Tara Maree Cheyne (pronounced ''Chain'') (born 30 December 1986) is an elected Member for the Ginninderra electorate in the
Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory (known in short as the ACT Legislative Assembly) is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Sq ...
as of 26 October 2016.
Life, education and career prior to entering politics
Tara Cheyne was born in the northern Queensland city of
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 ...
and throughout her youth lived with her parents in a number of rural Queensland mining towns. She attended
Rockhampton Grammar School
, motto_translation=Grow in character and scholarship
, established = 1881
, type = Independent, day & boarding
, gender = Co-educational
, head = Dr Phillip Moulds
, city = Rockhampton
, state = Queensland
, c ...
as a boarder and completed high school studies in 2003, being awarded Academic Dux. She studied at the
University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
completing a dual program of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Journalism. She moved to Canberra in 2008 and began her public service career in the Attorney-General's Department, rising to senior positions.
Cheyne completed a
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from the University of Canberra in September 2013.
In 2016, she began a position in the Department of Finance which she held until her election to the Legislative Assembly.
Community profile
Cheyne began a popular blog, ''In The Taratory'' in 2011. The name is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsACT Branch of the Labor Party as a candidate in Ginninderra for the
2016 ACT Election
A general election for the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly was held on Saturday, 15 October 2016.
The 15-year incumbent Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Andrew Barr, won a fifth term over the main opposition Liberal Party, ...
. Cheyne was declared elected on 22 October 2016.
Her inaugural speech in the ACT Legislative Assembly was given on 13 December 2016.
In the Ministry effective 17 February 2021, Cheyne was:
*Assistant Minister for Economic Development
*Minister for the Arts
*Minister for Business and Better Regulation
*Minister for Human Rights
*Minister for Multicultural Affairs Australian Capital Territory (Self - Government) Ministerial Appointment 2021 (No 1) Notifiable instrument NI2021–85 ACT Government, accessed 2021-06-11