Sonia Kathleen Hornery (born 4 December 1961) is an Australian politician representing the seat of

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...

in the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

for the Labor Party. She has been in Parliament since 24 March 2007 and was elected as Deputy Speaker in May 2023.

Early life

Hornery grew up in

Windale Windale is a suburb of the city of Lake Macquarie, in the Newcastle metropolitan area. It is located west of the junction of the Pacific Highway and Newcastle Inner City Bypass, covering an area of . Windale is a lower socio-economic area consi ...

and

Edgeworth Edgeworth may refer to: People * Edgeworth (surname) Places * Edgeworth, Gloucestershire, England * Edgeworth, New South Wales, Australia * Edgeworth, Pennsylvania, USA * Edgeworth Island, Nunavut, Canada * Edgeworthstown, County Longford, Repu ...

living in Housing Commission housing, before moving to rented accommodation in

and

West Wallsend West Wallsend is a suburb and small town in the City of Lake Macquarie, Greater Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. It is near the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway and the western suburbs of Newcastle. History The Awabakal are the traditional p ...

. She attended

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

and studied teaching. She later returned and obtained a Bachelor of Arts, with Honours, in history. Her first teaching appointment was to

Walgett Walgett is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is near the junctions of the Barwon and Namoi Rivers and the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways. In 2016, Walgett had a population of 2,145. In the 2 ...

High School. She then taught at Kempsey High School and other schools around the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

. In 2002 she was elected to

Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...

Parliamentary career

She was elected to the

New South Wales Parliament The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...

in 2007. On 8 May 2007 she was appointed parliamentary secretary assisting the Minister for Transport but was demoted on 16 November 2009 as a parliamentary secretary, for opposing the Premier

Nathan Rees Nathan Rees () (born 12 February 1968) is a former Australian politician who served as the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of the Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009. Rees wa ...

on privatisation of public owned assets in her electorate, and campaigning within the Labor Party caucus to replace

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature. ...

. On 26 July 2017, the

New South Wales Electoral Commission The New South Wales Electoral Commission is a statutory agency with responsibility for the administration, organisation, and supervision of elections in New South Wales. It reports to the NSW Government Department of Premier and Cabinet. ...

announced it had laid a charge against Hornery for using electoral information in a manner contrary to that permitted under section 42(1) of the ''Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912'', however the charge was withdrawn on 25 September 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hornery, Sonia 1961 births Living people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales University of Newcastle (Australia) alumni Australian schoolteachers Labor Left politicians People from Newcastle, New South Wales 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian women politicians