Carol Louise Brown (born 19 July 1963), an Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Tasmania since 25 August 2005.
Carol Brown | |
|---|---|
 Brown in 2022 | |
| Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport | |
| Assumed office 1 June 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Anthony Albanese |
| Preceded by | Sue Mackay |
| Senator for Tasmania | |
| Assumed office 25 August 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Sue Mackay |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 July 1963 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Relations | Allison Ritchie (niece) Meg Brown (niece) |
Early life edit
Brown was born in Hobart, Tasmania.[1] She is the eighth of thirteen children born to Julia and Rex Brown. In her maiden speech she recalled "a proud history, on both sides of my family, of union and Labor activism". Her great-grandmother Mary Butler was a founding member of the Hobart branch of the ALP, her uncle Leo Brown was state president of the ALP, one niece (Allison Ritchie) served in the Tasmanian Legislative Council,[2] and another niece (Meg Brown) is currently a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly.[3]
Brown grew up in the suburb of Warrane.[2] She joined the ALP at a young age and worked as an administrative officer with the party from 1984 to 1996. She later worked as an adviser to Senator Sue Mackay (1996–1998) and then held various positions with the Tasmanian state government, including portfolio services manager within the Department of Premier and Cabinet (1998–2002), office manager for the Minister for Primary Industries, Water and Environment (2002–2004), and office manager for the Minister for Infrastructure, Energy and Resources (2004–2005). She served as an assistant secretary of the Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch) and acted as state secretary in 2000.[1]
Senate edit
Brown was appointed to the Senate on 25 August 2005 to fill a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Sue Mackay. She was elected in her own right at the 2007 federal election and re-elected in 2013, 2016 and 2019.[1] She is a member of the ALP's left faction.[4]
Brown was elected Deputy Government Whip following the 2010 election. Following the 2013 election she was added to Bill Shorten's shadow ministry as a shadow parliamentary secretary. She was promoted to Shadow Minister for Disability and Carers in 2016, but in 2019 was returned to the rank of shadow assistant minister.[1]
With Labor winning government in the 2022 Federal election, Brown was appointed Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport in the Albanese government.[5]
References edit
- ^ a b c d "Senator Carol Brown". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ a b "First speech". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 13 September 2005. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ "The new (and not so new) faces of Tasmania's incoming parliament — and who is out". ABC News. 6 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ Milne, Glenn (19 September 2009). "Rudd's 'f***ing' rant at factions". The Sunday Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
- ^ "Australia reorganises departments to reflect new government's priorities". globalgovernmentforum.com. 6 June 2022.
External links edit
- Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Carol Brown on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
- "Biography for BROWN, Carol Louise". parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008.