| Tanya Plibersek MP | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Sydney |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 3 October 1998 |
|
| Preceded by | Peter Baldwin |
| Minister for Human Services | |
| In office 14 September 2010 – 14 December 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Chris Bowen |
| Succeeded by | Brendan O'Connor (Human Services) |
| Minister for Housing Minister for the Status of Women |
|
| In office 3 December 2007 – 14 September 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Brian Howe (Housing 1991–96, position vacant 1996–2007) Julie Bishop (Women) |
| Succeeded by | Kate Ellis (Status of Women) Mark Arbib (Social Housing and Homelessness) |
| Minister for Health | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 14 December 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Nicola Roxon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 December 1969 Sydney, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Michael Coutts-Trotter |
| Alma mater | University of Technology, Sydney Macquarie University |
| Occupation | Public servant |
Tanya Joan Plibersek, MP (born 2 December 1969), is an Australian politician with the Australian Labor Party, and Federal Minister for Health. She has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 1998, representing the seat of Sydney, New South Wales.[1] Plibersek is the first Slovene Australian to reach the position of a minister in the Australian government.[2]
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Plibersek was born in Sydney, the daughter of migrants from Slovenia, and was dux of Jannali Girls High School.[3] She was educated at the University of Technology, Sydney and Macquarie University, where she gained a master's degree in politics and public policy.[1] Before entering Parliament, she was Women's Officer at the University of Technology, Sydney and worked for the Domestic Violence Unit at the NSW Government's Office for the Status and Advancement of Women as well as the office of Senator Bruce Childs.[4] She lives in Sydney with her husband Michael Coutts-Trotter, the director-general of the NSW Education Department,[5] and children Anna, Joseph and Louis.[6]
Plibersek was elected to the House of Representatives for Sydney in 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2007.[7] She was elected to the Shadow Ministry after the 2004 election. She was Shadow Minister for Work, Family and Community, Shadow Minister for Youth and Early Childhood Education and Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader on the Status of Women since October 2004. This portfolio was retitled Shadow Minister for Child Care, Youth and Women in June 2005. Following the Shadow Ministerial reshuffle in December 2006 (when Kevin Rudd assumed the leadership of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party) Plibersek was promoted to be Shadow Minister for Human Services, Housing, Youth and Women.
Plibersek writes a fortnightly column for The Sydney Morning Herald and has appeared regularly as a commentator on ABC talk show Q&A since 2008.
In the 2007 Federal election, Plibersek was re-elected to the seat of Sydney with a 2.12% swing toward the Labor Party.[8] On 3 December 2007, Plibersek was appointed Minister for Housing and Minister for the Status of Women.
In the 2010 Federal election, Plibersek was re-elected to the seat of Sydney with a 2.25% swing against the Labor Party.[9] On 11 September 2010, Plibersek was appointed Minister for Human Services and Minister for Social Inclusion when she returns from maternity leave.
As Minister for Housing, Plibersek launched the Social Housing Initiative, which provided for the construction of more than 19,300 new public housing units, with approximately 70,000 units receiving repairs and maintenance.[10] In December 2008, along with Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister at that time, Plibersek released the Government’s White Paper on Homelessness, The Road Home, which has a goal of halving homelessness by 2020. [11]
As Minister for the Status of Women in the Rudd Labor Government, Plibersek initiated policies such as convening the National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children in May 2008, and releasing the National Council’s Plan for Australia to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children in March 2009.[12][13] Plibersek also addressed the 2009 United Nations International Women’s Day event, attended by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and announced Australia’s formal accession to the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).[14] Plibersek said that acceding to the Optional Protocol "will send a strong message that Australia is serious about promoting gender equality and that we are prepared to be judged by international human rights standards."[15]
Plibersek campaigned strongly for the removal of discrimination against same sex de facto couples in Federal legislation, raising the issue formally in Parliament on multiple occasions (including 1999,[16] 2006,[17] and 2008[18]) over her parliamentary career. In her regular paid advertisement in the South Sydney Herald, in 2010 Pliberek wrote that 'The passing of these reforms to federal legislation was one of the proudest moments of my time in the Australian Parliament'[19] and has marched in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade in 2008.[20] The Labor Party was criticised by some LGBT groups[21][22] over the party's bipartisan policy against the legalisation of same-sex marriage. Plibersek's own views aside, in 2007 she told The Sydney Morning Herald[23]
Labor does not support changing the Marriage Act to allow same-sex marriage.
On 25 July 2004, Plibersek was loudly heckled at an anti-homophobia rally due to the issue.[22]
Plibersek opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[24] It was reported that when US President, George W. Bush, visited the Australian Parliament in 2003, ‘Sydney Labor MP Tanya Plibersek walked around the chamber as President Bush shook hands with MPs to give Bush's national security adviser Condoleezza Rice a book of speeches by Labor MPs opposing Australia invading Iraq without UN approval.’[25] She also stated in Parliament that ‘I do not support an attack on Iraq. I particularly do not support a pre-emptive first strike. Nor do I support any action that is initiated by the US alone rather than being sanctioned by the United Nations.’[24]
In 2002, Plibersek angered former Federal Labor MP Barry Cohen by commenting that "I can think of a rogue state which consistently ignores UN resolutions whose ruler is a war criminal – it is called Israel and the war criminal is Ariel Sharon."[26] She later apologised for the remark.[26]
Following the 2010 federal election where Labor retained government with the support of the Australian Greens and independents, parliamentary numbers were finely balanced. Plibersek was granted a 'pair' by the Coalition so that her absence from the House of Representatives while on maternity leave did not affect the result of votes.[27] She gave birth to a son on 1 October 2010.[28][29]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New title | Minister for Housing 2007–2010 |
Succeeded by Mark Arbib |
| Preceded by Julie Bishop |
Minister for the Status of Women 2007–2010 |
Succeeded by Kate Ellis |
| Preceded by Chris Bowen |
Minister for Human Services 2010–2011 |
Succeeded by Brendan O'Connor |
| Preceded by Simon Crean |
Minister for Social Inclusion 2010–2011 |
Succeeded by Mark Butler |
| Preceded by Nicola Roxon as Minister for Health and Ageing |
Minister for Health 2011–present |
Incumbent |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by Peter Baldwin |
Member for Sydney 1998–present |
Incumbent |
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