Marielle Catherine Feuerherdt Smith (born 30 December 1986) is an Australian politician. She is 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 the f ...

(ALP) and has 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

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 ...

since 2019.

Early life and education

Marielle Catherine Feuerherdt Smith was born 30 December 1986 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. Her mother was born in the United Kingdom and she held British citizenship by descent until renouncing it in 2018 prior to running for parliament. Smith attended

University Senior College University Senior College (or USC) is a coeducational independent high school, offering secondary education for students in Years 10, 11 and 12, located on the city campus of the University of Adelaide, South Australia. The stated goal of the sc ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

and Master of Science from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

Career

After graduating from ANU she joined the

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...

through the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's graduate program. Smith has undertaken volunteer work with non-government organisations in Ghana and Sierra Leone. She is a former board member of

Transit Systems Transit Systems Group is an Australian-based public transport company, which also operates overseas through its subsidiary Tower Transit Group. Transit Systems Group is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group. History ...

, a bus company co-founded by her father Neil. She can drive

articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usua ...

es.

Politics

ALP

Smith joined the

(ALP) at a young age. She worked for Labor MP Kate Ellis as a researcher (2005–2008) and ministerial adviser (2010–2012), and later as a senior policy adviser to Prime Minister

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

. She regards both Ellis and Gillard as mentors. In 2017, Smith was elected to the ALP state executive and state council. She also served as a delegate to the

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 ...

. In 2018, she was a

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

candidate for the

Division of Adelaide The Division of Adelaide is an Australian electoral division in South Australia and is named for the city of Adelaide, South Australia's capital. At the 2016 federal election, the electorate covered 76 km², is centred on the Adelaide ...

Senate

Smith was elected to the Senate at the 2019 federal election. She is a member of several Senate committees. She has been identified as a member of the

Labor Right The Labor Right, also known as Modern Labor, is a political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) at the national level that is characterised by being more economically conservative and, in some cases, more socially conservative. The Labor ...

faction. In her maiden speech to the Senate, Smith called for Labor to retain its 2019 election policy of funding preschool for three-year-olds "to ensure all children can access world-leading early education and care, regardless of what their parents do, how much they earn or where they live."

Personal life

Smith is married with two children and three step-children. Her husband Clint Feuerherdt is the managing director of SeaLink Travel Group and former CEO of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Marielle Living people 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians 1986 births Women members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Right politicians Members of the Australian Senate People who lost British citizenship Alumni of the London School of Economics Politicians from Adelaide Australian National University alumni