Suzanne Mary Ellery (born 12 May 1962) is an Australian politician who has been a Labor Party member of the Legislative Council of

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 2001, representing

South Metropolitan Region The South Metropolitan Region is a multi-member electoral region of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. It was created by the ''Acts Amendment (Electoral Reform) Act 1987'', an ...

. She is the current

Minister for Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

, Minister for Commerce, and

Minister for Women's Interests Minister for Women's Interests is a position in the government of Western Australia, currently held by Sue Ellery of the Labor Party. The position was first created after the 1983 state election, for the government of Brian Burke, and has exist ...

in the McGowan government, having previously served as a minister in the government of

Alan Carpenter Alan John Carpenter (born 4 January 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th Premier of Western Australia, from 2006 to 2008. From Albany, Carpenter graduated from the University of Western Australia, and worked as a journ ...

from 2007 to 2008.

Early life

Ellery 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 ...

to Rosemarie (née Gellard) and Peter Ellery. She attended Newman College before going on to the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree. She joined the Labor Party while at university, and in 1983 was the national women's officer for the

Australian Union of Students The Australian Union of Students (AUS), formerly National Union of Australian University Students (NUAUS), was a representative body and lobby group for Australian university and college of advanced education students. It collapsed in 1984 and w ...

. Prior to entering politics, Ellery worked in the trade union movement, including as an industrial advocate for the Liquor, Hospitality, and Miscellaneous Workers' Union.Suzanne (Sue) Mary Ellery
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 19 July 2016.

Politics

Ellery entered parliament at the 2001 state election, as the lead candidate on the Labor Party's ticket in South Metropolitan Region. She was a parliamentary secretary in the government of

Geoff Gallop Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) is an Australian academic and former politician who served as the 27th Premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. He is currently a professor and director of the Graduate School of Government at ...

in 2003, and continued on when Alan Carpenter replaced Gallop as premier in January 2006. Ellery was elevated to the ministry in March 2007, becoming Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Community Services,

, and

Minister for Seniors and Volunteering Minister for Seniors and Ageing and Minister for Volunteering are positions in the government of Western Australia, currently held by Don Punch of the Labor Party. The position of "Minister for the Aged" was first created in 1984, for the governm ...

. She held her positions until the Labor government's defeat at the 2008 state election. After that election, Ellery continued on as a shadow minister, and was also elected leader of the Labor Party in the Legislative Council.Hon. Suzanne (Sue) Mary Ellery MLC
Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 19 July 2016. She has been identified as a member of the party's

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. From 2017 to 2022, she was the

minister for education and training In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Education administers the Department of Education. The position is held by Labor MP Jason Clare, following the Australian federal election in 2022. Portfolio scope The Minister is responsible fo ...

. In December 2022, she requested a change in ministries during a cabinet reshuffle. She became the

minister for finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

, minister for commerce, and

minister for women's interests Minister for Women's Interests is a position in the government of Western Australia, currently held by Sue Ellery of the Labor Party. The position was first created after the 1983 state election, for the government of Brian Burke, and has exist ...

. Ellery plans to retire from politics at the 2025 election.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellery, Sue 1962 births Living people Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian trade unionists Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People educated at Newman College, Perth Politicians from Perth, Western Australia University of Western Australia alumni 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians

Early life

Politics

See also

References