had only attended one meeting which was an introductory one. She then joined the Liberal Party and was preselected in sixth place on the party's Senate ticket in South Australia at the 2016 federal election. In 2019, Liddle began working as a staffer for Senator Anne Ruston
Anne Sowerby Ruston (born 10 June 1963) is an Australian politician who served as Minister for Families and Social Services in the Morrison Government from 2019 to 2022. She has been a Senator for South Australia since 2012.
Before entering p ...
. She was a candidate for the vice-presidency of the Liberal Party's state division in February 2020 but withdrew her candidacy due to illness.[
In February 2021, Liddle won preselection for the third position on the Liberal Party's Senate ticket in South Australia at the 2022 election. She is aligned with the party's moderate faction, although her preselection victory over fellow moderate Rachel Swift was largely due to support from the party's conservatives.]
At the 2022 federal election, Liddle was elected to a six-year term beginning on 1 July 2022; she was the last South Australian senator to be declared elected. She is the first Indigenous Australian elected to represent South Australia in the Senate and the first Indigenous woman to win a parliamentary seat in South Australia at either state or federal level.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liddle, Kerrynne
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century Australian politicians
Members of the Australian Senate
Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia
Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
Women members of the Australian Senate
Indigenous Australian politicians
People from Alice Springs
Arrernte
21st-century Australian women politicians