Nicola Jane Centofanti (born 1982) is an Australian politician. Since April 2022, she has been the Leader of the Opposition 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 House of Assembly. It sits in Parli ...

, Shadow Minister for Regional South Australia, Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, and Shadow Minister for Water Resources & the River Murray. Centofanti was appointed to a casual vacancy in the

representing the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia on 7 April 2020. Prior to joining the parliament, Centofanti was a rural veterinarian in South Australia's

Riverland The Riverland is a region of South Australia. It covers an area of along the Murray River, River Murray from where it flows into South Australia from New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria downstream to Blanchetown, South Australia ...

region, and vice-president of the state division of the Liberal Party.

Background

Centofanti grew up in Berri in South Australia's Riverland. She attended the local high school in

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manches ...

, before being accepted into

Veterinary Science Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its n ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. After graduating with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science with first class honours in 2004, Centofanti returned to South Australia and commenced her career at the Riverland Veterinary Clinic. In 2010, she became a member of the Australian and New Zealand college of veterinary scientists for small animal medicine.

Personal life

Centofanti is married with three children. She is a member of Rotary Berri, Legacy Club of South Australia and Broken Hill,

Military Wives Choir The Military Wives Choirs is a registered charity and network of 75 choirs in British military bases across the UK and overseas, bringing women in the military community closer together through singing. With over 2,200 members, the MWC network ...

as well as a trainer for the Berri Football Club.

References

1982 births Living people Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Women members of the South Australian Legislative Council Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of South Australia Australian veterinarians 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub