Sue Lines
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Susan Lines (born 15 December 1953) is an Australian politician who has been 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
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 ...
since 2013, representing 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). She is the current
President of the Australian Senate The President of the Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. The position is provided for by Section 17 of the Constitution of Australia. The Senate elects one of its members ...
, having previously been Deputy President of the Senate from 2016. Before entering politics she was the assistant national secretary of
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 ...
.


Early life

Lines was born in
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
on 15 December 1953, the daughter of Nancy McRae and Jim Lines. Her parents later separated and she became close to her stepmother Mary Davies. Her father was born in England and came to Australia at the age of 12 as part of a child migration scheme, initially living at
Fairbridge Farm Fairbridge, Western Australia is a former farm school near Pinjarra in Southwest Western Australia. It is now used predominantly for education, school and community camps and tourism purposes. History On 15 April 1912, Kingsley Fairbridge ...
. He served in World War II and later worked as a baker, carpenter and builder. Lines held British citizenship by descent until renouncing it prior to the 2013 election. Her maternal grandparents were Scottish. Lines attended Gosnells Primary School and
Armadale Senior High School Armadale Senior High School is a public co-educational specialist high day school, located on the South Western Highway, in the suburb of Armadale, Western Australia. The school provides specialist programs in the areas of academic extensio ...
. She completed a
Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...
at
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 ...
and worked as a teacher from 1984 to 1985. Her mother, who died in 1976, was also a schoolteacher. In 1987, after a few years as a community organiser, Lines began working as a union organiser for what subsequently became
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 ...
. She became the assistant state secretary of the union in 2001 and assistant national secretary in 2007.


Politics

Lines was elected to the state executive of the ALP in Western Australia in 1990 and the national executive in 2002. She was a delegate to national conference and a delegate to state conference in both Western Australia and New South Wales at various points. She served on the ALP's national policy committee from 2007 to 2009.


Senate

In 2013, Lines was nominated by the ALP to fill 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 ...
caused by the resignation of Senator Chris Evans, another former United Voice official. At the time of her endorsement she was living in Sydney. She was formally appointed to the Senate on 15 May 2013 and elected to a six-year term in her own right at the 2016 federal election. Lines has served on a number of Senate committees. She was elected Deputy President of the Senate in September 2016 in succession to
Gavin Marshall Gavin Mark Marshall (born 25 March 1960) is a former Australian politician, who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate from July 2002 until June 2019, representing the state of Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: ...
. She is the third woman to hold the position, after Margaret Reid and
Sue West Suzanne Margaret West (born 21 September 1947) is a former Australian politician and nurse who was the first woman to serve as a Senator for New South Wales. A member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), she was appointed to the Senate in Februa ...
. In 2018, as chair of the Senate's procedure committee, she led an inquiry into the use of the
Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...
to open parliamentary sittings which recommended that the practice should continue. In July 2022, following the ALP's victory at the 2022 federal election, Lines was elected
President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...
in succession to
Slade Brockman William Edward Slade Brockman (born 27 March 1970) is an Australian politician who has served as a Senator for Western Australia since 2017, representing the Liberal Party. He was elected President of the Australian Senate in October 2021 followi ...
. She is the second woman elected to the position, after Margaret Reid, and the first woman from the ALP to be elected president.


Political positions

Lines is a member of the
Labor Left The Labor Left, also known as the Progressive Left or Socialist Left, is political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It competes with the more economically liberal Labor Right faction. The Labor Left operates autonomously in each s ...
faction. Lines opposes the use of mandatory immigration detention. In 2014, she stated that immigration minister
Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...
had "blood on his hands" following the death of
Reza Barati Reza Barati was a 23-year-old asylum seeker who was killed during rioting at the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (MIRPC), Papua New Guinea, on 17 February 2014. An Iranian Kurd, he had arrived in Australia on 24 July 2013 – just five da ...
at the
Manus Regional Processing Centre The Manus Regional Processing Centre, or Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (MIRCP), was one of a number of offshore Australian immigration detention facilities. The centre was located on the PNG Navy Base Lombrum (previously a Royal Aus ...
. In the same year she was reportedly reprimanded by opposition 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 ...
after stating that government announcements on
Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
were "a shield to try and deflect from the awful mess they’re in with their budget". In 2016 she was one of four Labor MPs to publicly call for all detainees on Manus Island to be settled in Australia, in opposition to existing party policy. In 2019, Lines told the launch of the WA Labor Friends of Palestine that the Israel lobby is "powerful within the party and outside of the party" and was influencing ALP policy on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In response, Alexander Ryvchin of the
Executive Council of Australian Jewry The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, or ECAJ, is an official peak national body representing the Australian Jewish community. It the umbrella organisation for over 200 Jewish organisations across Australia which are ECAJ's constituent or affi ...
accused her of "play ngto people's fears and prejudices" and making "dog-whistle allusions to supposed Israel lobby influence over Australian politics". Lines supports shifting the date of
Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...
from 26 January. In January 2021 she stated that it "celebrates white supremacy and the legacy of colonisation that is directly linked to the various ways we continue to fail First Nations people".


References


External links


Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Sue Lines on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lines, Sue 1953 births Living people Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Presidents of the Australian Senate Women members of the Australian Senate Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Australian trade unionists Murdoch University alumni Politicians from Perth, Western Australia Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Australian people of English descent Australian people of Scottish descent People who lost British citizenship Citizens of the United Kingdom through descent