Kyam Joseph Maher is an Australian politician who has been

Attorney-General of South Australia The attorney-general of South Australia is the Cabinet minister in the Government of South Australia who is responsible for that state's system of law and justice. The attorney-general must be a qualified legal practitioner, although this wa ...

and the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council since March 2022. He was appointed to a

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 ...

in the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the South Australian House of Assembly, ...

for the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party on 17 October 2012. He previously served in the

Cabinet of South Australia The Cabinet of South Australia is the chief policy-making organ of the Government of South Australia. In South Australia, the cabinet is interchangeably known as the ministry as there is no "outer ministry" – therefore all ministers are in cabin ...

between 2015 and 2018 and was the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council between 2016 and 2018.

Background

Maher is of Aboriginal descent. He grew up in

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

and attended Grant High School there. He does not consider that he experienced the disadvantage and racism that is common for many Aboriginal people in Australia. He left Mount Gambier to study law and economics at 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 ...

. Maher was a lawyer and political staffer before becoming South Australian state secretary of the Australian Labor Party. In 2006, Maher was an inaugural committee member of the Progressive Labour Education Association Inc (PLEA), a joint-venture training organisation operated by the ALP Socialist Left faction and aligned unions

United Voice United Voice was a large Australian trade union, with over 130,000 members. United Voice members worked in a wide range of occupations including hospitality, childcare, teachers' aides, aged care, property services (cleaning, security, maintenan ...

(then the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union) and the

Australian Services Union The Australian Services Union (registered as the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union) is a trade union representing workers in a variety of industries. The ASU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trad ...

Political career

Maher was appointed to the

in 2012 to replace outgoing MLC Bob Sneath. Maher was re-elected from fourth position on the Labor ticket at the 2014 election. In February 2015 he was appointed to cabinet and, between 2015 and the 2018 state election, Maher has served as minister in the Labor

Weatherill Ministry The Weatherill Ministry was the 72nd Ministry of the Government of South Australia, led by Jay Weatherill of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. It commenced on 21 October 2011, when Weatherill succeeded Mike Rann as Prem ...

in a range of portfolios including manufacturing and innovation, automotive transformation, Aboriginal affairs and reconciliation; and employment and science and information economy. Maher was the first Aboriginal South Australian Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. On 18 January 2016 Maher was appointed as the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council in the Weatherill government. After Labor won government at the 2022 state election, Maher was appointed

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in the

Malinauskas ministry The Malinauskas ministry is the 74th and current ministry (cabinet) of the Government of South Australia, led by Peter Malinauskas of the South Australian Labor Party. It was formed after Labor's victory at the 2022 state election and succeede ...

on 24 March, as well as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector. He also became Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council for the second time. Maher was the first initiated Aboriginal man in the nation's history to be appointed in the Attorney-General position.

References

External links

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Parliamentary Profile: SA Labor website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maher, Kyam Living people Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Australian lawyers Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of South Australia Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian politicians Indigenous Australian politicians