Jan Elizabeth McLucas (born 27 March 1958) is a former Australian politician. McLucas was an

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 ...

member of the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

representing

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

from 1999 to 2016. McLucas was the

Minister for Human Services The Minister for Government Services is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for Services Australia. The current minister since 1 June 2022 is the Hon Bill Shorten MP, who also serves as Minister for the National Disability In ...

in the Rudd Government till the 2013 Election.

Background and early career

McLucas was born in Atherton, Queensland, and received her primary schooling in

Ravenshoe Ravenshoe ( ) is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Ravenshoe had a population of 1,400 people. Geography Ravenshoe is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is located south w ...

, in

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf C ...

; her secondary schooling at the private

Clayfield College , motto_translation = Let Your Light Shine , established = 1931 , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Girls and Boys , denomination = Uniting Church and Pre ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, and further education at the Townsville College of Advanced Education (now James Cook University). From 1979 until 1989, she worked as a primary school teacher in state schools in Queensland, and was active in the Queensland Teachers' Union. McLucas then worked as an electorate officer for

Steve Bredhauer Stephen Dominic Bredhauer (born 15 February 1958) is a former Australian politician. Born in Brisbane, he was a teacher before entering politics. He joined the Labor Party in 1980. In 1989, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensl ...

, her husband at the time and the state member for

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

, from 1991 until 1994, before being elected as a councillor for the

City of Cairns The City of Cairns was a local government area centred on the Far North Queensland city of Cairns. Established in 1885, for most of its existence it consisted of approximately around Cairns itself, with much of the metropolitan area being loc ...

, on which she served from 1995 to 1999.

Political career

Following the announcement of the retirement of

Margaret Reynolds Margaret Reynolds (; born 19 July 1941) served as an Australian Labor Party Senator for Queensland from 1983 to 1999. Reynolds had two ministerial appointments during her time in the Senate, serving as Minister for Local Government from Sep ...

, McLucas was preselected as the number one candidate on Queensland Labor's ticket for the

in the 1998 federal election. This effectively guaranteed her the seat, and her first term commenced on 1 July 1999. In 2004, McLucas was elected by the Labor caucus to the Federal Shadow Ministry and was allocated responsibility for Ageing, Disabilities and Carers. McLucas was re-elected to her Senate seat at the 2004 federal election, with a new term commencing on 1 July 2005. The Senator chaired the two Senate Select Committees of Inquiry into Medicare and was the Chair of the Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee. The Labor Party under

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

won government at the elections held on 24 November 2007. On 3 December 2007, at the creation of the First Rudd Ministry, she was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing. In May 2009, journalists from ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' and opponents in the Liberal Party claimed that Senator McLucas had effectively been living full-time with her partner in Canberra for several years, and only occasionally visited her officially listed residence in

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

. Prime Minister Rudd refused calls from some in the media to sack her, while the Senator insisted she had claimed travel allowance consistent with the official guidelines. However, on 6 June 2009, it was announced that McLucas had resigned as Parliamentary Secretary "to focus on her senatorial responsibilities for Queensland." However, media speculation suggested the expenses issue and the unfavourable publicity generated by it may have been a factor in the decision. McLucas was re-elected in the 2010 election and was sworn in on 14 September 2010 as Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers in the original Second Gillard ministry. On 2 March 2012 she was appointed to the additional role of Parliamentary Secretary for the Prime Minister; and on 25 March 2013, McLucas was appointed as the Minister for Human Services. After the Labor Party's defeat at the 2013 election, McLucas was appointed Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Housing and Homelessness under new Leader

Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian politician currently serving as Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. He previously served as leader of the opposition a ...

. On 15 September, she resigned from the Shadow Cabinet. Murray Watt challenged the Senator and while winning 57% of the branch vote, McLucas lost the union vote. She retired from the Senate at the

double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolution ...

as of 9 May 2016.

References

External links

Jan McLucas, Senate Biography

Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Jan McLucas on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLucas, Jan 1958 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Women members of the Australian Senate Government ministers of Australia People educated at Clayfield College Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women government ministers of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian women politicians