Ursula Mary Stephens (; born 7 July 1954) is a former Australian politician. She served as a
Senator for
New South Wales
)
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
from 2002 to 2014, 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 t ...
(ALP). She was a
parliamentary secretary in the
Rudd
''Scardinius'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without any further qualifiers is also used for individual species, particularly the common rudd (''S. erythrophthalmus''). Th ...
and
Gillard Governments from 2007 to 2010. In 2019 she was appointed CEO of
Catholic Social Services Australia Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA) is a body that seeks to advance the social service ministry of the Catholic Church and consists of member welfare organisations. It was established as a commission of the Australian Catholic Bishops Confere ...
.
Early life
Stephens was born in
Wicklow
Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a ...
, Ireland.
She arrived in Australia with her family at a young age and grew up on the
New South Wales North Coast
New South Wales North Coast or NSW North Coast, an interim Australian bioregion, is located in New South Wales
)
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoord ...
. She is one of seven siblings; her father was a mechanic and her mother was a nurse.
She was educated at
St Mary's College in
Grafton.
She subsequently completed a diploma in teaching at Goulburn College of Advanced Education and 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 fo ...
at the
South Australian College of Advanced Education. She worked as a
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
teacher from 1974 to 1992, including in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
for two years. She later operated a small business and then from 1997 to 2001 worked for the New South Wales state government as a senior project officer in the Premier's Department.
[
]
Politics
Stephens joined the ALP as a result of the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in 1975, during which she travelled to Canberra to attend protests. She was the first member of her family to join a political party. Stephens served on the Australian Labor Party National Executive
The Australian Labor Party National Executive is an internal executive body of the Australian Labor Party charged with directly overseeing the general organisation and strategy of the party. Twenty members of the National Executive are elected b ...
and the national executive of the Labor Women's Network. She was president of the Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch) from 2002 to 2006, the first woman to hold the position.[
]
Senate
Stephens was elected to the Senate at the 2001 federal election, to a term beginning on 1 July 2002. She was re-elected in 2007 but lost her seat in 2013, with her term ending on 30 June 2014.[ She was a member of the ]Labor Right
The Labor Right, also known as Modern Labor, is a political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) at the national level that is characterised by being more economically conservative and, in some cases, more socially conservative. The Labor ...
faction.
In the Senate, Stephens served as chair of the economic references committee from 2003 to 2006. She was chosen as a shadow parliamentary secretary in 2004, continuing in the role under opposition leaders Mark Latham
Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator, currently serving as a member in the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and ...
, Kim Beazley
Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabine ...
and 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 ...
until Labor's victory at the 2007 election.[ In 2005, she was one of only three ALP senators – along with ]Stephen Conroy
Stephen Michael Conroy (born 18 January 1963) is an Australian former politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Senate from 1996 to 2016, representing the state of Victoria. He served as a minister in the Rudd and Gillard go ...
and Helen Polley – to vote against greater availability of the abortion drug RU486. In the First Rudd Ministry, Stephens served as Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and Parliamentary Secretary for the Voluntary Sector.[ She initially continued on when the First Gillard Ministry was formed in June 2010, but in September 2010, following the 2010 election, her positions were abolished. She stated that they were abolished because "my job was completed" and it did not constitute a demotion.
Stephens was opposed to the legalisation of ]same-sex marriage in Australia
Same-sex marriage in Australia has been legal since 9 December 2017. Legislation to allow same-sex marriage, the '' Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017'', passed the Australian Parliament on 7 December 2017 and rece ...
. In 2011, she stated "marriage is about a relationship between a man and a woman ..marriage is about producing children".[ In 2012 she submitted a report to the ALP caucus in which she stated same-sex marriage could have unintended consequences, such as allowing neighbours to marry for tax benefits. She said she was also concerned about "the demonisation of those who oppose same sex marriage" and that "anyone who knows me would never consider me as homophobic".
]
State politics
Stephens ran unsuccessfully for the seat of Goulburn
Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...
at the 2015 New South Wales state election
A general election for the 56th Parliament of New South Wales (NSW) was held on Saturday 28 March 2015. Members were elected to all 93 seats in the Legislative Assembly using optional preferential voting. Members were also elected to 21 of ...
. She reprised her candidacy at the 2019 state election but was again unsuccessful.
Later career
In July 2019, Stephens succeeded Frank Brennan as CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA) is a body that seeks to advance the social service ministry of the Catholic Church and consists of member welfare organisations. It was established as a commission of the Australian Catholic Bishops Confere ...
.
Personal life
Stephens has four children with her husband Bob. In 2005, while serving in the Senate, she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Public Administration
The Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A.) is a terminal applied-research doctoral degree in the field of public administration
(a part of public service). The D.P.A. requires significant coursework beyond the masters level and a dissertation ...
(DPA) by the University of Canberra
The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. U ...
for a thesis on "best practice in service delivery models and the impact of National Competition Policy reforms on regional and rural communities".[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Ursula
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia
Labor Right politicians
Irish emigrants to Australia
People who lost Irish citizenship
Naturalised citizens of Australia
Members of the Australian Senate
Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales
Women members of the Australian Senate
1954 births
Living people
University of Canberra alumni
21st-century Australian politicians
21st-century Australian women politicians
Australian Roman Catholics
People from Wicklow (town)