Stephanie Wendy Key (born 13 December 1954) is a former Australian politician who was a member of the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

for 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 ...

from the 1997 election until her retirement in 2018, representing the electorates of

Hanson Hanson or Hansson may refer to: People * Hanson (surname) * Hansson (surname) * Hanson (wrestler), ringname of an American professional wrestler Musical groups * Hanson (band), an American pop rock band * Hanson (UK band), an English rock ...

(1997–2002) and

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

(2002–2018).

Early life

Born at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide's western suburbs, Key attended the Largs Bay Primary, Port Adelaide Girls Technical, and Marryatville Adult Matriculation High School (where she was among the second group of adults in South Australia to

matriculate Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

) before completing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in politics and sociology at

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

, where she was elected as the first female general secretary of the Flinders University Students Association. Before entering parliament, Key worked as waitress, cook, cleaner and clerk, as well as a number of positions within the Transport Workers Union, the Australian Council of Trades Unions (

ACTU The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

) and the

United Trades and Labor Council of South Australia United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

(UTLC). Key also served as the director of the Working Women's Centre and as a member of the South Australian Housing Trust's board of directors.

Parliament

Key was elected as member for the

electoral district of Hanson Hanson was an South Australian House of Assembly electoral districts, electoral district of the South Australian House of Assembly, House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia from 1970 to 2002. The district was based in the weste ...

at the 1997 election, and immediately assumed shadow ministerial responsibilities for industrial affairs, youth affairs and assisting in multicultural and ethnic affairs. Changes in the shadow cabinet during 2000 saw her responsibilities change to housing and urban development, employment and training, local government and youth affairs. The 2002 election saw they seat of Hanson abolished and Key was re-elected to parliament as member for

. With the election of the Rann government in 2002, Key became Australia's first

Minister for Social Justice The Minister for Housing and Welfare was a Junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister did not attend the Scottish Cabinet. The post was created in May 2007 as the Minister of Communities and Sport, but was ren ...

, with further portfolio responsibilities for community and disability services, ageing, housing, youth and the status of women. Key has been attempting to decriminalize prostitution in South Australia.,

SIN In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

is supporting her efforts. Key oversaw a comprehensive overhaul of South Australia's child protection laws and strategies to improve and sharpen the way in which Government responds to the needs and welfare of children in care. During Key's term as Social Justice Minister, South Australian also saw the redrafting of anti-discrimination legislation and the Equal Opportunity Act. Following a mid-term cabinet reshuffle in 2004, Key became the Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education while also retaining the youth and status of women portfolios. During her time in parliament, Key has pushed for progressive legislation. She is from 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. Though her seat of

was renamed to Badcoe along with a significant increase to the Labor margin in the seat following the electoral redistribution, Key announced on 3 February 2017 that she would be retiring from parliament as of the 2018 election.Labor MP Stephanie Key to quit marginal seat at next SA election: ABC, 3 February 2017
/ref>

Electoral results

Key defeated Liberal

Stewart Leggett Stewart Ronald Leggett (born 18 December 1944) is an Australian religious minister and former politician and educator. He was a Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division), Liberal member of the South Australian House of Assembly fr ...

in the seat of

at the 1997 election with a 55.6 percent

two-party A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referr ...

vote. Hanson was abolished before the 2002 election and was replaced by

which Key retained with an increased 53.7 percent two-party vote from a 0.8-point swing. Key increased her two-party vote to 66.1 percent, a two-party swing of 12.4 points, at the 2006 election. Key retained her seat at the 2010 election with a 54.8 percent two-party vote, despite suffering a 10.4-point swing. Key's two-party vote was reduced to 50.6 percent in a redistribution however she retained the seat at the 2014 election with an increased 51.9 percent two-party vote from a 1.3-point swing.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Key, Stephanie 1954 births Living people Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Flinders University alumni Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of South Australia Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the South Australian House of Assembly