Catryna Louise Bilyk (; born 7 February 1959) is an Australian politician. She is a member of 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) and 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

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

since 2008.

Early life

Bilyk was born in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

. She worked as an industrial officer for the

Australian Services Union The Australian Services Union (registered as the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union) is a trade union representing workers in a variety of industries. The ASU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade ...

, a researcher for psychiatric pioneer

Eric Cunningham Dax Eric Cunningham Dax, AO, FRACP, FRANZCP, HonFRCPsych (18 May 1908 – 29 January 2008) was a British-born Australian psychiatrist. Career In England during the 1930s and 1940s, Dax worked with John Rawlings Rees, Francis Reitmann and other b ...

, an early childhood educator, and an advisor to Tasmanian Labor Ministers

David Crean David Mackenzie Crean (born 21 November 1950, Melbourne) is a former Labor member of the Parliament of Tasmania. He is the son of former Deputy Prime Minister Frank Crean and brother to former Australian federal opposition leader Simon Crean. B ...

, Ken Bacon and David Llewellyn. She has also been ALP National Vice-President. She is married with two adult children.

Senate

Bilyk was elected to serve a six-year term in the Senate at the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

, after being placed in the third position on the

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

n ticket. She was elected to the sixth Senate seat for Tasmania, on preferences distributed from

Andrew Wilkie Andrew Damien Wilkie (born 8 November 1961) is an Australian politician and independent federal member for Clark. Before entering politics Wilkie was an infantry officer in the Australian Army., Australian Parliament House Biographies; 19 Augu ...

, the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...

' second candidate for the Senate in Tasmania in the 2007 election. It was second time lucky for Bilyk, who had also been preselected in third spot on the Labor Senate ticket in Tasmania at the 2001 federal election, but failed to win a seat. On 27 February 2016, Bilyk announced that she supports

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

, having previously opposed it.

Cancer diagnosis and advocacy

In March 2008, as a senator-elect, Bilyk was diagnosed with two benign brain tumours, which were surgically removed. Her experience with brain tumours motivated her to raise funds for research to improve the survival rate for cancer. To date, events she has organised have raised over $120,000 for Cure Brain Cancer Foundation. On 6 December 2016, Senator Bilyk was appointed chair of a newly-formed Senate Select Committee into funding for research into cancers with low survival rates. The Committee has been tasked with inquiring into and reporting on "the impact of health research funding models on the availability of funding for research into cancers with low survival rates."

References

External links

Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Catryna Bilyk on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilyk, Catryna 1959 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Right politicians Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Tasmania Women members of the Australian Senate 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians National Library of Australia Council members